Publication of “Thomas Matthew’s” Bible. This Bible, printed in Antwerp less than a year after the martyrdom of Tyndale, was the first English Bible to be officially licensed for legal distribution in England. With his dying breath, Tyndale had prayed for the Lord to “open the King of England’s eyes.” Through the work of John…
Details
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24–25) It is easy to provoke and to be provoked unto anger…
Details
The message of biblical Christianity is not “God loves me, period,” as if we were the object of our own faith. The message of biblical Christianity is “God loves me so that I might make him— his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness—known among all nations.” Now God is the object of our…
Details
Our next book of the month will be, The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden. Far more than a children’s story, this beautiful book is a powerful and profound retelling of the core of the big story of Scripture. Even though is is marketed as a “children’s book” it is one…
Details
What Is Self-Discipline? “If we are to exercise self-control, we must relinquish the control of our lives to Jesus Christ. Here is a paradox of the Christian life: We must give up the control of self if we would gain self-control. May God enable us to exercise self-discipline, an absolute necessity for victory over sin.”…
Details
As so much has been said about love so far, we must show what it is like in order that it is better understood, that one may not think he has love when it is only an illusion. Love cannot hide itself because its nature is light. It must shine and show itself in active…
Details
Still only 27 years old, John Calvin publishes the first edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion. This first edition was quite compact. Over the next 23 years Calvin would repeatedly enlarge and restructure this work, culminating in the massive edition of 1559. Despite its immense influence on theological thought, it would be a…
Details
I once arrived home from a camping trip covered with mosquito bites. I had tried to protect myself from getting bitten, for I react pretty severely to bug bites. My skin gets all red, swollen, itchy, and hot, and I sometimes feel feverish and fatigued. I mixed up a blend of oils—citronella, peppermint, lemon balm,…
Details
Though argument does not create conviction, the lack of it destroys belief. What seems to be proved may not be embraced; but what no one shows the ability to defend is quickly abandoned. Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish. Austin Farrer, “The Christian Apologist,” in…
Details
Conclusion: Why Does This Matter? “Most evangelical Christians today seem to treat their church as one more thing to help out their Christian life, perhaps along with this Bible study, that music, those authors, this retreat, and keeping a journal. In other words the Christian conceives of his or her spiritual life as fundamentally one’s…
Details
