"In Ecclesiastes 10:16–11:6, Solomon addresses the relationship between wisdom, leadership, diligence, and sloth, showing how personal character shapes not only individual lives but entire households, churches, and nations. His message is direct and searching: sloth, which flows from folly and self-indulgence, destroys kingdoms, while diligence, which flows from wisdom, preserves and builds what God has entrusted to us.

The passage begins with a series of proverbs about kingship. A land is cursed when its leaders are immature, self-indulgent, and more concerned with pleasure than responsibility. It is blessed when rulers exercise restraint, discipline, and diligence for the good of others. Solomon exposes the logic of slothful leadership—“let us feast, drink, and trust that money will solve everything”—and shows how this mindset inevitably leads to decay, collapse, and ruin.

Although most of us are not kings, the application is broad. Any position of authority—parents in the home, elders in the church, leaders in the workplace—carries real consequences for others. Wisdom in leadership is not theoretical; it is displayed in diligent, self-sacrificial care rather than indulgence of self. Solomon ultimately points us to Christ Himself, the true King, whose wisdom and diligence were perfectly expressed in laying down His life for His people and building an everlasting kingdom.

In Ecclesiastes 11:1–6, Solomon expands the theme from leadership to life in general. He exhorts God’s people to diligence in generosity, labor, and obedience, even in the face of uncertainty. Waiting for perfect conditions leads to paralysis. The wise person acts—not because outcomes are guaranteed, but because God is sovereign and good. We sow seed faithfully and trust the Lord to give the increase.

This passage confronts passivity, fear-driven inaction, and self-centered living. Christians are not called to idle waiting, but to active faith—working diligently, giving generously, and serving sacrificially, confident that God governs what we cannot see.

Sloth ruins. Wisdom builds. May God grant us grace to walk in wisdom, imitate our diligent Savior, and faithfully steward what He has placed in our hands."

"What was the purpose of the Mosaic Law—and just as importantly, what was it not given to do? In Galatians 3:15–18, the Apostle Paul answers a crucial question that lies at the heart of the doctrine of justification by faith: Was the law ever meant to overturn God’s promise of salvation in Christ?

In this sermon, we examine Paul’s legal and redemptive-historical argument that once God ratified the covenant of promise with Abraham, it could not be annulled by the law that came 430 years later. The promise of inheritance and worldwide blessing was never grounded in obedience to the law, but in God’s gracious promise—fulfilled in Abraham’s singular seed, Jesus Christ.

We also address Paul’s much-debated grammatical argument concerning the “seed” of Abraham, showing how it is rooted in the Hebrew text itself and climaxes in Genesis 22:18. Far from undermining Moses, Paul demonstrates that the Mosaic Law was always subordinate to—and supportive of—the promise of salvation in Christ.

This passage decisively refutes the idea that the Old Testament taught salvation by works, and it affirms the fundamental unity of Scripture: from beginning to end, the Bible proclaims one gospel—salvation by grace through faith in the promised Messiah.

May God grant us grace to see the glory of this salvation and to cling to Christ alone, in whom all the promises of God find their “Yes” and “Amen.”

#Galatians #JustificationByFaith #LawAndGospel #AbrahamicCovenant #ChristInTheOT #BiblicalTheology #ReformedTheology #SolaFide #PromiseAndLaw #JesusChrist #ExpositoryPreaching"

"In Ecclesiastes 10:1–15, Solomon continues his extended meditation on wisdom by placing it side by side with folly and showing, in concrete and practical ways, that wisdom is far better than folly. Though wisdom is often overlooked and undervalued, folly is destructive, self-harming, and ultimately impossible to hide.

Building on the previous passage, Solomon reminds us that wisdom is not merely intelligence or accumulated knowledge, but knowledge rightly applied to life under the fear of God. A person may be intellectually gifted and yet live foolishly, continually harming himself and others. True wisdom governs every area of life and brings the whole person into submission to God.

Solomon begins with a striking image: just as dead flies ruin a perfumer’s ointment, a little folly can outweigh much wisdom and honor. This teaches us that partial obedience or compartmentalized faith is not enough. Wisdom must govern the whole life. The wise and the foolish are moving in opposite directions, and while wisdom is often difficult to recognize outwardly, folly is always revealing itself.

The passage then turns to leadership and authority. It is a great evil, Solomon says, when fools are elevated to positions of power while the wise are ignored. Such disorder leads to societal ruin, because decisions made in folly affect many, not just the individual.

