For the Truth
Biblical resources, Reformed theology, and cultural apologetics from the ministry of Josef Urban How Can I Know if I'm Saved?Sermon Audio Archive
You can listen to recent and past sermons online at our Sermon Audio page.
— Featured Article —
1 Cor. 2:1–5: Knowing Christ Crucified
Oh! The knowledge of Christ is more precious than life itself! He is the reason we exist, and He furnishes us with the purpose for living. Adorning and magnifying the doctrine of Christ must be our chief pursuit in life. And even on the brink of death, the well-lived life will be able to look back and say, “I determined not to know anything…except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” He was the invigorating impulse that made my heart thrive, he was the electrifying vitality that animated my actions; He has been my profoundest satisfaction in life, and pursuing Him has been my chief aim that trumped every other goal and every other pursuit in life. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
Audio: The Problem of Evil and Goodness of God
The problem of evil was initially raised by the Greek philosopher Epicurus and was popularized by the skeptical philosopher David Hume. Hume put it like this: “Is [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing: whence then is evil?” His question is meant to cast doubt on the existence of God.
The problem of evil is often recognized as the greatest challenge for biblical theism. From the outset we must confess that we cannot penetrate the secret counsel of the mind of God. Scripture gives us light, but it does not give us a full answer to the “Why?” question. It gives us what we need to know, not necessarily all that we would like to know. So the answer of Scripture is not exhaustive, but it certainly is sufficient for a well-grounded, informed, and reasonable faith. Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
Sermon: A Well-Grounded Assurance of Faith (Rom. 5:1–5)
A well-grounded assurance of faith is a heaven of delight in the heart of believers this side of eternity. The Apostle Paul teaches that believers rejoice in tribulation because of the joy of a well-grounded assurance, an assurance enjoyed subjectively and grounded objectively on the Word and promises of God. The doctrine of justification should be embraced and relished such that it yields sweet comfort and consolation in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit, for we know that Christ’s perfect righteousness is imputed to believers and they will never perish. We can be free from the haunting guilt of past shame and the fear of death because our salvation is perfect, perpetual, and permanent, based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone.
— Articles —
The Gospel in a Word
If you had to summarize the gospel in just one word, what would it be? The question is a tough one. Justification? Redemption? Perhaps the best answer would be “Christ,” as long as we understand that His person and work are both included, and it is His work in...
How Can I Know if I’m Saved?
One of the most common issues I have dealt with in pastoral counseling, especially during my years on the mission field where many were coming to faith, is believers who struggle with doubts concerning their salvation. We know that salvation is God’s gift to us by...
A Theology of Sanctification (Exposition of 1689 Confession, Chapter XIII)
Introduction The practical and experiential holiness of the people of the God is a subject that is most neglected in our day, but most emphasized in Scripture. It is the goal of the Father’s electing love, to the praise of his glorious grace (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:4). It...
Paul and the Enigmatic “I” of Romans 7:14–25: Unregenerate or Regenerate?
The identity of the ἐγὼ in Romans 7 has been a topic of much debate through the centuries. That debate still rages today. It is not hard to see why, since even Peter admits that Paul writes “some things hard to be understood” (2 Pet. 3:16). One wonders if Peter did...
“Fulfill” the Law: What does Christ mean in Matthew 5:17–20?
Matthew 5:17–19 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19...
An Exegesis of Romans 2:12–16
Background and Contextual Considerations The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans toward the end of his third missionary journey, probably from Corinth.[1] It was just prior to his visit to Jerusalem to deliver the large monetary gift from the Gentile churches as a...
Christ’s Teaching on Marriage and Divorce: An Exposition of Mark 10:1-12
What did the Lord Jesus Christ teach about marriage, divorce, and re-marriage? This post is a sermon on a foundational passage in the Gospel of Mark about this topic. Mark 10:1–12 says, 1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther...
Light of Light: Hebrews 1:3 in Support of the Eternal Generation of the Son
The doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son (EGS) has fallen on tough times in evangelical and Reformed circles. Though an indispensable component of classical Christian theism as confessed in the Nicene Creed, much of modern scholarship has dispensed with it in...
A Theology of the Role of Suffering in Missions
What is the place of suffering in our theology of mission? Does suffering play any vital or necessary role in the advancement of the missionary endeavor as sovereignly determined by the purposes of God? Or is suffering merely a vocationally-occasioned circumstance...
The Inextricable Relationship Between Divine Impassibility and Some Other Incommunicable Attributes
If God undergoes emotional changes, then does He experience time? Is He then acted upon by creatures and subject to what transpires in the creaturely realm? Is His Being composed of metaphysical complexity? Consider the relationship between God's impassibility and...
John 3:1-10 in Defense of Monergistic Regeneration
An Exegesis of John 3:1–10 with a View to its Testimony Regarding the Agency of the New Birth The hinge upon which the door of salvation-by-sovereign-grace turns is the doctrine of the new birth conceived as a supernatural accomplishment initiated and performed by...
A Biblical Critique of Independent Biblicism
Biblicism is alive and well today. It takes different forms and is practiced to varying degrees. Some see this as a good thing; others, as the bane of simplistic evangelical anti-intellectualism. Some believe it to be mandated by the Bible itself; others attribute it...
Who Am I? Identity Crisis and LGBTQ Ideology
Our society’s understanding of what it means to be a person is changing at the fundamental level. In recent decades, the question of what makes a person a person has been raised. Who decides what constitutes personhood? And on what basis? Take, for example, the...
Preaching the Doctrines of Grace Evangelistically: Lessons from Charles Haddon Spurgeon
It is a well-known fact that “one of the most common charges raised against Calvinism as a theological perspective is that it is not conducive to fueling a long-term passion for missions and evangelism,” as Joel Beeke has observed.[1] But after a survey of John...
John Calvin on the Frequency of the Lord’s Supper
Admirers of John Calvin (1509–1564) who have not read his magisterial Institutes are often surprised when they hear that he argues for a weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper, especially considering that a majority of churches today that trace their roots to the...
Fictional Dialogue on the Problem of Evil
About this dialogue: This is a fictional exchange between an apologist and a professing Christian believer who has witnessed significant suffering, on account of which he is struggling with doubts relative to the “problem of evil.” The struggling Christian’s name is...
Studying Scripture for Soul Satisfaction
Reading the Bible and studying it are not the same thing.[1] I want to encourage you to make a regular habit of both. Bible reading is the best way to rapidly drink down the pure milk of the Word. By reading and surveying large portions of Scripture, we can become...
John Bunyan’s Experiential Exposition of the Doctrine of Justification
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise” (1 Cor. 1:26-27). The...
The Covenant of Works in 17th-Century Particular Baptist Thought
Reformed theology is covenantal, but many modern Baptists are not. What about the Baptists of generations past? Were they covenantal? Did the seventeenth century Particular Baptists believe in the covenant of works? Covenant theology is an indispensable distinctive of...
What is Entire Sanctification? Is It Possible To Be Perfected In Holiness?
The gospel is the power of God to salvation (Rom. 1:16). Its power resides in the fact of its being the revelation of the righteousness of God which is applied to the guilty record of the believing transgressor, thereby acquitting his legal guilt and causing him to be...