If someone says you are "Christianizing" the OT too much, tell them to take it up with that first century Galilean. #Luke24 #thecenter — Patrick Schreiner (@pj_schreiner) April 28, 2015

“If you’re not confident in the authority of the Scriptures, you’ll be a slave to what sounds right.” @MattChandler74 pic.twitter.com/nUj5oU1eJa — Matt Smethurst (@MattSmethurst) April 26, 2015

“Religion makes us proud of what we have done. The gospel makes us proud of what Jesus has done.” – @TimKellerNYC pic.twitter.com/OdzjyJ7yyK — The Gospel Coalition (@TGC) April 24, 2015

INCARNATION GOD SENT HIS SON, TO SAVE US The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. JOHN 1:14 Trinity and Incarnation belong together. The doctrine of the Trinity declares that the man Jesus is truly divine; that of the Incarnation declares that the divine Jesus is truly human. Together they proclaim the full reality of the Savior whom the New Testament sets forth, the Son who came from the Father’s side at the Father’s will to become the sinner’s substitute on the cross (Matt. 20:28; 26:36–46; John 1:29; 3:13–17; Rom. 5:8; 8:32; 2 Cor. 5:19–21; 8:9; Phil. 2:5–8).  ... John’s Gospel frames its eyewitness narratives (John 1:14; 19:35; 21:24) with the declarations of its prologue (1:1–18): that Jesus is the eternal divine Logos (Word), agent of Creation and source of all life and light (vv. 1–5, 9), who through becoming “flesh” was revealed as ...

Russell Moore:What Should the Church Say to Bruce Jenner? April 24, 2015   In the 1970s Bruce Jenner seemed to have it all—fame, wealth, admiration. He was an Olympic star, so popular in American culture that he was reputedly considered for both the roles of Superman and James Bond. That’s changed. Now, Jenner is best known as the step-father on reality television’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Jenner is now ready for one more change. He says he knows what he’s been missing: his identity as a woman. Jenner has reportedly undergone surgery to make himself appear more like a woman and has been photographed wearing dresses. Now, in a highly publicized interview with with Diane Sawyer, he says that his “whole life has been leading up to this.” Bruce Jenner, of course, is a symbol, a celebrity spokesperson for an entire mentality that sees gender as separate from biological identity. So is there a word from God to the transgender community? How should the church ad...

Why Baptism Is Required for Membership SEPTEMBER 18, 2014   By Bobby Jamieson Why must someone be baptized as a believer in order to join a local church? Because church membership is a public affirmation of someone’s public profession of faith in Christ, and Jesus has appointed baptism as the means by which his followers publicly profess their faith in him. A church can’t affirm the profession of someone who hasn’t yet made that profession. Baptism is how you publicly identify yourself with Jesus and with his people ( Acts 2:38–41 ). It is how you visibly signify that you are united to Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection ( Rom. 6:1–4 ). It is how you become identified before the church and the world as one who belongs to the Triune God ( Matt. 28:19 ). It is how you publicly embrace Jesus as your Savior and submit to him as Lord ( 1 Pet. 3:21 ). Baptism is where faith goes public. It is how you nail your colors to the mast as Jesus’ disciple. Therefore b...

Why Was Jesus’ Deity Necessary?  In the previous section we listed several reasons why it was necessary for Jesus to be fully man in order to earn our redemption. Here it is appropriate to recognize that it is crucially important to insist on the full deity of Christ as well, not only because it is clearly taught in Scripture, but also because (1) only someone who is infinite God could bear the full penalty for all the sins of all those who would believe in him—any finite creature would have been incapable of bearing that penalty; (2) salvation is from the Lord (Jonah 2:9 NASB), and the whole message of Scripture is designed to show that no human being, no creature, could ever save man—only God himself could; and (3) only someone who was truly and fully God could be the one mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), both to bring us back to God and also to reveal God most fully to us (John 14:9). Thus, if Jesus is not fully God, we have no salvation and ultimately no Chris...

No matter how soiled your past or snarled your present, no matter how hopeless your future seems to be— there is a way out . There is a sure, safe, everlasting way out, but there is only one way! That way is Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me” (John 14:6). You can go on being miserable, discontented, frightened, unhappy, and disgusted with yourself, or you can decide right now that you want to be born again. You can have your sinful past wiped out and make a new start, a fresh start, a right start. You can decide now to become the person that Jesus promised you could be. Graham, B. (2003). The key to personal peace. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

... we must emphasize the urgency with which people ought to repent and believe if they will be saved. They must decide now.  They certainly shouldn’t wait until a “better deal” comes along.  People might be careful enough with their money to wait to sign up for a cell phone plan or to renew their current plan until they’ve looked around on the Internet, maybe phoning and getting two or three offers and then comparing them all. But there’s no point here in waiting for a better offer for forgiveness. According to the New Testament (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 10; all of Hebrews), Christ is the only way. How else would we suggest that sinners and the holy God be reconciled?  And if Christ is the only way, then what are we waiting for? We don’t know that tomorrow is ours, and we shouldn’t act as if it is (James 4:13). “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Ps. 95:7–8; Heb. 4:7). Dever, M. E. (2007). The Gospel & Personal Evangelism (p. 57)....

