Coram Deo: Take some time today to read through the book of Romans and get a grasp of the book’s overall flow and argument. Ask the Lord to help you see the truth of the gospel and how it applies to you both at conversion and throughout the rest of your Christian life. Think of how you might share the gospel with friends and family, and ask the Father to ground you more confidently in His truth as you study His Word that you might clearly preach His gospel.
"All Christians, both credobaptist and paedobaptist, affirm the authority of Scripture, yet we sometimes disagree in our interpretation of it on account of our hermeneutical differences. Therefore, we do well to study hermeneutics and the fallacies that can unfortunately affect our interpretation of Scripture." —Burk Parsons from "Interpreting Hermeneutics" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Christ’s resurrection was the first phase of His exaltation, that point at which He was set over all creation to rule from His Father’s right hand and bring all of His and our enemies into subjection. Having fulfilled His work as the last Adam, the Lord possessed according to His humanity what He always had according to His divinity, namely, the right to bring all things under God’s dominion. In Christ, we are granted the honour of taking dominion in all spheres of life, to His everlasting glory.
"We confess that the bible is God’s Word, but unless we read and interpret it properly, our confession is a mere formality. Sound biblical exegesis is essential if we hope to know and act upon biblical truth." —Daniel Doriani from "The Importance of Sound Exegesis" in the January 2014 issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Faith and repentance go hand-in-hand. To turn to the Lord in faith is to turn away from trust in oneself and in one’s own righteousness. Repentance is this turning, and it is a command of God in Scripture (Acts 17:30). As the flip side of repentance, faith is something that we are commanded to exercise as well. Faith itself is not meritorious, but it is something that we must do. In preaching the gospel, let us be clear that trusting in Christ is not optional. It is what He orders us to do.
"Taking our eyes off Jesus is the most dangerous thing we could ever do. Paradoxically, it is also the easiest. We can let past hurts, troubles, or even good things like ministry distract us from the ultimate prize, which is Christ alone." —Robert Rothwell from "Keeping Our Eyes On Christ" in the November 2004 issue of Tabletalk Magazine
"Sometimes pride looks an awful lot like humility. There are times that our pride convinces us to put on a great show of what looks to all the world like humility so that we will be seen and acknowledged by others. We swell with pride when we hear, 'He is humble.' It is a tricky thing, the human heart—prone to deceive both ourselves and others." —Tim Challies from his weekend devotional "Proudly Humble" in the January 2014 issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Our ultimate goal is to be pleasing to God in all of life. Certainly for the believer, a critical part of life is our handling and understanding of the Bible. As you begin another year of reading and study, commit yourself to the long-term goal of being found faithful to the task of presenting yourself as a workman who correctly handles the word of truth. Though a lifetime goal, it is achieved through patient daily practice.
Coram Deo: One commentator notes how Paul does not view God’s sovereignty as something that he should take as permission not to pray or act. He knew that the Lord had thus far prevented him from coming to Rome, but he did not know if that was to be a permanent situation, so he kept on asking God to give him a path forward to the capital city. Praying according to God’s will does not mean that we stop praying if we do not get what we ask for right away.
"The root cause of burnout is the failure to draw on the power available from our union with Christ. If the human spirit does not draw on its union with Christ, it defaults to the flesh." —Archie Parrish
Coram Deo: All believers have been called by God to a specific task and given certain gifts for ministry. The question for us is whether we feel driven to fulfil this vocation and use the gifts that the Lord has given us. Though our physical limitations and our sin may lead us into periods of apathy, one sign of the Spirit’s work in our hearts is that we feel compelled to serve God where He has called us and that we are eager to find ways to fulfil our vocations.
"Logical fallacies, both formal and informal, are found in every field of study, and biblical exegesis is no exception." —Andreas Kustenberger from "Logical Fallacies: A Firm Foundation" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: The gospel is not a message to be ashamed of even if the world finds it foolish. It is God’s power unto salvation, and our attempts to make the gospel more palatable to fallen people prevent them from seeing it in all its power and glory. Though there might be foolish and irresponsible ways of presenting the gospel when we measure ourselves by Scripture, the message itself is God’s wisdom and power, and we must never change it to be accepted by sinners.
