Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

This sermon was preached on Sunday, 25/9/2011 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15) Paul continues with his picture of the Christian soldier. Having described first the necessity of understanding truth and applying it personally, and secondly the necessity of imputed and imparted righteousness, for Christian living, he them mentions a third detail, which he explains under the figure of shoes. This third detail is the readiness or preparation of the gospel of peace. When we think of shoes, what ideas come to mind? They enable us to keep our balance, they provide protection as we move, and they enable us to move more quickly. The Roman soldier’s sandal met these requirements. On the sole of the sandal there were studs, which helped him to keep his balance; these studs also gave protection from enemy traps (which were spikes of wood or metal hidden just below the surface of the ground); and they helped him march q...

This sermon was preached on Sunday, 25 September, 2011 One of the sad aspects of modern life is the frequent disdain that people show for one another. We observe it, for example, in the world of politics, in the way politicians can dismiss the opinions of others, in the verbal abuse or taunts they can throw against one another. If that is the case at the top of the ladder, we sadly find it on all the other rungs as well. And we have to confess with embarrassment that verbal contempt can also be expressed in the church. How different it was with Paul when he thought about his fellow Christians in Thessalonica. Take his phrase, ‘brethren beloved by the Lord.’ In that phrase we can see how Paul regarded the Thessalonians as fellow-members of God’s family (the doctrine of adoption meant a great deal to Paul). He also saw them in how they were related to Jesus Christ – Jesus is the ‘Lord’ that is mentioned in verse 13. They were beloved by him, and I suspect that when they heard this de...

This sermon was preached on 4/8/2011 It is common for people to want to be free from all kinds of chains. In a sense, history can be summarised as repeated attempts for freedom from oppression, whether it be oppression connected to economic deprivation or social manipulation or national enslavement. To such people, Peter’s instruction in verse 16 will sound odd: ‘Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.’ Christian freedom Peter’s description of Christians is that they are free, which leads us to ask, ‘From what are they free?’ We need to ask this question because its answer will enable us to use our freedom correctly. They are free from several causes of slavery. First, Christians have been set free from the penalty of sin. Every person is a sinner, and each of their sins has consequences. There is a day coming when every person who has not trusted in Jesus will stand at God’s judgement seat and receive the penalty th...

This sermon was preached on 4/8/2011 Paul describes the contents of the gospel in different ways throughout his letters, a reminder that it is such a large reality that in order to express it fully one would need numerous pages. The bigness of the gospel is also seen in what accompanies it, and Paul in our verses mentions two such matters. We can consider each one briefly in order to remind ourselves of important aspects of the gospel. The first detail to observe is that the declaration of the gospel initially required special representatives and they are described in verse 1: Paul is the servant of Jesus in a particular way in that he was ‘called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.’ An illustration may help us understand this detail. When a president wants to send a message to another country he will arrange for suitable ambassadors to pass on his message. These ambassadors will have been well-trained, yet their importance is not in their abilities but...