Category: Theology

  • Body of Divinity: Why Sound Doctrine Still Matters 

    I have been doing some reading in Thomas Watson’s “Body of Divinity”. Watson was a Puritan, and the “Divinity” is from his sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism, published after he died in 1776. It’s readily available for free from many sources online, including https://digitalpuritan.net/

    I’m not affiliated with them in any way and can’t endorse everything on their shelves, but they are a great source of free Puritan works. The Puritans get a bad rap in the world today, but they have much godly wisdom to impart.

    Spurgeon said,

    “Thomas Watson’s Body of Practical Divinity is one of the most precious of the peerless works of the Puritans; and those best acquainted with it prize it most. Watson was one of the most concise, racy, illustrative, and suggestive of those eminent divines who made the Puritan age the Augustan period of evangelical literature. There is a happy union of sound doctrine, heart-searching experience, and practical wisdom throughout all his works, and his Body of Divinity is, beyond all the rest, useful to the student and the minister.”

    Unlike some, I am a fan of catechisms and statements of faith. They should not in any way replace Scripture, and where they conflict, Scripture should always be trusted over them. They help articulate what the Scriptures teach. 

    In his introduction, Watson says,

    “It is the duty of Christians to be settled in the doctrine of faith. The best way for Christians to be settled is to be well-grounded”

    I have to agree. It is, of course, possible for someone to be so theologically minded that they miss out on God’s love and grace in their lives. For the vast majority of Christians, this isn’t a risk at all.

    The Bible is clear that we need to know what we believe, why we believe it, and why it matters.

    Our doctrine matters because our faith is grounded in a very specific message.

    For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 ESV

    Our destiny is grounded in truth.

    In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13 ESV

    But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits[a] to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 ESV

    We’re called to share the truth in a world of competing views and false teachers. We need to do our best to proclaim the truth and that requires understanding.

    The gospel is a sacred trust. We don’t often think of the gospel in those terms, but it is true.

    Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 1:3 ESV

    Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 2 Timothy 1:13-14 ESV

    How well have you been guarding the truth entrusted to you? We can all use improvement.

    Read the Word. Study the Word. Apply the Word.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Reading Thomas Watson’s Body of Divinity reminded me that doctrine matters. My faith rests on one unchanging message I’m called to guard and pass on.

     

    TAKEAWAY

    Your faith doesn’t rest on a feeling. It rests on a fixed message: Christ died, was buried, and rose again, exactly as Scripture said.

    The gospel isn’t yours to reshape. It’s a sacred trust, and you’re called to guard it and pass it down intact.

    You won’t get settled in what you believe by accident. Being well grounded means knowing what you believe, why you believe it, and why it matters.

    Check these posts out

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  • A Dark and Stormy Night

    Jesus walks on the water

    I was reading a familiar passage of Scripture yesterday. It’s an account of Jesus walking on water on a dark, stormy night. There is more to the story than you might suspect from an initial read.

    Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.  And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Mark 6:45-52 ESV

    In the parallel passage in Matthew, we see Peter step out of the boat and walk on the water. That’s powerful stuff. For this morning, though, I’m going to key in on some key imagery from elsewhere in the Bible that might not be immediately obvious.

    Jesus was about to pass them by. Why? He is about to confirm who He is. In Exodus 33, God allows His glory to pass by Moses, although Moses is not permitted to see God’s face. Now, in case you might think I’m reading too much into this passing by, stay with me.

    In Job we read,

    …who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; Job 9:8-8 ESV

    God alone walks on the water. We know Peter tried a few steps but couldn’t sustain it. Jesus walked partway across the Sea of Galilee.

    When the disciples panic and think they see a ghost, Jesus calms them by saying.  “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”  It is I, is only 2 words in Greek (ego eimi), and they are much more powerful and significant than most Bible readers realize.  The phrase in English translates as “it is I,” but a more accurate translation can be argued as “I AM,” a direct assertion of His deity. 

    Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14 ESV

    Jesus affirms His deity by pointing us back to the Old Testament, by walking on water (a physical miracle) and by using the name God used to introduce Himself to Moses.

    Does knowing those things change the meaning of the passage? Not at all, but they do deepen our understanding and appreciation of what was happening that dark and stormy night.

    Jesus is God in the flesh. He came to pay the penalty for our sin. He loves us enough to die for us when we were still His enemies. He accepts us by faith.

    That’s a bigger miracle than walking on the water. It’s a reason to rejoice.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I share how a familiar account of Jesus walking on water carries far more meaning than we usually notice. Old Testament imagery and the words “I AM” reveal what Jesus was really declaring that stormy night on the Sea of Galilee.

    TAKEAWAY

    I connect Jesus “passing by” the disciples to God’s glory passing by Moses in Exodus 33.

    I show how Job 9:8 makes clear that God alone walks on the water, marking this as no ordinary miracle.

    I unpack how “It is I” translates the Greek ego eimi, echoing God’s own name “I AM” from Exodus 3:14.

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    IMAGE

    William Brassey Hole (1846-1917) – Jesus Walks on the Sea

    A c.1905 illustration from The Life of Jesus of Nazareth Portrayed in Colours. Public Domain