Q: How should the church respond to the growing number of people who claim no religious affiliation?
Ed Stetzer: As society moves away from Christian identification, let’s meet them on the road and say, “We did not believe in that expression of Christianity anyway. Let me tell you about Jesus and how He changes everything.”
Coram Deo: That the riches of Christ are unsearchable points us to the doctrine of God’s incomprehensibility. While we can know the Lord truly, we can never know Him fully, for our finite minds cannot grasp the totality of His infinite power, wisdom, justice, love, and holiness. Eons into eternity we will still be learning about our Creator — who He is and what He has done — and we will never grow tired of exploring the depths of His being.
Coram Deo: In lectures, Dr. R.C. Sproul has said “the just shall live by trust.” The mark of righteous people is that they believe the Lord, that they trust His promises and seek to grow in their understanding of these promises that they might trust Him more. This necessitates a deep and deliberate study of God’s Word. Are you studying Scripture rightly so that you might live by the promises of God more confidently?
"Our happiness is not a right, but a gift from one who was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. To the best of our knowledge, Jesus never asked the disciples: 'Are we having fun yet?'" —Ken Myers from "The Pursuit of Happiness" in the September 2008 issue of Tabletalk Magazine
"One striking characteristic of God vividly on display throughout creation is His love of beauty. Even our sin-cursed world is full of remarkable beauty. Wherever and however you look—whether through a telescope, a wide-angle lens, a magnifying glass, a microscope, or just with the naked eye—every element of creation is a magnificent spectacle." —John MacArthur from his weekend devotional "All Things Bright and Beautiful" in this month's issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Have you ever been through a time of suffering that left you a milder, more sober, more “centred” person than before? What “bad” aspects of your life were refined and what good aspects of your life were strengthened? As hard as it may be, strive to thank God for the trials He sovereignly brings into your life.
Coram Deo: To confuse the righteous person’s manner of life with his source of life, however, is to deny the gospel. Paul explains this clearly in Romans 1–5, teaching us that the obedience of sinners can never make us righteous in God’s sight. Only faith in Christ is able to justify sinners, to render us righteous before the Lord.
"Whenever you are reading your Bible, and you come across someone doing something really, really stupid, do not say to yourself, 'How can they be so stupid?' Instead say to yourself, 'How am I stupid just like them?'" —R.C. Sproul Jr. from "A Sound Principle" in this month's Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: With the coming of Christ, the kingdom of God is now evident among His people even as we wait for its final consummation at His return. The gospel announces that Jesus has done the work necessary to overcome our natural resistance to God’s kingdom and to make us citizens of this kingdom through faith alone. As we preach the gospel, we are announcing the blessed reign of the Lord, and we must repeat His command that all people everywhere repent and bow to His rule.
"Revivals grow into reformation when the impact of the gospel begins to change the structure of the culture." —R.C. Sproul
"Grammar always functions within a larger context. As we come to particular grammatical constructions in our English Bibles, we will be better equipped to interpret them accurately the better we know Scripture in general." —Douglas Moo from "Grammatical Fallacies: Playing By the Rules" in this month's issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Even many professing Christians believe that they become citizens of heaven because they have lived a “good life.” The gospel tells us that no one but Christ has lived a life that is truly good. He alone deserves the kingdom of God, but our Father graciously allows us to share in Christ’s citizenship if we come to Him only through Christ, which means not by other teachers or even by our good works. If we trust in anything in addition to Jesus, we cannot be citizens of His kingdom.
"Jesus is not bound to the inner courts of the Christian community, and if we think that He is, then we are being disobedient or, perhaps, have no faith at all. His gospel is for all nations, and all of us are responsible to help fulfil the Great Commission to make disciples of all peoples." —R.C. Sproul from "Into the World" in this month's issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: John Murray was one of the most influential Reformed theologians of the twentieth century. In his commentary on Romans, Murray says that “wrath is the holy revulsion of God’s being against that which is the contradiction of his holiness.” When sin comes near our holy God, the inevitable consequence is the outpouring of His holy and perfect wrath. Unless we know God’s holiness, we will not know the gravity of our sin or the majesty of His character.
