When one hears the name “Job,” it’s not long before the word “suffering” comes to mind. In some churches, when sermons are preached on Job, it’s not long before even the word “prosperity” is brought up. But it’s a rare occurrence that we ever associate Jesus Christ or the gospel with this particular book. Nevertheless Job makes […]
Evangelicals cherish the doctrine of justification by faith alone, that believers are declared “not guilty” before God based on the righteousness and merits of Christ. Yet when it comes to our sanctification – the process of our moral condition being brought into conformity with our legal standing – we are quick to abandon the gospel and instead […]
The prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones is often preached and understood to be nothing more than an illustration of the faith we must possess in order to “speak life” into our circumstances. However, this faulty interpretation falls miserably short of the glorious gospel truths being communicated and places the focus exclusively on man […]
Throughout the Scriptures, and especially in our own lives, God is repeatedly questioned regarding our trials, his judgments, our suffering, his promises, our future, and his plan. However, at the bottom of all these questions is the singular issue of faith – whether or not we believe God to be the God he says he is in […]
Isaiah 66:1-2 paints a beautiful picture of our eternal, sovereign, omnipotent God – the creator of all things. Yet this text informs us that, ultimately, it is not tabernacles or temples made by human hands that God looks upon with favor, or looks to dwell within; rather it is “he who is humble and contrite in spirit and […]
As we read through the writings of the prophet Isaiah, we are repeatedly confronted with declarations and examples of the sovereignty of God, of his incontestable and absolutely total control over everything in creation. Yet, of all of God’s glorious attributes, this is undoubtedly one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented. Although we may not perfectly […]
Many inspiring sermons have been preached on Isaiah chapter 6, most concluding with a call to respond like Isaiah did: “Here I am! Send me.” Yet, these types of sermons fail to explain the nature of Isaiah’s prophetic ministry, that he was to “make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see […]
In the very first month of the first year of his reign reign, Hezekiah began a series of sweeping reforms, repairing the temple and seeking to bring unfaithful Judah back to her faithful God: “For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. . . Now it […]
The story of Naaman, in 2 Kings 5, is a profound illustration of one of the most penetrating questions posed by Jesus: “for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Many “lepers” today are consumed by the soul-destroying […]
