Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

Why did Jesus redeem and cleanse his people? Several answers could be given to that question, such as he loved them eternally, that he was sent by the Father to redeem them, and that he wanted them to be with him forever. Another answer is that he wanted them to live devoted lives for the glory of God, and Paul has this answer in mind when he says to Titus that the Christians in Crete, who had been converted recently, should be zealous for good works. Of course, there are certain qualifications that must be made regarding zeal. It is obvious that merely being zealous by itself could be dangerous. There must be both right motives and right goals in doing whatever we are zealous about. Therefore, we must concentrate on what is right and Paul here says that what we should be zealous about is good works. He does not mean only acts of charity, which is how the term ‘good works’ is often used today. Good works are the opposite of sinful activities.    Definitions of Christian z...

This section of the psalm describes how the psalmist coped with an affliction (v. 50), probably connected to derision received from those he describes as the indolent (v. 51).    How to pray (v. 49)   ‘Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.’   It is good to know how to pray. The Bible shows how to do so in many ways, and we have one such method in verse 49. We can see from the section the value of memory – indeed he asks God to remember a word he gave to the psalmist in the past. This does not mean that God has forgotten what had taken place at that time.   As he brings the matter to God, the psalmist shows us how to approach the Lord. Obviously, we have to do so humbly. Whoever the psalmist was, he is content to see himself as a lowly servant. But he also knows that he is God’s servant who has known divine blessing in the past. Since God does not change, and since his word does not change, the psalmist realises that he can remind Go...

Sometimes we discover a person is much greater than we actually thought when we first saw that individual. The subsequent discovery of his dignity not only changed our estimation of his person, but also enabled us to assess his previous activities in a new light. This can happen in the world of business when a person from a poor background becomes wealthy and uses his wealth for the benefit of others; it can happen in the world of sport when a person with little advantage becomes a champion and reveals the steps he took to become as competent as he did.   There are different ways of considering the greatness of Jesus. We can start with his eternal dignity and work forwards and recognise that who he is gives authenticity and quality to his life on earth. Or we can begin with his second coming and look back and realise that his glory which will be revealed when he returns is connected to what happened when he was crucified, when he redeemed and purified his people. And becoming aware...

Eternal life is a major biblical theme. It has also been an intense human search – the number of religions points to that attempt. Why do people engage in this search? Some may reply and say that one’s upbringing will cause this search. No doubt that will make a contribution. The Bible gives another answer, which is that God has put eternity into the heart of humans (Eccles. 3:11), and because he has done so they will think about it. But thinking about eternity is not the same as having the life everlasting.   Since in the human heart there is this awareness accompanied by an inability to find out what it is all about, we need someone authoritative to tell us what it is. The best person to speak about would be the One who possesses it, and that would be God. Obviously, God could speak about it in many ways, but the primary way by which he chose to speak about it was to become a man. So in Bethlehem, about two thousand years ago, one was born who was both God and man.   Of cour...

Most of the beliefs mentioned in the Apostles Creed would be regard by many as not being connected to the visible world. After all, we cannot see God the Father or Jesus or the Holy Spirit, so affirming any of their activities has to be an expression of faith in their existence and actions. We cannot give to our neighbours any evidence that we have been forgiven apart from telling them what the Bible says about divine pardon. Yet while we cannot give tangible proofs for them, no one can give any definite reasons why they could not occur.     Yet there is one statement that is connected definitely to the visible world, a statement that deals with something tangible, and that is the resurrection of the body. It is connected to our world because everyone knows what happens to a dead body – it disintegrates. Many will say that disintegration means the body eventually disappears, so how can it be resurrected?   This is not the same as disputing the resurrection of Jesus. There...