"With the illumination of the Spirit, most Christians read and interpret the Bible reasonably well. However, Christians can commit word-study fallacies and other errors." —Robert Cara from "Word-Study Fallacies: Words of Caution" in this month's issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Douglas J. Moo writes in his commentary on Romans, “At the very centre of every person, where the knowledge of God, if it is to have any positive effects, must be embraced, there has settled a darkness—a darkness that only the light of the gospel can penetrate.” The most compelling case for Christ cannot penetrate a darkened mind unless the Holy Spirit impresses the gospel on the heart. Let us ask Him to do that for all our unbelieving friends and family members.
"The kingdom of God is the omnipotent rule and sovereign reign of Almighty God over all things, the inauguration of which came with the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ Jesus and the fullness of which is yet to come." —Burk Parsons from "Two Kingdoms" in the December 2007 issue of Tabletalk Magazine
"The two most important questions any human being can ever ask are: (1) What must I do to be saved? and (2) How can I know for certain that I am saved?" —Albert Martin from his weekend devotional "The Two Most Important Questions" in this month's issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: The way in which we value goods or services is seen in the amount we are willing to pay for them. We have no qualms about spending money in order to get the best medical care or receive the best food in a restaurant. Why, then, are we too often unwilling to make sure those who teach us the life-giving Word of God are able to make a decent living? The amount of time and money we give to the servants of the church reflects our valuing of their service.
Coram Deo: Rejecting God is so serious that if we will not have Him, He will not have us. One cannot persist in impenitent sin and in giving to other creatures the devotion God deserves. Those who do so become more ensnared in idolatry and grow more blind to the truth. May we seek the Lord above all that our eyes might see his truth more clearly.
"If all of the world were on your side, you might yet have cause to fear. But to have God on your side is infinitely more!" —Richard Baxter
"The corporate worship of the church is a foretaste of the future glory that awaits us in Christ. We hear God’s Word read, sing His praises, confess our sins, receive His grace, join our hearts in prayer, receive the Lord’s Supper, and place ourselves under the proclamation of His Word." —James Harvey from "The Lord's Day and Discipleship" in this month's issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Witnessing to our culture about God’s standards for sexuality takes a good deal of wisdom. We must tell people that the Lord has a design for the sexual relationship, which is a privilege for husbands and wives in the context of a lawful marriage. We must also be clear that sexual sin is not unforgivable sin, and that God forgives all those who turn from sexual transgressions. Let us pray that the Lord would give us a bold, true, and compassionate gospel witness on these matters.
"If we reject the Bible's account of a historical point of entry for sin into human existence, then, as Richard Gaffin has rightly observed, sin is no longer a matter of 'human fallenness.' It is a matter of 'human givenness.' It is just the way that human beings are." —Guy Prentiss Waters from "The Historical Reality of Adam" in this month's issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: The Apostle Paul explains that God hands people over to a “debased mind to do what ought not to be done” as a consequence for failing to acknowledge Him. If we will not have the Lord at the centre of our hearts and minds, then God is content to give us over to our idols. To acknowledge God is to retain Him as our foremost concern and love, to respond to Him with thanksgiving and worship as He has revealed Himself in creation. If we do not do this, we will be unable to think correctly about God and make good decisions based on His will.
"Scripture forbids abortion on demand because it maintains that human beings are in the image of God at every stage of life. The Bible repeatedly refers to the unborn as persons (see Psalm 139:13-14), revealing that life begins at conception. Thus, wantonly ending the child’s life is murder." —From the Tabletalk Magazine devotional "The Sanctity of Life"
Coram Deo: Human beings continually think of themselves in a more favourable light than they should. However, even the most “minor” sin is evidence that at a fundamental level, we do not want the Lord in our thinking or affections. Unless and until we are convinced of that truth, we will not see our need for the gospel and the fact that it is only by grace alone that we can be saved. Have you been convicted of your sin and your need for Christ?