Solomon goes on to show how folly repeatedly comes back upon the fool himself. Those who dig pits fall into them. Those who act without wisdom injure themselves. Life lived in foolishness is harder, more dangerous, and more exhausting—like trying to cut wood with a dull axe. Wisdom, by contrast, brings success and safety.

A significant portion of the passage focuses on speech. Wisdom and folly are especially revealed in words. The words of the wise are gracious and constructive, while the words of fools multiply endlessly, grow increasingly incoherent, and weary both the speaker and the hearer. Fools believe their many words will make them appear wise, yet this is precisely how their folly becomes obvious.

In the conclusion, Solomon presses the warning home. One of the great dangers of folly is that fools rarely know they are fools. Therefore, the question is not merely whether we can identify foolishness in others, but whether we are willing to examine our own hearts. The dividing line is clear: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and hardness of heart toward God is the beginning of folly.

True wisdom is found in humility before God, repentance of sin, love for Christ, and joyful submission to His Word. To reject this path is to walk steadily toward self-destruction, even while remaining blind to it. May God grant us grace to fear Him, to walk in wisdom, and to find that wisdom fully revealed in Christ.

#Ecclesiastes #BiblicalWisdom #FearOfTheLord #WisdomVsFolly #ChristianSermon #OldTestament #ChristIsWisdom #BibleTeaching"

"In Galatians 3:13–14, the Apostle Paul brings his argument for justification by faith to its Christ-centered climax. After showing that the Spirit, the Scriptures, and even the law itself testify that sinners cannot be justified by works, Paul now explains how salvation is actually accomplished: through the cursed death of Christ on the cross.

This passage shows that justification by faith is not an abstract theological principle but is grounded entirely in the saving work of Jesus Christ. Paul insists that every blessing of the gospel flows from one central reality—Christ became a curse for us. Those who stand condemned by the law are redeemed because Christ took their curse upon himself in a substitutionary death.

By quoting Deuteronomy 21:23, Paul highlights the shocking nature of the cross. Christ did not merely die; he died the kind of death the law itself declares to be cursed. This forces the crucial question: Why would the sinless Son of God endure such a death? Paul’s answer is clear—he did it for us, so that we might be delivered from condemnation and receive the blessing promised to Abraham.

Paul then shows that Christ’s death accomplishes two great purposes:

The blessing of Abraham comes to the Gentiles—justification and worldwide salvation promised long ago are fulfilled in Christ, Abraham’s true seed.

The promised Spirit is given through faith—the Spirit himself is a purchased blessing, poured out because Christ has redeemed his people at the cost of his life.

This passage reveals the deep unity of Scripture: the law, the prophets, the promises to Abraham, and the outpouring of the Spirit all converge at the cross. Justification by faith stands or falls with Christ’s substitutionary atonement. If Christ did not truly bear our curse, then there is no gospel at all.

Paul’s message leaves us with a searching question: Does the cross of Christ shape everything about how we think, believe, and live? For Paul, the answer was decisive—“I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”"

In Ecclesiastes 9:11–18, Solomon confronts one of the great paradoxes of life under the sun: wisdom is of immeasurable value, yet it is often invisible, ignored, and forgotten. Outcomes in this world do not reliably reveal who is wise, righteous, strong, or favored. Time and chance disrupt our expectations, and even the wisest people may live and die unnoticed.

Solomon begins by observing that success does not always correspond to ability. The swift do not always win the race, the strong do not always prevail in battle, and the wise do not always gain riches or recognition. Life’s outcomes are uncertain, and death comes unexpectedly to all. Because of this, we cannot reason backward from success or failure to determine wisdom or worth.

Against this backdrop, Solomon presents a striking illustration: a poor, wise man who delivers an entire city through wisdom rather than strength—yet is quickly forgotten. The lesson is clear. Wisdom is greater than power, louder voices, wealth, or military might, even though it is frequently despised and overlooked.

Solomon then presses the point further. Wisdom spoken quietly is better than the shouting of rulers, and wisdom accomplishes what weapons of war cannot. Yet he also warns that a single sin can destroy much good, reminding us that true wisdom is inseparable from righteousness and the turning away from evil.

This passage calls us to walk by faith and not by sight. Wisdom cannot always be recognized by outward circumstances, social standing, or visible success. Like acceptance before God, wisdom often remains hidden in this life. Its true value is not measured by outcomes but by alignment with God’s will.

Ultimately, Scripture leads us beyond Solomon to Christ Himself, who embodies this “unknown glory” of wisdom. Jesus was despised and rejected, overlooked by the world, and crucified in weakness—yet He is the Wisdom of God, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. What the world counts as foolish, God declares wiser than all human wisdom.

