Reformed Thinking

Deep Dive into The Humble King Enters Jerusalem: Christ’s Royal Identity and the Right Response (Matthew 21:1–11) Matthew 21:1-11 describes Jesus's purposeful and sovereign entry into Jerusalem during the Passover, a time when the city was filled with pilgrims expecting a political deliverer to overthrow Roman occupation. Jesus deliberately arranged to ride a donkey's colt, explicitly fulf...

Deep Dive into Sorrow and Sin in the Shadow of the Covenant (Genesis 35:16-22) Genesis 35:16-22 captures a profound transition in the life of Jacob's family, marked by deep sorrow and shameful sin. As the family travels from Bethel toward Ephrath, Rachel experiences severe labor. She dies giving birth to her final son, naming him Ben-Oni, meaning son of my sorrow, but Jacob renames him Benjami...

Deep Dive into Justification by Faith Alone (Romans 4:5) by Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards argues that believers are justified entirely by faith in Christ and not by any personal virtue or moral goodness. Justification entails more than just the forgiveness of sins; it means being approved by God as entirely righteous and entitled to eternal life. Because fallen humans are infinitely guilty, no...

Deep Dive into A Dissertation on Divine Justice by John Owen - The third argument — The non-punishment of sin is contrary to the glory of God’s justice — Likewise of his holiness and dominion — A fourth argument — The necessity of a satisfaction being made by the death of Christ — No necessary cause or cogent reason for the death of Christ, according to the adversaries — The objection refuted — Th...

Deep Dive into The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon - Psalm 119:73-80 The tenth portion of Psalm 119, verses 73 through 80, details the psalmist's deep affliction, his plea for divine grace, and his desire to be a blessing to others. The psalmist begins by reflecting on his creation, arguing that since God's hands fashioned his physical body, God should also grant him the spiritual un...

Deep Dive into On Free Will by John Calvin In his treatise on free will, John Calvin methodically refutes arguments raised by opponents who claim that human beings possess the liberty to choose between good and evil. Calvin asserts that due to the corruption of human nature inherited from Adam, humanity is entirely enslaved to sin. While people sin voluntarily, they do so by necessity because thei...

Deep Dive into Noncanonical Jewish Writings by Daniel M. Gurtner Ancient noncanonical Jewish writings from the Second Temple period are generally divided into two main categories: the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha. The term apocrypha, meaning hidden, refers to books found in ancient Greek codices but excluded from the standard Hebrew Bible and the modern Protestant Christian canon. This collect...

Deep Dive into The Sovereign Architect of the Elements: God’s Meticulous Providence over the Natural World The sources argue that the natural world is not an autonomous machine governed by chance or impersonal laws, but rather the theater of God's active, continuous, and purposeful rule. The authors vehemently reject secular concepts like Darwinian evolution and the myth of Mother Nature, alon...

Deep Dive into Sins of Omission: The Failure to Glorify God The sources argue that sin is commonly misunderstood as merely committing evil acts, but it equally involves the failure to do good, known as the sin of omission. The most profound omission is the failure to glorify God, which is humanity's primary created purpose. This deficiency means that even an outwardly moral person who avoids s...

Deep Dive into Saved in Hope: Waiting with Patient Endurance for Promised Glory (Romans 8:24–25) Romans 8:24-25 addresses the profound tension inherent in the Christian life, where believers truly possess salvation but do not yet experience its final consummation. This dynamic is often described as the "already and not yet" of redemptive history, meaning Christians are justified and poss...

Deep Dive into The Merciful Son of David: Blindness, Faith, and Discipleship (Matthew 20:29–34) The accounts of Matthew 20:29-34 detail Jesus’s final journey out of Jericho toward Jerusalem, where he will ultimately suffer and be crucified. Sitting by the road are two physically blind and socially marginalized beggars who vividly represent the total spiritual depravity and helplessness of fallen h...

Deep Dive into Covenant Renewal at Bethel: Divine Faithfulness, Identity, and Worship (Genesis 35:9–15) Genesis 35:9-15 stands as a critical covenant-renewal narrative in which God reaffirms His patriarchal promises to Jacob at Bethel. Both sources emphasize that this divine encounter occurs in the dark aftermath of Jacob's family's moral compromise at Shechem, highlighting that the covena...

