Theological Treatises

  Is There Anything  Else  you Would  Rather  Do? The  best  gauge of one's self, is  desire  or  love .  The "heart" of all true religion  is  the  heart,  and  what  it (the heart) most-earnestly wants (or desires).  All of this will be governed by  love --which is the principal "director" of the heart.   So, the question I would like to pose today, is,  "Is there anything we would rather do, than be in the presence of The Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--via the mediation of the God/Man Jesus Christ?"   If the honest answer to this query is, "No"--then this is very good.  If the honest answer, is, "Yes," then we need to talk about that.   There are  two  basic dimensions of being "in the presence of God"; and they are  both  not only absolutely necessary--they are also the clear gospel directives of God Himself. ...

  "Pride Night" Situation The news, of late, has included the fact that some of the San Francisco Giants pitchers have chosen to write Bible verses (from Genesis 9) on their ballcaps, next to the "pride" colors of the "SF" symbol (on those caps).  Major League Baseball had issued a warning to the players; and a number of people are chiming-in on the subject, with some of them being willing to pay any fines that the players would incur (if they continued to write verses [or anything else] on their caps).   The whole "pride" thing is why I (personally) have lost so much interest in almost all professional sports (and teams).  As well, the NCAA has followed suit--so there is no real "safe haven" for fans like me.  So be it.   But the "pride night" abomination is really a problem for anyone--especially the players--in whom the Holy Spirit dwells.  A maturing and understanding (regenerated) Christian would rather die, than wear any...

  The Wonderful Christology of Thomas Goodwin Thomas Goodwin (1600-1680 AD), was another of the truly great Puritan pastor/scholars of the 17th Century AD.  He was a brilliant exegete and theologian-- but he was also an incredibly tender undershepherd  of Jesus, the Chief Shepherd of our souls (1 Pet. 5:4).   Goodwin's writing style, for me at least, is not the easiest to navigate; but once you can get used to his rhythm and flow he becomes more comprehendible.  (Not every Puritan writer is a Thomas Watson[!])  Goodwin's content is  so  savory, that it will be  worth  your while to take him  on  (at any cost).   In my limited (so far) reading of Goodwin, I have been  most  impressed by his  Christology  (doctrine of Christ).  In my opinion, Christology is not only super-important, it is also the key "link" between understanding life in this world as a regenerated churched Chris...

  Should  The  New  Testament Be Interpreted Through a  Prioritized  Study of The  Old  Testament? The  short  answer I am going to give to the query (above), is, "No."  It is  good  to study the Old Testament; but the Old Testament itself is  now  to be always interpreted in light of the New Testament.  It is actually perverse, to (now) seek to understand the New Testament through the  exclusive  "lens" of the Old Testament. . . . To do so, is analogous to trying to see a far away distant object, by looking into the  large  end of a telescope, (instead of looking through the  smaller  end).   . . . It would be  one  thing, if we did not  have  (or possess) the New Testament.  In  that  case, the study of the Old Testament, to gain insight into what God had promised, etc., would not only be a  good  idea, it would ...

  " . . . I Do Not Wish Them To Be Brave In The Devil's Service" Though it is probably not  absolutely  historically-verifiable, the story has come down through the years, that Lt. Gen. Thomas J. ("Stonewall") Jackson (CSA), told one of his staff officers that his (Jackson's) troops should, with regard to the Union soldiers, [quote],  "Kill them all. I do not wish them to be brave in the devil's service."   The staff officer had noted the courage of the northern warriors; and Gen. Jackson was concerned that their example of valor would have a savory effect on the other men in blue.  (This incident allegedly occurred during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862.)  It is no wonder that someone who could not understand Gen. Jackson's Christian faith, would call him a "blue-eyed killer," and a "religious fanatic"--as Ken Burns described him (in his Civil War series).   But Gen. Jackson's  command --assuming the truth...

  What To  Always  Do When you Just Do Not Know What  Else  To Do So, this paper is written for Christians who love God in Jesus Christ; and who are  continually  asking,  "What can I do to forward the gospel of Jesus--so that others will hear of Him, and have life in Him?"   More-specifically, this encouragement is for  regenerated  Christians who are  already  members in good standing in faithful Christ-loving, gospel-preaching, Spirit-filled churches.   When all  else  fails, and we have nowhere  else  to turn, in terms of how we may more fully broadcast the good news of Christ--let us  always  do this  one  thing: let us be good and faithful members of the churches (we spoke of above).   . . . And  the  single most important activity we participate in as church members is to worship the Triune God through our faith in Jesus Christ, as we are the gathere...

