Reformed & Expository Preaching

John writes to the church with the assurance that Christ's payment satisfies the sins of the world. This sounds like the whole world is saved. This cannot be the case because right in Genesis 3:15 God promises that there are going to be two lines of people in the human race. There are those who are identified with Christ and those who are not identified with Christ. Christ's payment for the whole world must mean that Christ came to secure an international people.

Peter tells us, "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you." This is a pretty strong statement as it sounds like this baptism actually gives us the blessings of Christ. However, Peter says after this, "not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." We are those who make a pledge to God and then we are baptized. This sounds like we first profess, and then we receive baptism. However, we notice the precedent is actually quite different. Scripture actually teaches us that first someone professes, and then the household if baptized. How does Noah's flood teach us this very promise?

The Lord told Adam that the day he eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he will surely die. The Lord cannot just overlook his justice in order to show his mercy. Christ has to die on the cross for the Lord's justice to be satisfied. It is in Christ's death on the cross that his mercy is manifested. How does Paul use the Mosaic arrangement to give us a deeper understanding of Christ's cross?

The book of Daniel is a book that has many ups and downs in terms of the prophet's mission. He advances almost to the top while exiled in Babylon. However, he also has some setbacks. At the end of the book we might wonder what to make of all this? What is the purpose to press forward I Christ? We learn in this final chapter that God's providence and care for this creation are not haphazard. The Lord is moving this creation to his goal while working within the confines of a fallen world. The ultimately spoiler of history is that God wins so it is better to bow one's knee before Christ rather than at the end of the age.

Human beings can go in two different directions. On the one hand we can think that there is something about us that is appealing to God. So, we think that God is going to love us because we are a little more worthy of God's affection than say another person.

The other side of this is that we can think that we are so bad that we are beyond redemption. We can think that God's mercy and grace cannot bring us back from being lost so we avoid the Lord. This too is wrong as we fail to understand the Lord's grace.

How is it encouraging to know that God loves the unlovable? If we are not adorable why would we be encouraged and want to live for God? if we think we are adorable how can God's grace humble us? How does the humbling of God's grace ultimately lift us up?

Sometimes we can read the news or we can survey our current life and wonder if there is a point to this age. We might wonder if God is still in control or if God has abandoned his rule. We might think that Satan has won and the powers or darkness have defeated our God.

This is our perspective, but Daniel assures us that our perspective is wrong. We must remember that God has written history in his book of truth. How does God's book of truth assure our that our victory is sure in Christ? Why is it so comforting that man cannot change God's book of truth? If we understand this Daniel's prophecy we can proceed throughout our life confident that we will prevail because Christ has prevailed.

Our Lord says that you are the light of the world. This almost implies that we are call attention to our good works and the good things that we do. This would mean that Christ is commanding us to be self righteous and to engage in a piety competition. Are we really supposed to parade around our good works? Why would Christ warn us about the outward pious acts of the pharisees? How does being the light of the world humble us and exalt our God?

We can have sympathy for Daniel's desire to return to the promised land. Daniel wants to worship his God without persecution. He believes the words of Jeremiah, but yet Daniel does not return to the land. Daniel's desire intensifies because when his people do return to the promised land they face intense persecution while rebuilding the temple. How can Daniel cope with the Lord allowing his people to be persecuted when they rebuild the temple? Does God know? Does God care? How does the Lord show the bigger picture of history? Can we take comfort that history's goal is set?

Today when we mention that someone is salty we mean it as a bit of a warning. Saying that someone is salty means that the person probably uses less than refined language. We would not expect the individual’s language to come from higher culture, but closer to what we might find at a shipyard. However, saying someone is salty is more of a qualification rather than an insult. We might hear someone say, “So and so is a bit salty, but boy they sure….” Then the compliment follows. Christ calls his disciples the salt of the earth without qualification. We are called to be a salty people because we are the salt of the earth. Is Christ telling us to be like sailors? What does salt have to do with Christ’s mission and divine wisdom?