Semper Theologia

The resurrection of Jesus is the focal point of the Christian faith. The entirety of our belief hinges on the historicity of this single event. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 15:17, the Apostle Paul writes:  "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sin." More so than ever, the doctrine of the resurrection of our Lord is under constant attack by skeptics. Calls for proof of the resurrection are loud but do we know how to defend our belief in this essential and important belief? If not, we certainly need to! Peter, writing to the Church in what is now modern day Türkiye, told them to: "...in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,  always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and  respect..." -1 Peter 3:15 Evidence and Proof  Peter does not tell us to provide proof for the hope that is in us; he tells us to make a defense when we are asked for ...

 "Oh death, where is your sting? Oh death, where is your victory?" - 1 Corinthians 15:55  Oh what glorious news that Jesus is alive! The Lamb who was slain for the sins of God's people has conquered death! Do you know what this means? Because we are united to Christ in death we are sure to be risen up on the last day! We too shall see resurrection in the end! Death has no sting for the Christian. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians: "Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?   But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.   And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.   We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.   For if the dead are not raised, not...

     Why is it "Good Friday?" A day marked with the death of the innocent and we call it good. How can this be? Humiliated, beaten, and crucified, Jesus breathed His last. What makes such horror so good? The answer is atonement, reconciliation, and restoration. To truly understand why Good Friday is a Good Friday, we need to understand man's natural condition and what Jesus accomplishes. Who is man? When Adam sinned in the garden, he did more than just mess up his relationship with God. Being mankind's representative, he messed up mankind's relationship with God. We see this not only in his name, Adam sounding like the Hebrew word for, "man," but also explained in Scripture by Paul. Sin spread to all mankind through one man (Adam) and therefore death spread to all man as well (Romans 5:12-14) and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). As R.C. Sproul once put it, "We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners" This is August...

The Sacrament of Communion has a deep connection to the Jewish Passover. It is within the context of the Passover festival that Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper as a frequent practice for His followers. Communion is not merely a symbolic memorial service of Christ's sacrifice but a sacrament where we receive Christ as a means of grace. The Context of the Passover The Passover is a Jewish feast that was instituted by God during the Exodus as the Israelites prepared to leave Egypt. After nine grueling plagues against the Egyptians, Pharaoh still refused to let the Israelites go and it became time for the tenth plague; Every firstborn son in the land of Egypt would die. It is important to note that the Lord intended to be indiscriminate with His wrath in the Tenth Plague. This was not a plague targeted only towards Egyptians such as the Fifth (death of livestock), Seventh (Hail), and Ninth (Darkness) plagues where Israel did not experience them. Rather, God intended to move all ...

 Why Semper Theologia ?  Semper Theologia  is Latin for, "Always Theology".  In his Reformed Systematic Theology - Part 1 , Joel Beeke writes,  "Theology is the study of God and his relationship to the world, especially his relationships with human beings." He goes on to state, "Theology aims at the fulfillment of man’s created purpose: to glorify God and enjoy him forever in obeying God’s will by God’s grace." We are to love the Lord and have a relationship with Him. In order to have a relationship with someone we must possess a knowledge of what makes them themselves. What good is it to say to my wife, "I love you," but make no effort in knowing who she is as a person? It is the same way with God. How can we say, "I love God" without first deeply studying who He is and how He works? Can we obey His commands without studying He who commands? Getting our theology correct is very important. If we are not correct in our theology we are no...