Soul Rejoice

As always in theology, we turn our attention to Scripture for answers to questions concerning our world. In the last lesson, we discussed the origin and nature of sin. We saw that the man and woman sinned against God, and God cursed mankind with sin and death. That explains why the earth itself works against us, why childbearing is so unbearable, why there is tension in marriage (and every relationship), and why snakes are generally disgusting. In this lesson, we turn our attention to the transmission of the sin nature from one generation to another. Why do all people sin? Why does it just seem to be engrained in everyone? The unbelieving world has put forth a number of answers. Modern psychology answers this question in a number of ways. Some say that we are just a product of our environment (e.g. Skinner). Others say that sin and guilt are a product of collective psychological trauma (e.g. Freud). Others deny that there is a such thing as sin or guilt (e.g. Rogers). Of course, thes...

At The Baptist Church of Concordia, “ we believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of mankind and the Divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life.” That is what it says in our DOCTRINAL STATEMENT. That is what we preach from the pulpit. This is what our Sunday School teachers teach our children. 

I’m sure you have heard someone say, “ Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Nearly everyone has heard the verse: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  But what does it mean to believe? Does God just tell us to believe in Jesus like we used to believe in Santa Claus? Well, believing that He exists is a part of it, for “He who comes to God must believe that He is” (Hebrews 11:6). However, believing in Jesus is more than just convincing yourself that He is real. 

Click Here for Audio John Owen once wrote, “He who would spend little time in temptation must spend much in prayer.” This is nowhere exampled more clearly than in this text before us. This whole chapter, so far, has detailed what happened in the Upper Room. 39 Leaving [the Upper Room] , He went to the Mount of Olives (as was His custom) . Though He knew that Judas was gathering the Jewish leaders together to arrest Him, Jesus intentionally went to His customary spot. The hour of His death had come.