Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

As we look at the armour described here by the apostle Paul, I would mention a couple of caveats. First, we should be careful about applying to this passage other biblical references to pieces of armour. There are numerous references to such, but they are not always applied in the same way. For example, if you look up how the illustration of the breastplate is used, you will discover a variety of applications. Instead of combining them, each one must first be understood in its context rather than being applied in a general sense. Second, it is often suggested that the source of Paul’s idea here is the various descriptions of God or of the Messiah as warriors fighting against their enemies. My concern with that connection is that such descriptions are made of a perfect, sinless warrior whereas the description given by Paul here is of sinners engaging in spiritual warfare. The righteousness of a sinless person is very different from the righteousness of a sinful person. I suspect th...

This saying of Jesus is recorded by Matthew and Mark. The Saviour said it near the close of the three hours of darkness which had begun at the sixth hour or at noon. Unlike the previous three sayings which concerned particular humans (the soldiers, the penitent criminal, his mother Mary), this fourth saying was spoken about what was happening between him and his Father in heaven (the remaining three also were not spoken to humans).  Although this fourth saying broke the silence that had accompanied the darkness, do his words make our grasp of the time darker or do they shed light, incredible light, on what had happened during those three hours? The darkness that came at noon speaks of something unusual taking place, but without an appropriate voice giving accurate information how would anyone be able to explain what was happening during that three hours? Clearly, the fourth saying describes a very intense experience of the Saviour. So what can we make of its meaning? It...

Psalm 63 was composed by David when he was compelled to live in the wilderness because some were seeking his life (v. 11). This could have been during the time when Saul was usurping the kingdom or it could have been during the later rebellion of his son Absalom. Or it may have been an incident that is not mentioned in the historical accounts of his life. Whatever the time, his experience is a reminder that troubles, even sore troubles, can come to the Lord’s people. His time in the desert was literal, but his desert experience also mirrored the experiences of his heart. No doubt, his body thirsted for water under the hot desert sun. Anyone who has been in the Judean desert will know how trying such an experience is. Yet David had two thirsts – the thirst of his body for water and the thirst of his soul for God. He longed for the companionship of God (v. 1).  We can see the intensity of his desire in his use of the word ‘earnestly’. When we are in earnest about something, we g...

We now come to the final block of teaching about the Christian life that Paul mentions in this letter. In this section, Paul speaks about spiritual warfare and the armour that has been provided for all of God’s people.  We could ask where Paul anticipated the conflict would be fought. Some think that the move to this paragraph from his previous focus is disconnected, but they think that because they don’t believe that there is a connection. Perhaps the connection is very obvious, and that spiritual attack could be anticipated in the domestic sides of life in the main because that was where most Christians would spend their time. Whether they were masters or slaves, husbands or wives, parents or children, they could be affected by the enemy. He would not have looked upon Christian households as tolerable. Rather they could be lights in their locations of spiritual darkness and therefore we can be assured that the leader of the enemy will want to snuff out all locations of spiri...

John was the only apostle who was found at the cross when Jesus was crucified. He mentions the actions of the soldiers as they crucified Jesus, but he does not mention the prayer that Jesus made on their behalf. Nor does he mention the interaction between Jesus and the penitent criminal. Yet he does mention sayings by Jesus that other Gospels do not record and one of those sayings is what Jesus said regarding his mother. Jesus and his mother After his birth and the various events connected to it that were required by the Levitical law the first incident recorded about Jesus and his mother is when his parents inadvertently left him behind in Jerusalem when he was about twelve years of age. His response to them when they found him in the temple indicates an important feature of his childhood, which was that they should have expected him to be involved in thinking about matters to do with the heavenly Father (Luke 2:49). Then he went back with them in Nazareth and was subject to th...

One of the biggest problems we face in the spiritual life is trusting in ourselves. This is the case whether we are converted or unconverted. We may see it easier in an unconverted person because usually he or she is trying to please God by their own religious activities. Yet it can surface in the outlook of Christians. The solemn reality Luke tells us what the background was in verse 9. Jesus told it because he knew the hearts of some of those who were interacting with him. He knew that they were guilty of two wrong attitudes: first, they trusted in themselves that they were righteous; second, they despised others who did not come up to their self-chosen standards.  The obvious lesson from this is that Jesus knows why we do things. He knows whether we would stand with the Pharisee or with the tax collector. There is an obvious sense in which we would say that we are standing with the tax collector because we have all heard sermons in which his response has been commend...