Reformed Thinking

Deep Dive into The Epistle to the Romans by Leon Morris - Romans 1 Paul’s letter to the Romans opens with a formal introduction where he identifies himself as an apostle explicitly called and set apart for the gospel of God. Addressing the believers in Rome, he offers a greeting of grace and peace, expressing his deep thankfulness for their widely known faith. Paul reveals his constant prayers and...

Deep Dive into The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon - Psalm 91 The provided text is a detailed exposition of Psalm 91 from Charles Spurgeon's "The Treasury of David." While the original author is unstated, Jewish tradition and various commentators often attribute the work to Moses, linking its specific imagery of plagues, deadly serpents, and daytime heat to the experiences of t...

Deep Dive into The Epistle to the Galatians by F. F. Bruce - Galatians 2 In Galatians 2, Paul defends the independent, law-free gospel he preaches to the Gentiles by recounting a pivotal conference in Jerusalem and a subsequent conflict in Antioch. Fourteen years after his conversion, Paul travelled to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus to present his gospel privately to church leaders, including J...

Deep Dive into Biblical Missions: Principles, Priorities, and Practices by Mark Tatlock and Christ Burnett - Indigenous Missions in Scripture and in Practice Indigenous missions, which involves equipping and sending local men to shepherd their own people, is a vital biblical strategy that works alongside cross-cultural missions to fulfill the Great Commission. This approach is modeled in the New T...

Deep Dive into Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis - Nice People or New Men C. S. Lewis addresses the common objection that if Christianity is true, all Christians should be noticeably nicer than all non-Christians. While it is reasonable to expect genuine conversion to improve a person's outward behavior, it is illogical to demand the world be neatly divided into perfectly nice Christians and fl...

Deep Dive into עֵת The Hebrew word ʿēt is a feminine and rarely masculine noun primarily translated as time, appearing 296 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its exact etymology is debated, but many scholars derive it from the root yʿd, meaning to determine, which suggests an original meaning of an appointed term or timeframe. Unlike words that describe a long duration or eternity, ʿēt typically refers to...

Deep Dive into The Believer’s Battlefield: Flesh and Spirit (Galatians 5:17) Galatians 5:17 captures the agonizing, irreconcilable warfare within the Christian between the indwelling Holy Spirit and the remaining corrupted human nature, known as the flesh. The Apostle Paul wrote this passage to defend the gospel of justification by faith against two dangerous extremes: the legalism of the Judaizer...

Deep Dive into The Sovereign "I AM" Over the Tormented Sea (Matthew 14:22–36) The narrative of Matthew 14:22–36 presents a profound theological portrait of Jesus Christ’s sovereignty, providence, and mercy, serving as a comprehensive guide for the Christian life. Jesus deliberately compels His disciples into a storm on the Sea of Galilee, directly refuting the modern prosperity gospel th...

Deep Dive into Faith in the Famine: The Sovereign Renewal of the Covenant and the Rejection of Worldly Pragmatism (Genesis 26:1-5) Genesis 26:1-5 presents a historical and theological narrative where Isaac faces a severe famine in the Promised Land. This crisis serves as a divine test to reveal whether Isaac will rely on God's covenant promises or succumb to fear and human pragmatism. During t...

Deep Dive into The True Excellency of a Gospel Minister (John 5:35) by Jonathan Edwards In his 1744 ordination sermon, Jonathan Edwards asserts that the true excellency of a gospel minister is to be both a burning and a shining light, mirroring Christ's description of John the Baptist. Christ appointed ministers to serve as subordinate lights in a spiritually dark world, reflecting his divine...

Deep Dive into Interpreting the Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook by Mark D. Futato - Interpreting the Categories The book of Psalms contains various literary categories, which are groups of writings sharing common characteristics and conventions. Recognizing these categories is essential for biblical interpretation because they guide a reader's expectations about a text's content and provide...

Deep Dive into The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon - Psalm 90 Psalm 90 is a profound prayer and meditation attributed to Moses, composed during the period of Israel's wandering in the wilderness. The composition primarily contrasts the eternal nature of God with the fleeting, fragile reality of human existence. Moses begins by declaring that God has been the secure dwelling place and ref...

