Reformed Blogging

John 4 portrays the scene of the Lord Jesus and the Samaritan woman. The one thing that the Samaritans are known for is that the Jews despised them due to the intermarriage with Gentile people, hence they were no longer pure Jews. Another thing worth noting is that Samaria became the capital of the Northern Kingdom. A study of 1 Kings and 2 Kings will tell you that the kingdom was full of ungodly kings. Jehu was anointed to judge the Dynasty of Omri or the House of Ahab but he was not a godly man. The worst of the kings is Ahab. Ahab reigned as king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in Samaria . Much corruption had happened especially when Jezebel brought her own version of Baal worship for Phoenicia. We can tell it was a marriage matched in Hell. Eventually, Ahab and Jezebel along with their wicked clan were sent to Hell. Their idolatry and rejection of the one true God led to their wicked lifestyles. We can see the grace of God at work even with the Samaritans. Jesus was now having a...

Matthew 9:9-13 tells us of the story of Matthew (also called Levi) in his calling to be one of the twelve. Just remember that Judas Iscariot was only chosen to fulfill prophecy but not chosen for salvation. I was thinking about the command that Jesus gave to Matthew in Matthew 9:9 that says the following: And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom (tax booth, emphasis mine): and He saith unto him, "Follow Me." And he arose, and followed Him. (KJV) The calling of Matthew would be a grand example of two doctrines of grace shown. The first doctrine is unconditional election. The other is irresistible grace. Matthew was so deeply stained in the sin as a tax collector that it looks impossible for him to be chosen. The tax collectors were reputed to be cheaters. The Jews regarded them as the lowest of sinners. I doubt Matthew had an honest profession nor was he honest. Yet, Jesus chose him for salvation. Matthew was simply t...

It's really a problem when one talks about the major prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel while forgetting minor ones like Zephaniah at times. However, every prophet, major and minor, all do their share in the furtherance and the expansion of the Kingdom of God. Every prophet of God is a spokesperson and should be treated with the utmost respect in the study of the Word of God. The setting of Zephaniah is a prophet from the line of David since his lineage goes all the way back to Hezekiah, another descendant of David. Zephaniah's father is Cushi, his grandfather is Gedaliah, who is a son of Amariah, who is a son of Hezekiah. Hezekiah would be the great-great-grandfather of Zephaniah and the great-grandfather of Josiah. Having a prophet from the royal lineage would make him a type of Christ. This was during the days of Josiah to which (and sadly), Josiah's sons were wicked, and his grandson Jehoiachin was also wicked and was shipped off to Babylon. However,...

As Easter Sunday is celebrated today, it's very easy for Christians to think of the message of hymns such as "He Lives" or "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today". The message of Easter is summarized as "The Lord is risen!" Yet, the resurrection is still argued against by those skeptical against it. Christians must allow the unbelievers to face it with scrutiny so they can provide evidence. Many try to refute the resurrection by making up various theories that don't make any sense at all. These theories not only reject Jesus as God but also the fact that He really died on the cross. If there was no death then there's no resurrection. The quest is not just to refute Jesus' death but also His resurrection. If they can't disprove His death then why not try to disprove His resurrection. It doesn't happen only on Easter Sunday but the whole year round. Then again, the resurrection of Jesus is a message meant to be preached all-year-round as muc...

Jesus' death on the cross also brings the topic of two thieves. Luke 23:39-43 records what Matthew didn't - Matthew only recorded the two thieves railed against Jesus (Matthew 27:44). However, Luke records the wonderful conversion of the thief on the cross: 39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. 42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise. You can think of the situation of the two thieves. One thief died and went to Hell. The other thief died and was taken to Paradise and then to Heaven. Paradise was a part of Hades (Hell) which was for the redeemed and the other p...

Good Friday can invoke the mind of the Passion of the Christ. No, I'm not talking about the Mel Gibson movie "The Passion of the Christ" but the very sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Our Lord Jesus became that final sin sacrifice. I want to do some reflection on why I believe the cross of Christ is really that hard to believe as a message of truth.  John F. MacArthur's book "Hard to Believe: The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus" writes on pages 26-27 which is is "Chapter 2: The Hard Truth" under the subheading "The Shame of the Cross" the following truths that made preaching the Gospel very hard : The Greeks wanted wisdom and the Jews wanted a sign. God gave them exactly the opposite. The Jews received a skandalon, a crucified Messiah - scandalous, blasphemous, bizarre, offensive, unbelievable. And for the Greeks were looking for esoteric knowledge, something high and noble and lofty, all this nonsense about the eternal Cre...

Maundy Thursday would bring thoughts about Judas Iscariot's betrayal and the institution of the Lord's supper as an important sacrament for the Church. It can be argued that Judas Iscariot is an example of for or against monergism. Some can say that for monergism to be true the Judas Iscariot has to be one of the elect. John 6:70 says, "Have I not chose you twelve and one of you is a devil?" Then I decided to retake a section of the late Robert Charles Sproul Sr.'s book "Now That's a Good Question" for reference. Sproul says the following on the matter of Judas Iscariot as found on pages 106-106: But the Scripture seems to take a dim view of the future condition of Judas, who, as far as we know, dies without being restored to fellowship with Christ. I think what Jesus is saying there is that He has chosen thsoe twelve to be His disciples. He goes on to say that He knew all along that one of them was the son of perdition. Jesus reveals that He knew ve...

