The Work of the Enemy - Part Three

By James Boice
THEME: Pervasive Evil
These parables show the subtlety of Satan is evil.
 
SCRIPTURE
Matthew 13:31-33
 

The next two of Christ's parables (vv. 31-33) belong together. Each should help us to understand the other, but of all the parables Christ told, none has produced such diametrically opposed interpretations as these two. What are those diverse interpretations? On the one hand, some teachers see these as parables of the kingdom's expansion and growth, so that in time it actually comes to fill the whole world. An example is William M. Taylor, who has left us an excellent book on the parables. He writes of the story of the mustard seed: A great result from a small beginning, a large growth from a little germ - that is the one thought of the parable, and of that the Lord declares that the kingdom of heaven upon the earth is an instance.

Educated Man

Posted 7/10/14 by Donald Barnhouse

I once ran across a typed statement under the glass top of the desk of a student, which bore the title "Marks of an Educated Man." I copied them in order to dissent from them... Obviously there are some points in the list that are good, but that the list summarizes an educated man is questionable. There probably are many men who could be described by these eight phrases who are, nevertheless, not educated.

I once ran across a typed statement under the glass top of the desk of a student, which bore the title "Marks of an Educated Man." I copied them in order to dissent from them.

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The Work of the Enemy - Part One

By James Boice

THEME: Pervasive Evil

These parables show the subtlety of Satan is evil.

SCRIPTURE 

Matthew 13:24-33

Nothing good has ever come into the world without opposition, and that is especially true in spiritual matters. Here we face not only the hostility and opposition of mere people like ourselves, but satanic or demonic opposition as well. That is why the Bible wants us to be on our guard against the devil who, we are told, "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). The Scripture alerts us to the devil’s "schemes." He must not be able to "outwit us" (2 Cor. 2:11).

Bushel Basket

Posted 7/9/14 by Donald Barnhouse

It is a terrible thing not to live up to one's capacities. When we face the fact of that sentence, we admit immediately that not one of us does live up to his or her capacities. We bury our talents in the field, we hide our light under the bushel basket.

It is a terrible thing not to live up to one's capacities. When we face the fact of that sentence, we admit immediately that not one of us does live up to his or her capacities. We bury our talents in the field, we hide our light under the bushel basket.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

It All Leads Straight to the Cross

by Nick Batzig • July 08, 2014

In seminary, a friend of mine would often challenge me on my insistence that whatever portion of Scripture we preach, we ought to get our hearers to the cross. Whether we are preaching glorious cross-centered texts like Galatians 2:20-3:1 or Romans 5:6-11 or whether we are preaching any given part of the Sermon on the Mount, the minster must get his hearers to the cross for pardon and power. On one occasion, my friend responded by suggesting that we don't have to do so because "Jesus didn't do so." He said, "Jesus preached lots of things without mentioning His atoning work on the cross." So how should one respond to such a claim? I would suggest that a biblical-theological approach to reading the Scriptures contains the answer to such a faulty understanding of the message of Scripture.

In seminary, a friend of mine would often challenge me on my insistence that whatever portion of Scripture we preach, we ought to get our hearers to the cross. Whether we are preaching glorious cross-centered texts like Galatians 2:20-3:1 or Romans 5:6-11 or whether we are preaching any given part of the Sermon on the Mount, the minster must get his hearers to the cross for pardon and power.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

Jesus' Teaching on Divorce - Part Five

By James Boice

Matthew 19:1-12
Theme: An unbreakable covenant.
This week’s lessons teach us about the permanence of marriage.
 
Lesson

Where do we come into this picture of marriage and divorce? We can acknowledge the Bible’s high standard and still struggle with how to do what is required. Or we can struggle over what to do when we fail to live up to Jesus’ teaching. Many people are being hurt by situations involving estrangement, divorce, or remarriage. I want to close by saying a few things about the application of these standards.

The Unused Bottle

Posted 7/8/14 by Donald Barnhouse

I have a story that I have told for some years about an empty bottle. Now I have a new twist for it. A man bought a bottle of perfume in Paris at a very good price and brought it home under his customs deduction. It was very expensive perfume in a very beautiful bottle. His wife was proud of it, and used the perfume until it was all gone. Even then she kept the bottle on her boudoir table so that her friends, in coming into her room, would say, "Oh, that was such-and-such perfume."

I have a story that I have told for some years about an empty bottle. Now I have a new twist for it. A man bought a bottle of perfume in Paris at a very good price and brought it home under his customs deduction. It was very expensive perfume in a very beautiful bottle. His wife was proud of it, and used the perfume until it was all gone.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

The Gospel of John: A Video Series with Study Guides

Submitted by awestrate on Mon, 07/07/2014 - 2:09pm

The Gospel of John, says James Boice, is "a powerful source of instruction and comfort to many millions of God's people through the ages of church history." This video series on one of the Bible's most popular books combines careful scholarship and clear communication. Integrating thoughtful interpretation with contemporary insight for daily living, Dr. Boice explains the meaning of the text and relates the text's concerns to the church, Christianity, and the world in which we live.

$30.00

Jesus' Teaching on Divorce - Part Four

By James Boice

Matthew 19:1-12
Theme: An unbreakable covenant.
This week’s lessons teach us about the permanence of marriage.
 
Lesson

There is one other interesting point to be considered. Mark also has a discussion of this issue (in Mark 10:1-12), but the exception clause that has been the cause of so much controversy does not appear in Mark. Matthew is the only Gospel that has it. Why is that? Some liberal commentators (and even some conservative ones) argue that Mark’s version of this saying is the original one and that Matthew added the exception because of divorce problems in the church of his day. That is hardly satisfactory.

Meditation

Posted 7/7/14 by Donald Barnhouse

There is a difference between prayer and meditation. In prayer we are talking to the Lord; in meditation we are thinking about Him. A story is often told of the famed Dr. Thomas Chalmers of Edinburgh. The great preacher was walking down Princess Street with his head bowed deep in thought when a friend, watching him, finally walked beside him and touched his sleeve. Chalmers looked up, still deep in thought, and said, "That's a glorious verse - `My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.' He had been deep in meditation.

There is a difference between prayer and meditation. In prayer we are talking to the Lord; in meditation we are thinking about Him. A story is often told of the famed Dr. Thomas Chalmers of Edinburgh. The great preacher was walking down Princess Street with his head bowed deep in thought when a friend, watching him, finally walked beside him and touched his sleeve.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is member supported and operates only by your faithful support. Thank you.

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