January 25th, 2010 by Geoff Volker
The Big Picture Story Bible, by David Helm with Illustrations by Gail Schoonmaker, published by Crossway Books, 2004, 453 pages, clothbound.
The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm is a children’s book. You might be wondering, what is In-Depth Studies doing in reviewing a children’s book? Admittedly, this is not the sort of book that I would typically review. To be honest, I am usually a bit disappointed at most children’s books. The reason for my disappointment is that children’s books tend to be theologically deficient. (more…)
December 24th, 2009 by Geoff Volker
James 1:13-15
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown , gives birth to death.
In this blog I want to explore the relationship between a temptation and a test in the life of the believer. In seeking to understand the relationship between these two concepts it must be pointed out that the same event can be for the believer both a temptation and a test. How can this be so?
In my previous blog on the problem of evil I pointed out that our God is the first cause of all things, even evil, yet when evil is done those who do the evil and they alone are to be blamed for the evil. God can never be blamed for the evil as he is a holy God (1 John 1:5). When a believer encounters a temptation he is being tempted to dishonor his God. The source of this temptation comes either from the remaining evil within the believer or from evil outside of the believer. So, from the point of view of responsibility God cannot be blamed for the temptation since temptation is only concerned with the enticement to do evil. But, from the point of view of God as the first cause of all things, the same event that has been described as a temptation is also a test brought into the life of the believer by a loving Father who would never bring anything into the life of the believer that was not motivated by his love and for their good (Romans 8:28). The test is brought into the life of the believer in order to build him up not tear him down.
A temptation is also a test and a test is also a temptation. It all depends on your point of view. When we are tempted to do evil we must resist this temptation for we are being enticed to do something that dishonors the God whom we love (Hebrews 12:4). But, from another point of view the temptation can be also viewed as a test that our Father in heaven has brought into our lives in order to cause us to become more Christ-like and to increase our love for Him (Romans 8:28).
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 10th, 2008 by Bill Knaub
All believers in Jesus Christ are ambassadors. We are representatives for Jesus and have the awesome responsibility and privilege of declaring the gospel message to a fallen world. The apostle Paul is a great example to us of a bold and loving ambassador who brings the message of reconciliation to all those he comes in contact with (2 Cor. 5:16-21; 1 Cor. 9:19-23). However, most of us are not the apostle Paul when it comes to doing faithful evangelism! For many believers the task of evangelism is one filled with fear, guilt and apathy. It does not seem to be the joyful privilege that it should be. My observation is that most believers struggle with doing faithful biblical evangelism to one degree or another. (more…)
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