"Is there ever a more vulnerable orphan than a baby whose mother and father are alive and well, but seeking to commit murder? In short, your local abortion mill is not only among the most potent manifestations of the gates of hell in the world today, but it is also the very locus of where we can, and must, practice true religion. It is exactly where the church must be, if it would be the church." —R.C. Sproul Jr. from "The Gates of Hell" in the April 2013 issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: We see no better evidence of our deadness in sin than when we bless what the Lord condemns and condemn what the Lord blesses. Clearly, we cannot save ourselves. God must take the initiative and change our hearts, and once converted we must study His word deeply so that we learn to stop calling good evil and evil good.
Q: What does it mean for the church to be "missional"?
Ed Stetzer: Spurgeon once said, "Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor." Though we might want to clarify the language, the impulse is what we need—every Christian is called to live on mission.
"It would almost seem cruel that God should allow His servants to experience public humiliation but this is not a malevolent act of cruelty. Rather, it is God’s way of demonstrating the resurrection power of the gospel in the lives of His people. For it is in the weakness of God’s servants that His strength is made evident." —Eric Watkins from his weekend devotional "The Church as World Theater" in this month's issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Without even knowing it, our expectations can be part of the problem in the church’s lack of focus on teaching in our day. When we choose churches based simply on the extent of their youth activities or the style of music, we are implicitly saying that the quality of the teaching and the faithfulness of the pastor to biblical preaching are not all that important. Whatever we expect of our preacher, let us expect him first of all to feed us the Word of God.
"In His providence, God gives many wonderful gifts to humanity. We rejoice in the colours of autumn and the joy of music. These gifts are good in themselves, but they are universal and distinct from His particular gift of redemption in Christ Jesus. All humans know God as Creator and Judge (Rom. 1:18–21), but believers know Him as Redeemer." —R. Scott Clark from "For God So Loved the World" in the November 2004 issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Martin Luther comments that “so great is the blindness of the sinner that he abuses to his own harm the things that have been given to him for his own benefit.” We are all, without a doubt, inclined to misinterpret divine patience as laxity in regard to sin. We must not think that God will give us forever to trust in His promises. There comes a day for us all when we will meet our Maker. Are you ready?
Coram Deo: Dr. R.C. Sproul’s hymn "Clothed in Righteousness" features these lines: “No work of ours is good enough for evil to atone. Your merit Lord is all we have; it saves and it alone.” Scripture is clear that obedience to God is important but that it is imperfect and cannot make us righteous in His sight. The Lord will weigh our works and reward those done in Christ’s name, but they will not be the basis for whether He gives us everlasting life. For that we rely on the righteousness of Jesus alone.
Coram Deo: Calvin writes in the "Institutes" that as soon as believers are “admitted to fellowship with Christ, by the knowledge of the gospel, and the illumination of the Holy Spirit, their eternal life is begun, and then He which has begun a good work in them ‘will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.'" God will never fail to sanctify a person whom He justifies, and so the justified person will always die in faith and enter heaven. Let us rejoice that He will not let us fall out of His hand.
"I don’t think many Christians actually intend to neglect Lord’s Day worship. It just happens as we let other things draw us away from God’s people and God’s worship on Sunday. Before we know it, we are missing half of the corporate services of worship, waning in our love for Christ, and feeling disconnected from the church." —James Harvey from "The Lord's Day and Discipleship" in this month's issue of Tabletalk Magazine
Coram Deo: Only those who patiently do good in hope of immortality will enter into eternal life (Rom. 2:6–7). Yet no one even wants to do this apart from divine grace. Only those who have been declared just before God can in any sense do the good Paul mentions in Romans 2:1–11, but even then we obey imperfectly and never fully meet His just demands. He graciously forgives us, however, as we repent and keeps us on the narrow way to heaven.
"Prayer is the most common Christian expression of authentic faith; but it may be among the least practiced Christian disciplines." —George Grant from "Normal Prayer" in the April 2003 issue of Tabletalk Magazine
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