He gave him no answer…
When the Pharisees put Jesus on trial before Caiaphas, the final charge they brought against him was blasphemy. This was on the basis of Jesus claiming to be the Son of God and His sitting “at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt 26:63-66). But for the unbelieving Pilate, this would be a hard accusation to put a righteous man to death for.
But this is exactly why the Pharisees delivered Him to Pilate – so that he could sentence Him to death. To be sure, they heaped other accusations against Jesus to make sure that Pilate would see Him as a threat. However, Pilate could see right through this ruse, and when he questioned Jesus, he asked him “are you the king of the Jews?” to which Jesus merely said “You have said so” (Matt 27:11). (more…)
The hole in our gospel
I’ve just finished “The Hole in our Gospel” by Richard Stearns. This was one of those books I had no idea of what I was getting into. Last month it was the free download of the month on ChristianAudio.com, and I grabbed a copy of it.
I had no idea who Richard Stearns was, although the name seemed familiar. I had no idea whether he was a sound author or whether he would be one of those writers I’d stop listening to after a short time. After all, those who wrote endorsements for the book were not on my “must read” list. I was in for a surprise. (more…)
Colossians 1 – the transforming gospel
Yesterday I spoke on Colossians 1:3-8. This passage focuses on Pauls thanksgiving for the Colossians who he’d never seen and on the reason he gave thanks for them. His reasoning was based on the hope that they had in Christ which had given them a love for all the saints. This hope had come through the “word of truth, the gospel” through which they had “heard and understood the grace of God in truth”. (more…)
Our need to see our sin
In my last post I mentioned that we need to have a greater understanding of our own sin and depravity. Its only when we see this that we will see our need for salvation, but it also will illuminate the depth of Gods grace and may lead us to a deeper worship of God. (more…)
The gospel in Spurgeon’s Ministry
When C.H. Spurgeon examined 20 years of his sermons being published and read and considered why it was that people not only bought them but also read them. The only thing that stood out to him as to why was the centrality of the gospel. (more…)