True wisdom is found in the fear of the Lord, in turning away from sin, and supremely in coming to Christ. Though the world may ignore it, this wisdom is more valuable than all the treasures it can offer.

#Ecclesiastes #BiblicalWisdom #FearOfTheLord #Wisdom #UnionWithChrist #ChristIsWisdom #ChristianSermon #OldTestament #WalkingByFaith

In Galatians 3:10–12, the Apostle Paul brings his argument for justification by faith to a decisive conclusion. After appealing to the testimony of the Triune God (Christ crucified, the Father giving the Spirit, the Spirit working powerfully) and to the promises made to Abraham, Paul now shows why the law can never justify—because it can only pronounce a curse on sinners.

Paul’s reasoning is careful and often misunderstood. On the one hand, he decisively rejects legalism: any attempt to be justified by works of the law places a person under God’s curse, since the law demands nothing less than perfect obedience. Quoting Deuteronomy 27:26, Paul reminds us that failure at even one point brings condemnation. This leaves every sinner without hope if justification depends on law-keeping.

On the other hand, Paul is not promoting antinomianism. He is not denying the goodness of God’s law or the necessity of obedience in the Christian life. Rather, he is distinguishing between the ground of justification and the fruit of justification. Obedience does not earn righteousness, but true righteousness by faith always produces obedience.

To establish this, Paul appeals to Habakkuk 2:4: “The righteous shall live by faith.” In its original context, this declaration came in the face of impending judgment. Those who would survive God’s wrath would do so not by flawless obedience, but by trusting in the Lord and His provision of atonement. Paul rightly draws out the abiding principle: escape from judgment—both temporal and final—comes only through faith.

Paul then contrasts two fundamentally opposed systems: justification by works and justification by faith. The first rests on human effort and ends in curse; the second rests on Christ’s righteousness and ends in life. When Paul says, “the law is not of faith,” he is not rejecting Moses or the Mosaic covenant as legalistic. Instead, he insists that Moses himself taught that perfect obedience is required by the law—and therefore that sinners must seek salvation outside themselves, in God’s promised Redeemer.

The result is a unified biblical message: Moses and Paul agree. Scripture from beginning to end teaches that justification is by grace through faith alone, and that obedience flows from a heart transformed by that grace.

This passage confronts every hearer with a searching question:

Will you stand before God on the basis of your own obedience—or will you take refuge in Christ alone? The righteous, Paul declares, shall live by faith.

"In this sermon from Ecclesiastes 9:1–10, we face one of the most unavoidable realities of life under the sun: death. Solomon shows us that both the righteous and the wicked share the same observable fate in this world—suffering and death—and that God’s providence cannot be interpreted merely by what we see happening around us.

This passage confronts the temptation to judge God’s favor or displeasure by prosperity, suffering, or length of life. Solomon makes clear that such judgments cannot be made from observation alone. Death comes to all, and life in a fallen world is marked by sorrow, injustice, and brevity. These realities are the universal effects of the curse introduced in Genesis 3.

Yet Solomon does not lead us into despair. Instead, he teaches us how the fear of God transforms our understanding of life’s transitory nature. While death renders all earthly things fleeting, it does not render them meaningless. For those who fear the Lord, suffering and death are not signs of rejection. God’s approval rests on His people even as they suffer, and ultimate justice lies beyond this life.

Because God has already accepted those who fear Him, Solomon exhorts believers to enjoy life as a gift from God—to eat and drink with joy, to cherish marriage and family, to work diligently, and to receive everyday blessings with gratitude. Life is short, and these gifts will not last forever, but they are real blessings meant to be enjoyed while God gives them.

This sermon also points us beyond Ecclesiastes to the gospel itself. The believer’s ability to live with joy in a dying world rests on the certainty of eternal life in Christ. Because Christ has been raised from the dead, death does not have the final word. God’s approval, secured through justification in Christ, gives us freedom to live gratefully and faithfully even in a world marked by suffering and loss.

Life is fleeting. Death is certain. But for those who fear God and trust in Christ, joy is not denied—it is redeemed."

"What does Abraham have to do with justification by faith—and with the salvation of the nations?

In Galatians 3:6–9, Paul turns from the Galatians’ experience of the Spirit to an even more foundational authority: the testimony of Scripture itself. After showing that the Triune God bore witness to justification by faith (Christ crucified, the Father giving the Spirit, the Spirit working powerfully), Paul demonstrates that this gospel is not new. It is the consistent message of God from the beginning—already preached in the Abrahamic promises.