The footnote that I've decided to write about in the KJV Study Bible today is found in Jeremiah 31:31. It's called the doctrine of the New Covenant. The doctrine of the New Covenant is defined as follows by the KJV Study Bible: New Covenant: In this prophecy Jeremiah foresees the new covenant ("testament") that God will make with mankind by extending His grace to the Gentiles. Under this new covenant, God will call out a people for Himself from all the nations of the Earth to form the bride of Christ (Revelation 21:1-9). This new and unconditional covenant is better than the old covenant because it rests on the efficacy of Christ's atonement for the sins of mankind (Heb. 8:10-12). (First Reference: Jer. 31:31; Primary Reference, Luke 22:12-20, cf. Eph. 1:10) As document of prophetic promise, like the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants, the new convenant is unconditional. In form, it corresponds to the Royal Grant Treaties of the ancient Near East. As subject to compa...

I usually don't feel the need to argue too much about Calvinism and non-Calvinism. I did respect some Calvinist churchgoers while I maintained a non-Calvinist view. David W. Cloud of Way of Life Literature still embraces Calvinists who show signs of true conversion. I usually felt Cloud's view was the view I tend to embrace the most. Paul David Washer of Heartcry Missionary doesn't even make it an issue even if he's a Calvinist. John F. MacArthur's book "The Gospel According to Jesus" still quotes fron non-Calvinist writers such as Harry A. Ironside and Aiden W. Tozer. Jeremiah 1:5 can become a topic for an argument if it supports Calvinism or not. The verse is usually said by non-Calvinists that it isn't evidenced that Jeremiah was saved from birth. Rather, it was that Jeremiah was destined for that office. Again, it's a serious mistake to believe that Calvinism believes that those who are considered elect are saved from birth. Instead, Calvinism ...

Reading through Isaiah 40 has a doctrinal footnote from the "King James Study Bible" called "Freedom of God". The doctrine is stated as follows: Freedom of God: God is the only Being in the universe that possesses independence from the Creation. The only limits to God's freedom are in His own nature and attributes. He is unlimited in His existence. Because His existence relates to His nature rather than His will, God will exist forever. He who exists by reason His nature than His volition must have existed-and must continue to exist-forever.  Illustration: When God revealed His name to Moses at the burning bush, He called Himself "I AM" (Ex. 3:13-15). This name emphasizes God's self-existence, the fact that He always existed and always will.  Application: Neither anyone nor any outside force will affect God's relationship to us. He will deal with us according to His nature because He is free from outside influence. (First Reference: Genesis 6:1...

One of the reasons why Calvinism can get sniped by other truly born-again Christians is the issue of double predestination.  I could hear someone say, "I can agree with John F. MacArthur and Paul David Washer on many areas but Calvinism isn't one of them! They did quote from Vernon McGee, Harry A. Ironside, and Aiden W. Tozer and they weren't Calvinists." I could agree with that. David W. Cloud has embraced many Calvinist Christians while he still feels the need to snipe at Calvinism. I still read Cloud's website "Way of Life Literature" every now and then as well as other non-Calvinist sources.  W. Robert Godfrey this about " Does God predestine people to Hell? ": This is really a question about what we call “double” predestination. It is a serious question and, therefore, should not be answered in any sort of joking way.   The easy side of talking about predestination is to talk about the way in which God has elected some sinners to life. God...

Calvinism or Reformed Theology is a very difficult subject for this reason - the question of free will. How does free will fit into it? If God is sovereign then what about free will? It's a really difficult question to ask when some empathetically reject Calvinism because of the question of free will. But what is free will? It really is something that I want to try and study the issue of free will. Yes, I believe in free will and I don't think there's any real contradiction with believing in Calvinism's view of the sovereignty of God. If people aren't saved by their own free will then what gives? Does that mean that God drags people into Heaven or Hell against their will? That's not what unconditional election and irresistible grace are all about. Instead, we need to understand that irresistible grace is all about God making whoever is unwilling to be willing. John 6:44 says that no person can come to Jesus except that God the Father draws that same person. Man ...

In the tradition of reading one chapter of Luke a day until December 24th - yesterday would have hit the 19th chapter of Luke. The very chapter opens with the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector. Tax collectors were not well-liked because they had franchises with Rome. Matthew was an apostle called away from the dishonest job of a publican and was called by Jesus. Now, another man who would most accurately display the effectual calling of God is Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a man who wanted to see Jesus so badly. Zacchaeus probably had a huge burden, desiring to be freed of sin but found himself unable to. What would be very interesting to read is Luke 19:5 where Jesus said, "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down, for today I must abide at thy house." I see the divine plan and effectual calling of a dirty tax collector here. It's interesting that Zacchaeus' encounter is recorded by Luke instead of Matthew who was a former publican for the Romans. I believe that Zacchaeus...