By Joel Hruska. Wikipedia is, in my opinion, one of the most successful ventures devoted to the dissemination of knowledge on the entire internet. It isn’t perfect — no encyclopedia or institution is — but it has had a profound effect on . . . Continue reading →
Several weeks ago my pastor, Chris Gordon, reflected briefly in his morning sermon on Psalm 137. I have been meditating on it since. The theme of the believer’s exile in this world is frequently sounded in Scripture. Abraham was a pilgrim, who . . . Continue reading →
We look in faith to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus as past events and saving truths but what about his disciples who were living at the time? How did they cope with what occurred? Jesus had told them on more than one occasion that he would die and rise again on the third day, e.g., Matt hew 16:21. The sobering fact is that not one of them seems to have been prepared for either. On Passover night in the upper room, he had told them he was about to leave them but that he would see them again and replace their sorrow with a joy that would remain (John 16:22). When they all left for the Mount of Olives he said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee” (Mk 14:27-28; 50; Jn 16: 32). When he was arrested “they all left him and fled.” Continue reading →
DEFINITION Conversion begins with the gracious gift of new life and gives rise to a genuine faith and repentance that continue throughout the Christian life. SUMMARY This essay surveys the history of the doctrine of conversion from the early church to the . . . Continue reading →
It hardly bears saying but the 9 days have been a truly sad, frustrating week for all Americans who hope to see a measure of peace and mutual understanding. A Minneapolis police officer, whose actions have been universally denounced by other police . . . Continue reading →
The use of conviction is not to punish a man for his sins; nor is it to make him any better. The devils in hell have been under awful conviction for a long time, and not one of them is any better. . . . Continue reading →
Our Lord Jesus called the church to make disciples (Matt 28:18–20) and he even ordained means by which we might become disciples and grow in our discipleship. The Apostles followed this pattern (Acts 2:42; Rom 10:14). Nevertheless, when we think about discipleship . . . Continue reading →
Arguably the one of the greatest challenges that the church has faced has been how to relate to the prevailing culture. This was true before Christendom, when Christians were mostly ignored. It was true when we were being actively persecuted and martyred . . . Continue reading →
Judicial laws may be judicial and Mosaical, and so not obligatory to us, according to the degree and quality of punishment, such as in Deuteronomy 13, the destroying the city, and devoting all therein to a curse; we may not do the . . . Continue reading →
5:22 αἱ γυναῖκες τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ (hai gynaikes tois idiois andrasin hōs tō kyriō), “Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord.” The elision of the verb ὑποτάσσω (hypotassō) links this verse closely with the general . . . Continue reading →
3His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, . . . Continue reading →
On July 26, 2019 AGR and the Escondido United Reformed Church were pleased to co-host the first-ever Abounding Grace Radio conference. Our speaker this year was Dr Rosaria Butterfield. She is a former tenured professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse . . . Continue reading →
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
Abounding grace to sinners (Rom 5:20), i.e., God’s free favor to the undeserving, leads to Christian freedom but not to licentiousness (living without norms). Liberty is not libertinism. This doctrine is at the heart of the Reformed doctrine of the Christian life. . . . Continue reading →
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →