Psalm 119:92 – Delight
Delight in God’s word is not a work to gain God’s favor, but a way of life that makes it possible to face life’s difficulties.
Psalm 19 for Sunday School
I’m teaching Sunday School this coming week, and the class uses the Daily Bible Study from Cokesbury. The first scripture for the week is Pslam 19:1-6. The lesson focuses on creation, so it’s not surprising that only the first six verses are used. Some scholars believe that Psalm 19 is two separate compositions. These first…
Grace and the Book of Hebrews
In my experience, Hebrews has provided a wealth of texts for sermons that call for works and human effort. Pride of place, perhaps, should be held by the Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection, for which one of the central texts is Hebrews 6:1. No matter how many times Wesley affirmed Christian perfection as a gift…
On Faith Preceding Works
Some time ago I wrote an essay titled A Fruitful Faith, in which I maintained that there is a pattern of grace before law that is consistent throughout scripture, both Old Testament and New. One can also express this idea as call before response, or, as I’ve been thinking today especially, faith before works. Frequently faith…
St. John Chrysostom on Hebrews 4:11-13
I think a few modern evangelicals might regard this as heretical, being contrary to the pure penal substitutionary atonement or forensic justification. But he sure does seem to have a finger on precisely what Hebrews has to say. [1.] Faith is indeed great and bringeth salvation, and without it, it is not possible ever to…