"Watch your life and doctrine closely"
Brokenness is all around us. It doesn’t matter your political views or your religious beliefs, everyone can see that something is wrong. Murder, hate, envy, jealousy, and oppression continue to be prevalent. Everyone seems to be chasing happiness and fulfillment yet even the most ‘successful’ can’t seem to find it. Hopelessness abounds and suicide rates…
We continue our study of Great Doctrines of the Bible by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ) by examining chapters 14 and 15, which deal with the creation of man in God’s image. Scripture shows that something special was taking place when God created mankind, which is emphasized with a “kind of pause” in the text. In Gen….
We continue our study of Great Doctrines of the Bible by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ) by examining chapter 13 entitled, “The Providence of God.” MLJ defines providence as “that continued exercise of the divine energy whereby the Creator upholds all his creatures, is operative in all that transpires in the world, and directs all things to…
We continue our study of Great Doctrines of the Bible by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ) by examining chapter 12 entitled, “The Creation of the World.” Definition of Creation MLJ begins by providing a definition of creation (borrowed from Berkhof). Creation is “that free act of God whereby He…in the beginning brought forth the whole visible and…
We continue our study of Great Doctrines of the Bible by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ) by examining chapter 11 entitled, “The Devil and the Fallen Angels.” MLJ believes that many Christians “have not realized the powers that are set against them” (115). From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture warns believers about the works of Satan. There are…
We continue our study of Great Doctrines of the Bible by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ) by examining chapter 10 entitled, “Good Angels.” The term ‘angel’ means ‘messenger.’ There’s a mysterious element to angels that often leads to either overemphasizing or ignoring them altogether. Scripture often mentions angels, and while we can’t satisfy all our curiosity about…
We continue our study of Great Doctrines of the Bible by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ) by examining chapter 9 entitled, “The Eternal Decrees of God.” MLJ defines eternal decrees as “things which God determined and ordained before He had done anything at all” (93). When discussing a topic such a this, MLJ states that we need…
One of the most difficult Christian teachings is the doctrine of the Trinity. For some, its difficulty gives them reason to abandon studying it altogether. While it’s true the Trinity is mysterious and certainly above our finite ability to completely understand, God has revealed himself as three-in-one. A study of an infinite God won’t always…
Trusting the unseen isn’t easy. When life seems stacked against us, we naturally lean toward hopelessness. Our ideal of an easy life is chiseled away by our experiences. Another sickness, another loss, another unmet expectation and we find ourselves asking how much more we can take. But, for the believer, it’s even in these moments…
We continue our study of Great Doctrines of the Bible by Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ). Last time, we looked at the existence of God, and this week we’ll study chapter 6, “The Attributes of God’s Absolute Personality.” MLJ begins by making a case for why we need to study God’s attributes. In John 4, Jesus tells…