Deep Dive into Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon - The Necessity of Ministerial Progress In this lecture, Charles Spurgeon exhorts aspiring ministers to embrace a life of continuous improvement across multiple dimensions of their calling. He urges them to expand their mental and oratorical skills , insisting that preachers must be both intellectually well-furnished and capable of clear,...

Deep Dive into Biblical Missions: Principles, Priorities, and Practices by Mark Tatlock and Christ Burnett - Lessons from the Field: Wisdom for Missionary Wives This chapter compiles insights from interviews with diverse missionary wives, aiming to equip future women in similar roles through shared experiences. Regarding pre-field preparation, the women highlight the necessity of training to balan...

Deep Dive into From Sabbath to Lord’s Day: Weekly Rest in Christ In an era characterized by relentless work, digital connectivity, and exhaustion, the biblical concept of the Sabbath offers a necessary remedy. Rooted in God's rest after creation and codified in the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath was originally established as a universal moral principle requiring a rhythm of six days of labor an...

Deep Dive into The Digital Elenchō: A Reformed Theological Critique of Ukraine’s OSINT Accountability and the Sovereign Justice of God The provided sources examine Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) in the Ukraine conflict through two distinct lenses: a technical, procedural framework and a Reformed theological critique. Technically, OSINT is presented as a "New Accountability Toolbox" att...

Deep Dive into When “Right” Is Wrong: The Mercy of God’s Warning (Proverbs 16:25) Proverbs 16:25 serves as a divine indictment of human autonomy, warning that the path which appears "straight" or morally correct to the natural mind inevitably leads to death. The provided sources expound on this text through a Reformed theological lens, arguing that the Fall has rendered the human heart a...

Deep Dive into The Sufficiency of the King in the Desolate Place (Matthew 14:13–21) The narrative of the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew 14:13–21 presents Jesus as the compassionate Shepherd-King who provides for His people in a "desolate place". Withdrawing to the wilderness following the death of John the Baptist, Jesus is pursued by a vast multitude. Rather than viewing them a...

Deep Dive into The Red Stew and the Ruined Soul (Genesis 25:27–34) Genesis 25:27–34 presents a profound spiritual crisis within the covenant household, detailing how Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. The sources analyze this event not merely as a domestic dispute, but as the anatomy of worldliness and a warning against valuing immediate gratification over eternal treasure. Esau...

Deep Dive into Temptation and Deliverance (Genesis 39:12) by Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, "Temptation and Deliverance," uses the biblical account of Joseph fleeing from Potiphar's wife to establish the doctrine that Christians must avoid not only sin itself but also any situation that leads or exposes them to it. Edwards highlights that Joseph did not merely verbally re...

Deep Dive into The Moody Handbook of Theology, Revised and Expanded by Paul Enns - Theology Proper: Doctrine of God Theology Proper is the specific study of God the Father, distinct from the broader field of theology which covers all Christian belief. The text outlines several arguments for the existence of God, including the cosmological argument, which posits that the universe's existence re...

Deep Dive into The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon - Psalm 89 Psalm 89 is characterized as a majestic Covenant Psalm that brings the third book of the Psalms to a close. It is titled a Maschil, indicating that it is deeply instructive, particularly regarding the theology of the covenant. The author is identified as Ethan the Ezrahite, who likely composed this work in his old age during a per...

Deep Dive into The Analogy of Scripture: Letting God’s Word Interpret God’s Word The "analogy of Scripture" is the historic hermeneutical rule that Scripture must be interpreted by Scripture. Grounded in the doctrine of divine inspiration, this principle asserts that because the Bible has one ultimate Author, it possesses an organic unity and cannot contradict itself. Consequently, the i...

Deep Dive into Biblical Missions: Principles, Priorities, and Practices by Mark Tatlock and Christ Burnett - Women's Ministries in Cross-Cultural Settings The text outlines the principles and practices for women's ministries in cross-cultural settings, emphasizing that while methods may vary by culture, the biblical foundation remains constant. Based on passages like Titus 2:3–5, the autho...

Deep Dive into Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis - Counting the Cost In this chapter, C.S. Lewis addresses the daunting command "Be ye perfect," clarifying that Christ does not demand perfection as a prerequisite for His help, but rather establishes it as the only acceptable end goal of our transformation. Lewis argues that God acts like a conscientious dentist; while we may go to Him see...