Hebrews 4:1-13

Now lest I be misunderstood and so succeed only in confusing things still further, let me assure my readers that I am and have always been a staunch advocate of theology, and regularly teach doctrine systematically in pursuance of my pastoral calling. I joyfully recognize that there is an outline of divine truth fitted to the human mind and intended by its Author to be received by it. I think no one can become a strong Christian who is not a theologian of some sort, but it is altogether...

For Reading and Meditation:     Lamentations 3:19-27

Now we come to the turning point of the seventy-third psalm - the point where the psalmist takes the first step toward the resolution of his problem. We must not forget that the purpose of this psalm is to show us how the writer solved his problem, so that when we get into the same kind of difficulty we can apply...

For Reading and Meditation:     Psalm 145:1-20

We ended yesterday by saying that the fact God knows everything ought to strengthen our faith and cause us to bow in adoration before Him. Yet how little do we reflect on this divine perfection. Those who are inclined to rebel against God hate this aspect of His Being and would do away with it if they could. They wish...

For Reading and Meditation:     Hebrews 4:1-16

We turn now to consider that facet of God's character which we describe as "grace." Grace is more than a synonym for love; it is a characteristic of the Deity which is quite close to love (and mercy) but yet deserves to be seen as different and distinctive. I heard an old Welsh preacher say: "Grace is a word with a...

For Reading and Meditation:     Psalm 139:1-24

We continue exploring the fact that God is not only powerful, but personal. The constituent parts of personality are predicated of God on almost every page of the Bible. "I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind," said the Lord to Eli in

For Reading and Meditation:     Hebrews 4:12-16

Yesterday we ended with the case of the woman who said that she didn't know how to mourn, when in reality her problem was she didn't want to mourn. Whenever we are unwilling to face a negative emotion, it implies that we are not in control of it, but that it is in control of us. Christians are often taught to pretend...

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." Hebrews 4:9

God has provided a Sabbath, and some must enter into it. Those to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief; therefore, that Sabbath remains for the people of God. David sang of it; but he had to touch the minor key, for Israel refused the rest of God. Joshua could not give it, nor Canaan yield it: it remains for believers.

Come, then,...

How different will be the state of the believer in heaven from what it is here! Here he is born to toil and suffer weariness, but in the land of the immortal, fatigue is never known. Anxious to serve his Master, he finds his strength unequal to his zeal: his constant cry is, "Help me to serve thee, O my God." If he be thoroughly active, he will have much labour; not too much for his will, but more than enough for his power, so that he will cry out, "I am not wearied of the labour, but I am...

When the Bible speaks of man in his tripartite being, the order is always spirit, soul and body. When men use these terms together, the order almost invariably is body, soul and spirit. Sin has turned God's order upside down. Now man puts the body first, then the soul, and the spirit last of all.

The two non-material parts of man's being are his spirit and his soul. The spirit enables him to have fellowship with God. The soul has to do with his emotions and passions. Although it is not...

A Christian university student was witnessing to another student who was from a liberal seminary. When the believer quoted a verse, the seminarian said, "I don't believe the Bible." The Christian quoted another verse, only to be met with "I told you I don't believe the Bible." The third time the Christian quoted a verse the seminarian became agitated and exploded, "Don't quote the Bible to me. I've already told you I don't believe it." By then the believer felt completely frustrated and...