We would imagine Luke’s gospel – an account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – to begin with the story of Christ’s birth. However, Luke does not start with the announcement of the coming Messiah, but with the announcement of the coming messenger, John the Baptist: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare […]
“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness” (Ps. 51:14). As we conclude this beautiful psalm of confession and repentance, we come finally to see the result of forgiveness: worship. David humbly acknowledges his sinfulness and rebellion against God; he understands the cost of his forgiveness as […]
Having confessed his sinfulness and rebellion against God, David continues to fall upon the mercy of God now in supplication – asking the God would purge him from his iniquity and cleanse him from all unrighteousness. But why does David so desperately seek forgiveness? Why does he repeatedly entreat God to wash him, to create […]
David, the man after God’s own heart, not only enjoyed the anointing, the blessings, and the favor of God as the chosen king over Israel, but was also deeply acquainted with his mercy and forgiveness. David was indeed a sinful man no different from the rest – particularly evident in the incident with Bathsheba (2 Sam 11:1-12:23) – […]
Having preached and defended the gospel of grace – “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Rom. 3:22-26) – Paul has been laboring to articulate the life of freedom that God’s children may now experience. This new life that we have been called to is one characterized by, submitted to, and controlled by the Spirit. […]
“And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Romans 4:5). The story of the repentant thief who was crucified alongside of our Lord provides one of the most stunning pictures of sovereign grace, human inability, regeneration, and justification by faith alone in the […]
Evangelical Christians today boldly profess that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law (Rom 3:28). Yet many believe that in order to keep our right standing before God, to remain “saved”, we must continue in faithful obedience as if it is our own law-keeping and good works that merits righteousness before God! However, Paul is adamant […]
In Zechariah 12:10-13:1, God declares: “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over […]
The northern kingdom of Israel experienced the judgment of God for their idolatry and was destroyed. Jeremiah now prophecies to the southern kingdom of Judah, proclaiming that God’s judgment would likewise fall upon them for their similar sin of idolatry, their failure to worship God as he deserved, and rejection of his laws. But what has […]