THE INCARNATE WORD The author of Hebrews points out another dimension of special revelation, the supreme revelation, which is the incarnate Word. We have the written Word, which gives us special revelation, but we also have the Word of God incarnate, the One about whom the written Word speaks. The One who embodies the very Word of God is Jesus Himself, as the author of Hebrews declares, saying, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Heb. 1:1–2). When the disciples were gathered with Jesus in the upper room, Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus responded: “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip?… Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (John 14:8–10). The chief of all Apostles, the One whom God chose a...

Titus 2 v3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; Old women also among the heathen were often addicted to the taking of much wine, so here they are cautioned against it by the Spirit of God. They are also tempted to spread slanderous reports against people: having little to do in their old age, they are apt to do that little by way of mischief; so they are warned that they are not to be “false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things.” And how beautifully can an aged Christian woman, by her kindly example, be a teacher of good things! There is no more charming sight under heaven, I think, than that of an elderly Christian lady, whose words and whose whole life are such as becometh the gospel of Christ. Spurgeon, C. H. (1895). The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 41, pp. 551–552). London: Passmore & Alabaster.

Have you ever noticed in the New Testament how significant the activity of teaching is? Pastors think about the importance of teaching all the time, since it relates to their job. But it’s worth noting that in the New Testament, teaching appears to be necessary to every aspect of the Christian’s life. We call ourselves “disciples” and we practice spiritual “disciplines,” words whose roots have to do with teaching and learning. So teaching is a central part of proclaiming the gospel and making disciples: “… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19–20).  Teaching is critical for training younger generations of men and women (Titus 2:2–6). Teaching is necessary for people to learn how to pray (Luke 11:1). Indeed, teaching is right at the heart of Christian maturity (Eph. 4:11–16). The Bible even connects singing with teaching, since in singing we speak and admonish one another in song (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). We could go on. Teaching and the neces...

Membership in a church should also help you to grow in hating sin. As the Word is preached, you will understand more clearly what sin is, how badly sin lies, and how Christians have better promises to rest in. The world around us does not value the Bible’s teaching on these matters. Television peddles the virtues of lust and disrespect. Advertising encourages greed and envy. The Old Country Buffet down the street stays in business by fomenting gluttony. But in the church you have a place where godliness is valued, expected, and promulgated. Brothers and sisters in the church must admonish each other (Col. 3:16), teach and train each other regarding what’s appropriate (Titus 2:3–4), and urge self-control (Titus 2:6). So the author of Hebrews tells Christians to continue meeting together to encourage each other toward godliness: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one anot...

Our struggle: How can a truly loving God send anyone to hell? Scripture’s struggle: How can a truly holy God welcome anyone into heaven? — Matt Smethurst (@MattSmethurst) April 22, 2015 “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved.” (Jesus) Us: “Wait, there’s only one door?!” Scripture: “Wait, there is a door?!” — Matt Smethurst (@MattSmethurst) April 22, 2015

When Jesus’ public ministry began, his personal self-consciousness confirmed that God was at work in and through him. For though he did speak of “pleasing” the Father (Jn 8:29) and “obeying” him (Jn 15:10), of doing his will and finishing his work (e.g., Jn 4:34; 6:38–39; 17:4; 19:30), yet this surrender was entirely voluntary, so that his will and the Father’s were always in perfect harmony. More than that, according to John he spoke of a mutual “indwelling,” he in the Father and the Father in him, even of a “union” between them (e.g., Jn 14:11; 17:21–23; 10:30). This conviction that Father and Son cannot be separated, especially when we are thinking about the atonement, since the Father was taking action through the Son, comes to its fullest expression in some of Paul’s great statements about reconciliation. For example, “all this is from God” (referring to the work of the new creation, 2 Cor 5:17–18), who “reconciled us to himself through Christ” and “was reconciling the world ...

The ministry of the sacraments must, of course, go hand in hand with the ministry of the Word. It is merely the symbolical presentation of the gospel, addressed to the eye rather than to the ear. The duty of the Church to preach the Word is plainly taught in many passages of Scripture , such as Isa. 3:10, 11; 2 Cor. 5:20; 1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 2:15; 4:2; Tit. 2:1–10.  In view of the clear instructions of her King she may never allow any totalitarian government to dictate to her what she must preach; neither may she accommodate herself, as far as the contents of her message is concerned, to the demands of a naturalistic science, or to the requirements of a culture that reflects the spirit of the world. Modernists have done just that during the past decades by the suicidal efforts to adapt themselves in their preaching to the demands of a rationalistic higher criticism, of biology and psychology, of sociology and economics, until at last they completely lost the message of the K...

