Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

Many Bible verses and passages speak about the faithfulness of God and it is important for our souls that we reflect on what they say. Each of those references will focus on different aspects of his faithfulness to individuals or to communal groups, whether in times of prosperity or otherwise.   The name of God As we know, several names are used of God in the Old Testament. Each of the names highlight different features of the Lord. The name used by David in this verse is Yahweh or Jehovah. It stresses his self-existence. He informed the Israelites that they could use it because he was in a sovereign covenant relationship with them. We can assume that David would be precise whenever he used the Lord’s name, so we can also assume that is why he mentions it here as he highlights God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. David would have understood God’s love and faithfulness through the covenants and promises that God had made. So he would have been aware of God’s promise to send a ...

After being released from his imprisonment in Rome, Paul resumed his itinerant ministry. During the time he was free, he wrote two letters that are included in the New Testament — 1 Timothy and Titus. Both these letters indicate that Paul was preparing for his departure from the world. They reveal some of the places he visited, and they allow some to suggest that he engaged in what can be called a fourth missionary journey.  For some reason he was re-arrested and brought to Rome, during a period of increasing opposition to the Christian faith associated with the emperor Nero. After the initial stage of the trial, while waiting for the verdict, he wrote 2 Timothy. In it, he reveals that during the first stage, no one in Rome stood by him (4:16). Perhaps the heat of potential persecution made them afraid or maybe many of them had already been martyred. Nevertheless, he tells Timothy of his outlook as he anticipates his own martyrdom. Drink-offering A drink offering was a sacrifice ...

Paul describes his readers as being full of goodness. Obviously, he regards them as very different from those he describes earlier in his letter and says that none of them did good. So how could there be such a difference between people? We can also observe that not only is he saying that there is a difference, he is also saying that there is a great difference between them. This must be the case if they are full of goodness. This goodness he indicates is internal. This surely begs two questions: who decides what goodness is and what are the features that qualify something to be regarded as good? The prerequisite What is the big difference between the two types of people just mentioned, those that are described as not doing good and that those described as full of goodness. The difference is that the second group are converted whereas the first group are not, even although they were religious. As we think about this difference, we can see that it is stark. Whatever else can be said,...

Paul had an ambition to get to Rome with the gospel. He had intimated this desire in his letter to the Romans when he informed them of his plans some years before. He intended to go to Jerusalem, attend to some things, then make his way to Rome, and from there go further west as far as Spain.  Those plans were tentative and did not turn out as he had hoped. Instead of arriving in Rome as a preacher on a mission, he reached there as a prisoner facing trial after having been arrested in Jerusalem. He had been forced to appeal to Caesar, a right that he possessed because he had the status of a Roman citizen from birth. Paul back then had not expected to be on trial when he would come to Rome, but changes in his circumstances meant that he been taken there under guard. A centurion had sailed with him for several months, as described in the Book of Acts. Paul arrives in Rome (Acts 28:11-31) To begin with, Paul’s experience in Rome was fine. A group of believers in Rome came to meet...

Jesus was once addressed as ‘good Master’ by a rich young ruler. The response of Jesus might surprise us. He said to the ruler, ‘Why do you call me good. There is none good but God.’ When we think about that response, we can see that Jesus did not want the man to speak in an unthoughtful way. We can also see from his words that it is correct to think of God’s goodness. Goodness, we might say, refers to both character and action. It describes who a person is and what a person does. When used of God, it must be seen through the fact that he is perfect. God is not only the best out of a range of levels of goodness. He is infinitely good, the highest good, continuously good, uniquely good. His goodness expresses his wisdom as well as his love, his intentions as well as his actions. God is good in himself, although it is very difficult for us to grasp this reality. But we can safely assume several features of his goodness. One is that each person of the Trinity will be involved because t...

It is obvious that there are very many kind people in the world. Probably everyone shows kindness at some stage in their lives, whether to those they know or to strangers. Such kindness is an expression of God’s common grace or general grace that is given to make life in this world pleasant, and it can be shown in many different ways. Luke mentions in the Book of Acts how the people of Malta showed a lot of kindness to the crew and passengers of the boat that was taking Paul to Rome was shipwrecked.  But that expression of kindness is not what the Bible means by kindness in the Christian life. After all, a kind person in the general sense may not believe that Jesus is the Saviour. God still enables that person to be kind, but it is not the product of saving grace. It is kindness in another sense that is described in the Bible, kindness that is the product of the work of the Holy Spirit. Of course, Christians will show the kindness connected to common grace as well as the expression...