Deep Dive into The Folly of Looking Back in Fleeing Out of Sodom (Luke 17:32) by Jonathan Edwards In his 1735 sermon, Jonathan Edwards uses the biblical narrative of escaping Sodom to urge individuals to flee from a state of sin without looking back. Drawing on Christ's warning to remember Lot's wife, Edwards explains that the urgent flight from both Sodom and Jerusalem serves as a typolog...

Deep Dive into Horae Homileticae Vol. 15: Romans by Charles Simeon - Romans 1 Charles Simeon's commentary on Romans 1 explores the apostle Paul's relationship with the Roman church and the universal need for the Gospel. Paul serves as a model of pastoral love, expressing deep gratitude for the spiritual progress of the Roman believers and praying incessantly for them. He eagerly desires to...

Deep Dive into The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon - Psalm 119:65-72 Charles Spurgeon's exposition of Psalm 119:65-72 highlights the profound spiritual benefits of affliction and the supreme value of God's word. The Psalmist begins by expressing deep gratitude, acknowledging that God has dealt wondrously well with him according to His promises, proving that the book of providence per...

Deep Dive into The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Why People Overestimate Their Knowledge and Ability The Dunning-Kruger Effect is a cognitive bias in which individuals with limited knowledge or skill in a specific area significantly overestimate their own competence. This occurs because the very skills required to perform a task well are also the skills needed to accurately evaluate one's performance...

Deep Dive into Tobit and Romans 11:1–36: Israel's Salvation and the Fulfillment of God's Word by John K. Goodrich John K. Goodrich explores the eschatological parallels between the apocryphal book of Tobit and the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans, specifically chapters 9 through 11. Both texts emphasize an unwavering trust that God's word and his promises regarding Israel's rest...

Deep Dive into The Soul Winner by Charles Spurgeon - Obstacles To Soul-Winning Charles Spurgeon identifies several significant obstacles ministers face when attempting to win souls for Christ and offers practical advice for overcoming them. The first major hurdle is the indifference and lethargy of sinners, which often plagues areas lacking active business life. To combat this apathy, Spurgeon urg...

Deep Dive into σάρξ The Greek term sarx primarily denotes the material flesh or muscular tissue of humans and animals. In classical Greek thought, the term evolved to represent the physical body as a whole, often viewed as mortal and corruptible in contrast to the immortal soul, mind, or spirit. Epicurean philosophers closely associated the flesh with physical sensations, bodily passions, and desi...

Deep Dive into Hope in the Midst of Ruin: The Soul’s Recovery Through Remembered Truth (Lamentations 3:21–24) Lamentations 3:21-24 offers a profound declaration of hope situated in the tragic historical context of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. This catastrophic devastation was not a random geopolitical event, but rather the fulfillment of divine covenant curses resulting from...

Deep Dive into The Sovereign Slave and the Ransom for Many: True Greatness and Substitutionary Atonement (Matthew 20:24–28) Matthew 20:24-28 addresses the disciples' sinful ambition and redefines true greatness within the Kingdom of God. The passage is set during Jesus's final journey toward Jerusalem, where He has just predicted His impending suffering and death. Despite this solemn revel...

Deep Dive into Protected to Worship, Yet Still Called to Weep: God’s Covenant Faithfulness (Genesis 35:5–8) Genesis 35:5-8 illustrates God's sovereign preservation of His covenant people, leading them through danger and sorrow into renewed worship. The passage unfolds against the dark backdrop of Genesis 34, where Jacob's sons massacred the men of Shechem, leaving their family highly vulne...

Deep Dive into Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards - Wherein the Chief Grounds of the Reasoning of Arminians, in Support and Defense of the Aforementioned Notions of Liberty, Moral Agency, and against the Opposite Doctrine, Are Considered In his critique of Arminian philosophy, Jonathan Edwards argues that the moral quality of an action, whether virtue or vice, resides in the intrinsic nature...

Deep Dive into Horae Homileticae Vol. 5: Psalms, I–LXXII by Charles Simeon - Psalm 2 Psalm 2, while initially relating to the establishment of David's earthly throne, primarily serves as a prophecy regarding the exaltation and eternal reign of Jesus Christ. Throughout history, Christ and his followers have faced relentless opposition from all ranks of society, beginning with Herod's attemp...

Deep Dive into The Treasury of David by Charles Spurgeon - Psalm 119:57-64 In his exposition of Psalm 119:57-64, Charles Spurgeon details the spiritual marks of a true believer, beginning with the joyful recognition of God as an eternal portion. Recognizing God as this supreme treasure naturally leads to a firm resolution to observe and keep His words. However, this profound assurance does not eli...