How can we be sure that we have peace with God and are safe through and from judgement. Ultimately our assurance and security are found in what the New Testament teaches us about being justified with God (Romans 5:1-2). However, there are some important clues in the Old Testament pointing towards this. Read Genesis 9:9-17… Continue reading Signed, sealed, delivered
Tag: covenants
A Christian country and a covenant with God?
I wanted to pick up on a comment made on Twitter by Matthew Mason who is a tutor in Christian ethics at London Seminary and honorary “Theologian at Large” for Evangelicals Now. Matthew wrote, reflecting on the Queen’s Jubilee weekend: This provoked some sharp responses including: And Now, I’m not convinced that it is fair… Continue reading A Christian country and a covenant with God?
Baptism, paedo-baptism and a question of inclusion
I want to come back to the discussion about baptism that has been generated by this quote attributed to Bob Letham. One comment that has come back from paedobaptists following my response to the quote is that Dr Letham’s remarks are about the issue of inclusion and exclusion. The point is that a consequence of… Continue reading Baptism, paedo-baptism and a question of inclusion
Baptism and circumcision -are we misreading the covenants?
I picked up on this article recently which gives an other example of why it’s important that we do our text work right. First of all though I’d like to respond briefly to the point made here: “Our credobaptist brothers and sisters have to demonstrate that the Bible teaches that professing believers, and no one… Continue reading Baptism and circumcision -are we misreading the covenants?
Handover (Deuteronomy 31)
These last few weeks have been slightly peculiar for me. Anyone who has come to the end of an employment position or even voluntary role will be familiar with this. I remain employed at the Chapel until the end of the year and part of the eldership. There are lots of things that are happening… Continue reading Handover (Deuteronomy 31)
Choose Life (Deuteronomy 30)
There’s a young man, he has travelled far from home. He has had a great time but now he has spent up and is bankrupt. A famine hits. He gets a job but it still isn’t paying the bills and so he goes hungry. There’s a sheep out on the hillside. It had been wandering… Continue reading Choose Life (Deuteronomy 30)
Land Ahead (Deuteronomy 29)
The two places where we are likely to see examples of covenants today are in our wedding vows, marriage is described as a solemn covenant and in the exchange of property. Within the exchange are likely to be mini covenants so that many deeds have what are known as restrictive covenants against them meaning that… Continue reading Land Ahead (Deuteronomy 29)
Every Blessing you pour out (Deuteronomy 28: 1-14)
I want to do two things before we delve into the detail of Deuteronomy 28 that will hopefully be helpful. First of all, I want to outline a bit more about what a Biblical Covenant is and where we fit into the picture. A covenant is an agreement between two parties. It usually includes long… Continue reading Every Blessing you pour out (Deuteronomy 28: 1-14)
The Curse
Covenant History blessed in God’s presence, cursed by exile from it To understand the Covenant ceremony, we need to go back to Genesis 1-3. God creates a good world and also plants a beautiful and secure garden for the first humans, Adam and Eve, to live in. Adam is commissioned to tend to the garden… Continue reading The Curse
Invitation to a blessing
(Deuteronomy 27:1-14) The whole book of Deuteronomy is about God’s Covenant with his people, about what it means to live in his presence, enjoying the blessings he has given then, land, protection, provision. It is about how to do this by loving, obeying and worshipping the living God. The first eleven chapters set out an… Continue reading Invitation to a blessing