December 6th, 2009 by Geoff Volker
When you study Scripture at some point you will encounter the problem with evil. By that I mean you recognize that the God of heaven and earth is absolutely sovereign and determines whatever happens (Ephesians 1:11). You also see that man is viewed as absolutely responsible for his sin (Romans 9:18, Acts 4:27-28). Finally, it is also quite clear that the our God is perfectly holy and cannot do anything evil (1 John 1:5, Isaiah 6:1-4). On the surface this seems to be an irresolvable difficulty. How can a holy sovereign God determine events that are evil in themselves? (more…)
June 6th, 2009 by Geoff Volker
Triumph of the Lamb by Dennis Johnson, published by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 2001, clothbound, 384 pages.
It has been a while since I have enjoyed a commentary like this one. Dennis Johnson, who teaches at Westminster Theological Seminary in California, has written a commentary on the book of Revelation from an amillennial point of view. This commentary is not difficult to read or to follow. Dennis does an excellent job in showing how the book of Revelation reveals God’s plan for the end in the form of visions. These visions, by there very nature, are not to be taken literally. He shows how the apostle John took imagery from Ezekiel, Zechariah, Daniel and the plagues of Egypt to teach us about the fulfillment of history from Pentecost to the 2nd Coming, the New Covenant era. (more…)
April 9th, 2009 by Geoff Volker
BOOK REVIEW
The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller, published by Dutton, 2008, 139 pages, clothbound.
I am not a big fan of writing a negative book review, but in this instance I am making an exception. The book Prodigal God is very popular in Calvinistic circles. And since I live in those circles I feel compelled to say a few words about the book. Tim Keller is a PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in downtown New York city. He is an excellent writer who is easy to read. He is a good communicator. He understands the necessity of the new heart in the life of a real believer. But having said all this I must now share my thoughts regarding his book (more…)
March 9th, 2009 by Geoff Volker
In these days of economic uncertainty and suffering it is good for the believer to have a biblical perspective on what is happening to him. What we are talking about is having a biblical attitude about all of life. What does Scripture say about how we are to view what is happening to us? Well…. I am glad that you asked that question for Scripture is quite clear on this issue. In Romans 8:28 we are told that everything will work out for our good if we are a believer.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 NIV)
The reason that everything works out for our good is because our Father in heaven is controlling everything that happens to us and he is motivated in what he does to us by this love for us and his perfect wisdom. (more…)
December 4th, 2008 by Geoff Volker
I was doing some reading in Scripture and I came across Numbers 28. This is the chapter that describes the various offerings that must be done in the nation of Israel. There are the daily offerings, the Sabbath offerings, the monthly offerings, etc. Now, to be honest I normally do not find this portion of Scripture very stimulating. I typically race through it to get to something that it is more interesting or relevant. The detailed descriptions of the various offerings that were to be done by Israelites seem not only to be tedious reading but also a tedious way to live. So… how do we make sense of this section of Scripture. It is the word of God and therefore it is profitable for us to study (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The challenge is to find out how we are to view this passage so that we can find a proper application for our lives. (more…)
October 14th, 2008 by Geoff Volker
In Romans 9:22-29 the apostle Paul seems to be giving an explanation to the question of why did God make the non-elect if he had no intention of saving them. His answer is that the non-elect have a part to play in the salvation of the elect. When their role is over then hell will begin. As tough as this answer is my concern is not with Paul’s anwer but with his use of Old Testament scripture to make his point. He quotes Hosea 2:23 and Hosea 1:10 to show that God’s plan has all along been to populate the real people of God with mostly Gentiles. When one looks at the context of both passages from Hosea it is easy to see that the prophet is only talking about ethnic Israel. The Gentiles are not mentioned in the book. But, Paul seems, at least on the surface, to disregard the original context and give the passages a whole new meaning. How are we to understand Paul’s use of the Old Testament? (more…)
August 9th, 2008 by Geoff Volker
At the end of the 6th day of creation God made the statement that Moses recorded, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31 NIV) The goodness of our God’s creation is under attack and it is necessary that we understand our Father’s creation from the point of view of the new covenant era and the law of Christ. (more…)
April 3rd, 2008 by Geoff Volker
I left Phoenix on Thursday morning, March 6 and arrived in Minsk, Belarus on Friday at about 1:00 pm. This portion of the trip I was not accompanied by anyone. I haven’t traveled alone overseas for quite some time. The weekend of my arrival was greeted with unusually warm weather, but then it turned to its customary cold ways. On Saturday afternoon I met with Slava Viazovsky and we had lunch together and talked about his ideas for a Doctoral Dissertation at a school in Scotland where he hopes to work on his degree. In the evening I went to the New Covenant Reformed Baptist Church in Gatava (about 30 minutes south of Minsk) to teach the youth of the church. It was a full house and we discussed the new heart. Oleg leads the group and he is in his early 20’s and definitely has a new heart.
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February 18th, 2008 by Geoff Volker
I am no spring chicken and as the grey hairs have multiplied I am becoming ever increasingly convinced that one of the greatest hindrances to true fellowship is the refusal to talk to another believer about something that is bothering you about them. In this matter Silence is NOT golden and this silence will fracture the body as it undermines true biblical fellowship. For silence is the cancer that destroys the relationship. (more…)
February 9th, 2008 by Geoff Volker
My premise is this: If you love your Lord then this will naturally work itself out in your love for those around you.
Dear Friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8
As I am well into the grey hair years one thing is becoming increasingly clear to me. Relationships are what it is all about and it is relationships that provide the richness in the Christian life. It is quite true that our life as a believer can be distilled down to the truth that we have a personal relationship with the living God. We are an incurable God-lover and this is the result of the work of the Spirit in our lives that every believer experiences (Romans 8:5-14, 1 Peter 1:8, Romans 6:17-18). This work of the Spirit will cause us to love those around us. Relationships in the Lord become for the believer that which makes life rich.
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