Paul begins where Moses begins: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Abraham was not justified by works, lineage, or law-keeping. He received righteousness as a gift—counted to him by faith. And from that truth Paul draws a decisive conclusion: those who are “of faith” are the true sons of Abraham.

That would have landed with force in Galatia. The Judaizers boasted in physical descent and circumcision, but Paul says sonship is determined by faith, not flesh. Believing Gentiles are not second-class citizens in God’s kingdom; they are the very fulfillment of what Scripture promised all along.

Paul then goes further: Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham—“In you shall all the nations be blessed.” This promise is not an obscure detail. It is the backbone of the Abrahamic narrative and God’s answer to the curse that fell upon the nations. The blessing promised to the nations is inseparable from justification, because blessing and curse correspond to justification and condemnation.

The result is Paul’s climactic statement: “So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” We are living in the days Moses longed to see—the worldwide blessing promised to Abraham, fulfilled in Christ, and received by faith alone.

The question for every hearer is therefore simple and searching: Are you a true son or daughter of Abraham? Are you walking in the footsteps of Abraham’s faith—resting in the righteousness God gives freely in Christ?

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For more teaching through Galatians and the doctrine of justification by faith alone, explore the channel’s sermon playlist.

#Galatians #JustificationByFaith #Abraham #Gospel #ReformedTheology #SolaFide #BibleTeaching #ChristianSermon #NewTestament #BiblicalTheology #CovenantTheology #JesusChrist #GraceAlone #ScriptureAlone #ProtestantReformation"

"In this sermon on Ecclesiastes 8:10–17, we explore Solomon’s sobering teaching on God’s just judgment and the necessity of genuine repentance. Scripture makes clear that while people can deceive others with outward displays of religion, no one can deceive God, who knows the heart.

Solomon reflects on the unsettling reality that wicked people sometimes die with a reputation for holiness, while righteous people may suffer as though they were wicked. Does this mean there is no justice in the world? The answer—resoundingly—is no. These tensions point us to the final judgment, where God will bring every deed to light and render true justice.

Along the way, Ecclesiastes exposes the folly of the wicked who mistake God's patience for license to continue in sin, and it comforts the righteous with the assurance that it will be well with those who fear God, even if appearances in this life suggest otherwise.

What should Christians do in the meantime?

Solomon gives two clear instructions:

Enjoy the good gifts God provides, even in a fallen world.

Acknowledge the limits of your understanding, trusting that God will unravel every mystery and right every wrong on the last day.

Ultimately, the call is to a true, heart-level repentance and fear of God—the kind that only God Himself can give through the grace found in Jesus Christ, the One appointed as Judge of all.

📖 May this passage stir you to genuine repentance, deeper trust in God’s justice, and joyful submission to the One who will make all things right.

#Ecclesiastes #Sermon #ChristianSermon #BibleTeaching #ReformedTheology #FearOfGod #Repentance #FinalJudgment #GodsJustice #WisdomLiterature #ChristianLiving #GospelTruth"

"How do we know that justification is truly by faith alone?

Paul’s answer in Galatians 3 is striking: the Holy Spirit Himself bears witness to it.

In this sermon, we examine Paul’s argument in Galatians 3:1–6 and see how the doctrine of justification by faith is confirmed by the testimony of the Triune God. Paul does not appeal first to church authority or human reasoning, but to what God Himself has done—through Christ crucified, the giving of the Spirit, suffering for the gospel, and even signs and wonders.

Paul reminds the Galatians that Christ was proclaimed to them as crucified through the preaching of the Word, and that the Spirit was given to them not by works of the law, but by the hearing of faith. The same Spirit who began the Christian life must also be the one who perfects it. To turn back to works is not progress—it is regression.

This passage also teaches us how justification and sanctification are inseparably connected. Having begun by the Spirit, we are not perfected by the flesh. Growth in holiness comes through faith, union with Christ, and diligent use of the means of grace—not through self-reliant striving.

Paul’s argument reaches its climax by pointing to the Spirit’s miraculous work among the Galatians as God’s own confirmation of the gospel they received. To reject justification by faith is therefore not merely to reject a doctrine, but to resist the testimony of God Himself.

This sermon calls us to hear the witness of the Father who gives the Spirit, the Son who was crucified for sinners, and the Spirit who confirms the truth of the gospel—so that we might stand firm in justification by faith alone."