Latest Articles on Guard the Deposit
Atonement Inaugurates Jubilee
I was reading a Charles Spurgeon sermon this morning, and I learned something that I hadn't previously realized: the Day of Jubilee took place on the same day as the Day of Atonement: [29] “And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the...
The Goodness of God and the Bones of Jesus
Psalm 34 extols the goodness of God. David gives testimony to a time in which YHWH delivered him out of his afflictions--in particular, he is referring to the time when he changed his behavior before the Philistines so that he appeared to be mad, and they did not kill...
Psalm 114:7-8: The Repentance Demanded by Jesus Christ
Psalm 114 closes with a roaring finale: [7] Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, [8] who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water. (Psalm 114:7-8) What you might not have noticed up to this...
Psalm 114:3-6: Creation’s Response to the Salvation of Jesus Christ
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, making Judah his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion (and when he ultimately made Jesus his sanctuary and his dominion), we read that creation was incapable of remaining silent: [3] The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back....
Psalm 114:1-2: Jesus Christ, the Sanctuary and Dominion of God
Psalm 114 bursts with anticipation for the glorious salvation that would be accomplished by Jesus Christ. Psalm 114, however, is not what we would typically consider a "Messianic Psalm"--that is, a psalm that refers explicitly to some aspect of the life of Jesus, such...
3 John 1:9-12: Do Not Imitate Evil, but Imitate Good
Although John opens his Third Letter with praise for Gaius, the Apostle also has serious business to deal with. He writes: [9] I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. [10] So if I...
3 John 1:5-8: Missions For the Sake of the Name
In 3 John 1:5-8, John gets more specific about the way in which Gaius and his children have been : [5] Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, [6] who...
3 John 1:1-4: No Greater Joy
In 3 John, "The Elder" John writes another letter of roughly the same size as 2 John, both of which could have been written on a single sheet of papyrus. Although many read 2 John as a related, but independent letter, I really like Lenski's take on the relationship of...
2 John: In Jesus, Truth Wins Too
Yesterday, we looked at , according to John's Second Letter. Ultimate Love and Ultimate Truth is a person whom we call Jesus. Though he is God, he loved his people so much that he...
2 John: Loving One Another in Truth
At first glance, 2 John might seem to be warmed-over leftovers from 1 John, but appearances are very deceiving in this case. In John's First Letter, he had addressed three major themes: Regeneration, Truth, and Love. John's Second Letter is vital to the health of...
Jesus Christ, Stumbling Block to the Jew
So central was this emphasis on the Messiahship of Jesus that within a few years 'Christ' (the Greek for Messiah) had ceased to designate Jesus's function and had come to be a sort of surname. Now all this was peculiarly offensive to the Jew. It was not easy to think...
Little children, keep yourselves from idols
Post Series on 1 John 5:18-20: Jesus is...