Resources on Theology
“It is a sad and dangerous thing to have two eyes to behold our dignity and privileges, and not one to see our duties and services. I should look with one eye upon the choice and excellent things that Chris hath done for me, to raise up my heart to love Christ with the purest love, and to joy in Christ with the strongest joy, and to lift up Christ above all, who hath made himself to be my all; and I should look with the other eye upon those services and duties that the Scriptures require of those for whom Christ hath done such blessed things, as upon that of the apostle: ‘What, know ye not that your body…
Read More“If we would have a peaceful conscience in our religion, let us see that our views of saving faith are distinct and clear. Let us beware of supposing that justifying faith is anything more than a sinner’s simple trust in a Saviour, the grasp of a drowning man on the hand held out for his relief. – Let us beware of mingling anything else with faith in the matter of justification. Here we must always remember that faith stands entirely alone. A justified man no doubt will always be a holy man. True believing will always be accompanied by godly living. But what gives a man an interest in Christ, is not his living, but his faith. If we would…
Read More“Can we ever give too much honour to Christ? Can we ever think too highly of him? . . . Men may easily fall into error about the three persons in the holy Trinity, if they do not carefully adhere to the teaching of Scripture. But no man ever errs on the side of giving too much honour to God the Son. Christ is the meeting-point between the Trinity and the sinner’s soul. ‘He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him’ (John 5:23).” – J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John, Vol 1. 1869. (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2012), 27.
Read MoreEvery believer has his share of trials, sorrows, and burdens. Paul warns that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). But if you identified all of your burdens and ranked them, which would be the greatest? John Owen helps us prioritize. He concludes, “I do not understand how a man can be a sincere believer unto whom sin is not the greatest burden and sorrow.” (1) The gravity of sin is revealed in the costliness of our redemption, a reality that Isaiah unfolds solemnly in his fifty-third chapter. At Golgotha we see our Savior “stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” For our salvation “the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The poet Thomas Kelly knew that when when the…
Read More“Divorced from the holiness of God, sin is merely self-defeating behavior or a breach in etiquette. Divorced from the holiness of God, grace is merely empty rhetoric, pious window dressing for the modern technique by which sinners work out their own salvation. Divorced from the holiness of God, our gospel becomes indistinguishable from any of a host of alternative self-help doctrines. Divorced from the holiness of God, our public morality is reduced to little more than an accumulation of trade-offs between competing private interests. Divorced from the holiness of God, our worship becomes mere entertainment. The holiness of God is the very cornerstone of Christian faith, for it is the foundation of reality. Sin is defiance of God’s holiness, the…
Read MoreToday is the anniversary of the birth of Charles Hodge, a towering leader in American Presbyterianism. We do well to pursue biblical studies and theology with his disciplined passion. Evangelical believers of previous generations spoke of “the force of truth.” And rightly so. Paul rejoices that the Romans “obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered” (Romans 6:17). That the union of will (obedience), affections (heart), and intellect (form of doctrine) marked their mature faith is no surprise. Through his Word, God appeals to our hearts through the mind, creating godly affections and sanctifying behavior. Charles Hodge knew the force of truth. His teaching career at Princeton Seminary spanned 58 years (1820-1878). Relationships with six decades of ministerial…
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