  Be Satan's Worst Nightmare One of the privileges of the true (regenerate) saints of the church, is that we get to frustrate the devil's designs against us--and hence, make his existence even  more  miserable than it already is (because of his rebellion against God). A principal way we do this, is by sincerely giving our Heavenly Father thanks for *everything* that happens to us, through Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, (cf. 1 Thess. 5:18).  When we do this via sovereign gospel grace, it is  extremely  frustrating for Lucifer--because even his  worst  deeds foisted against us cannot wrench us from our love for God through our Blessed Redeemer. Another way we become the old snake's headache, is through sincerely loving our enemies--even when they, at Satan's bidding--come to murder us or torture us or persecute us (in any way). We recognize  who  is behind this undeserved ill-treatment; and we recall that  we  ...

  The Visible Church As a "Corpus Per Mixtum" "Corpus per mixtum,"  is Latin, and it means,  "mixed body."   The term was popularized by the great Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (354-430 AD).  In this paper, I will be largely depending on two amazing geniuses: the aforementioned Augustine and Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758 AD).  The point of my abbreviated thesis is this: the  visible  church, i.e. that body of those baptized in the Trinitarian formula in credally-faithful Christian communions, constitute  all  kinds of people--from a "spiritual" point of view.  I do wish to make  this  one preliminary comment, however, and it is this: in fact, ultimately (and most-importantly) there are only  two  categories of persons in the visible church, (or in the world, for that matter); and they are: the  regenerate  in Christ, and all the rest (who are all  not  regenerate).   Both A...

  Bearing Reproach With Jesus Here is what we read, in Hebrews 13:13:  "Therefore let us go to him [Jesus] outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured,"  (ESV).  We are to do this because our Savior  "suffered outside the gate,"  (v. 12a).  Our  "altar,"  (v. 10a), is not in  any  city in this world.  Instead, it is in the  "city that is to come,"  (v. 14b), from heaven. . . .   Because  of all this, the true saints of the faithful church are viewed with scorn and derision by all who seek to find their "altar," their "atonement," their "righteousness" in the people, institutions, works, and performances of this world.  The people of the world  do  not and  cannot  understand us.  They view us with suspicion and disdain--as those who are "too good" for them, too weird in our outlook, and too "anti-social" in our behavior.   But nonetheless--despite ...

  "Does This Glorify The Lord Jesus Christ, Or Not?" The question (above, in the Title), is the  only  query that matters in life.  No other ultimate question has any relevance or importance.   All  that  matters  is, "Will what I do/think/believe/act on/cogitate  glorify  the Lord  Jesus  Christ, or will it not?"   The reason we say,  "The Lord Jesus Christ,"  is because  to  simply say,  "God,"  is  not  good enough.  There are too many  false  conceptions of "God," to make this word useful (in  this  respect and regard). . . . If the question was, "Will this action/etc. glorify  me  or someone  else  or  something  else or some  false  god?"--then, obviously, this is the  wrong  question to ask.  Still, it is better to *face* the fact of actually  making  this inquiry-- th...

  The Devil Thinks That We Are Idiots* Have you ever considered Satan's opinion of us fallen sinners--especially with regard to our foolhardy rejection of the love and glory of God in Jesus Christ?  Remember: the devil himself has good experience of this.  There was a time (before  his  Fall), that he enjoyed and relished the presence, glory, and (even) love of God.  But then he Fell (cf. Lk. 10:18).  Richard Sibbes once well-said that no one suffers more from the Fall from grace than those who once knew and enjoyed it with unalloyed glory.  Such  was  the case with Adam and Eve; and such  is  the case also with Satan.  But, whereas Adam and Eve were elect unto restored glory in Jesus--there was no probation (at all) offered to Lucifer and his fellow reprobate angels (who have now become demons).   If any of you remember the "Lord of The Rings" trilogy--you might recall that Tolkien's Sa...

  How Reliable Is  Man's  Wisdom?/How About  God's? Paul's words of 1 Corinthians 1:21 form the basis of this treatise.  Here they are:  "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe,"  (ESV).  My thesis is this: With regard to life's most  important  question--the  knowledge  of God, or  justification  before Him--God  assures  that man's wisdom will  fail;  and that  His  [God's] wisdom will  succeed  only through the  preaching  of the  Crucified  Christ.   What  is  the basic core essence of  man's  wisdom with regard to the knowledge of God, or justification before Him?  Does it not always devolve down to fallen humans' works, performances, deeds, activities; and their (vain) speculations about the being...