We have noted that two distinct functions are prescribed for the overseers/elders. They are to teach and lead. These two functions are, of course, rather general. Still, they provide the superstructure under which overseers/elders do their work. Their primary calling is to pass on the tradition and truth of the gospel. In other words, their leadership, unlike in many denominations today, is not primarily bureaucratic Overseers/elders exert their leadership through their teaching ministry, by their adherence to the gospel (1 Tim. 5:17). The importance of tradition and teaching in the Pastoral Epistles is undeniable. Paul often contrasts unhealthy teaching with that which is sound (1 Tim. 1:10; 6:3; 2 Tim. 1:13; 4:3; Titus 1:9, 13; 2:1–2). The truth that must be safeguarded is the gospel (1 Tim. 3:16). False teachers veer away from the truth (1 Tim. 1:3–11; 4:1–5), and so teaching centered upon the faithful word is crucial (1 Tim. 1:15; 3:9; 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:11; Titus 3:8). It seems t...

The Big Story from The Gospel Project | LifeWay on Vimeo .

So biblical evangelism requires of us one thing primarily: that we be faithful to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the people God places in contact with us (1 Cor. 4:1–2). Specifically, faithful evangelism must (1) be content specific, presenting the truth about “who God is, who men are, what sin is, who Jesus is, what Jesus has done about sin, and what we must do about what Jesus has done;” (2) “include the notion that Christ is the exclusive way of salvation,” barring the idea that there are multiple paths leading to God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12); and (3) call the hearer to repentance and faith in Christ. Biblical evangelism requires sharing the wonderful news that Christ died for sinners and then calling our hearers to repent and believe. John the Baptist preached this message (Matt. 3:1–2). Jesus proclaimed this same gospel (Matt. 4:17). And the apostle Peter at Pentecost heralded this same good news (Acts 2:38). The healthy church member makes this message central as h...

Pragmatism produces crowds that are not churches and results that are not regenerations.  - Al Mohler

We also have an allusion to Jesus’ death in the washing of the disciples’ feet (John 13:1–17). Jesus’ love to the end signified his willingness to die for his disciples (John 13:1). The washing represents the cleansing effected by Jesus’ death.  Hence, if Peter refused to be washed, he had “no share” (meros) with Jesus (John 13:8); that is, he has no inheritance among God’s people. Only those who are washed by Jesus enjoy forgiveness of sins. Only one washing is needed because Jesus’ death is efficacious (John 13:10), and the need for the disciples to be washed at this juncture of Jesus’ ministry demonstrates that they still need his cleansing death. Jesus, of course, did not think that physical washing itself was sufficient to grant cleansing. He cleaned Judas’s feet, and yet Judas was not truly clean (John 13:11). Judas did not genuinely belong among those whose sins were forgiven.  Jesus’ taking upon himself the role of a servant in washing the disciples’ feet points...

Jesus predicts what will happen in advance so that his disciples will believe egō eimi, “I am” (John 13:19 my translation). The use of “I am” demonstrates that such predictions are not merely the prophecies of an ordinary prophet. Jesus demonstrates his deity by proclaiming what will happen before it occurs. We have already noted that the “I am” formula is common in Isa. 40–48. These same chapters often declare that Yahweh stands apart from idols as the true God because he is able to predict the future (Isa. 41:21–29; 42:8–9; 44:8–9; 46:9–11; 48:6).  The uniqueness of Yahweh manifests itself in his control over history. So too, Jesus is revealed as “I am” in his ability to predict the future. The deity of Jesus is suggested also by his words to those arresting him: “I am” (John 18:5, 6, 8 my translation). The text could be read in terms of simple self-identification, but since those who arrest Jesus fall to the ground at his self-revelation, we should read the declaration in ...

Today it is commonplace to speak of “receiving” Jesus into one’s life. This language is relatively rare in the New Testament (though cf. John 13:20 and Col 2:6), but it is important nonetheless. Reception is defined as “belief in his name,” which implies trust in his power or authority. Those who trust in Jesus acknowledge him as their master and become God’s spiritual children, with a new authority or status (NIV “right”) themselves. As the center of the chiasm, verses 12–13 create the climax of the prologue, which “by way of inclusio epitomizes the very purpose for which the Gospel was written: for people to ‘believe’ and have life ‘in his name’ (cf. 20:31).” Blomberg, C. L. (2009). Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey (2nd Edition., p. 248). Nashville, TN: B&H Academic.

HOSPITALITY AS PROOF OF A COMMITMENT TO THE TRUTH According to John’s gospel, Jesus left his disciples with the singularly important command that they should love one another (John 13:34; 15:12, 17). He also left them with an enacted parable whose point was that their love for one another should take practical form: Although he was their master, he took the role of a slave and washed their feet (13:1–17). Such practical expressions of love , even for the most authoritative members of the community, were essential to membership within the church (13:6–9). These loving actions were the sure mark of authentic discipleship (13:35). This theme became a major concern in 1 John, where, as we have seen, the secessionists revealed their lack of concern for the truth not only in their faulty confession of Christ but in their unloving withdrawal from the orthodox community (1 John 2:19). Their commitment to the truth was only skin deep because they failed to “do the truth” by loving their ...