On Sunday, June 24, we looked at the church as the pillar and the buttress of truth as Paul described it in 1 Timothy 3:14-16. That symbolism was not be lost on Timothy and the church in Ephesus. The centerpiece of the city was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Temple of Diana. One of the distinguishing features of the temple was the 127 pillars or columns that held up the roof of the Temple. The purpose of the pillars was not just to hold the roof up, but to thrust it high into the air so that it towered above everything else and drew attention to its massive, shining, marble roof. Continue Reading »

Sorry it has been a while since I blogged. Baseball with three boys on three different teams is a killer! One of the many questions that I am asked frequently is, “What does it mean that you are a Reformed Baptist?” I thought I would take a moment and answer that question. The word “reformed” can carry with it a lot of baggage, especially in Baptist life. Some people think “reformed = elitist” or “reformed = not evanglistic.” Neither of those assumptions is true. Being a Reformed Baptist means that I am committed to the central truths of the Protestant Reformation. The Biblical truths such as Sola Fide (justification by faith alone), Sola Gratia (salvation by God’s grace alone), Sola Scriptura (the Bible alone is the basis for faith and practice), Solus Christus (salvation through Christ alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory) are essentials to Reformed theology. Continue Reading »