Christian scholarship that lacks passion about the truth is not worthy of the name Christian to begin with. If dispassion and detachment are necessary attributes of scholarship, then I do not seek the appellation. I cannot comprehend dry faith, arid confession, or mere mental assent. A person who has only intellectual knowledge of the sufficiency of Scripture, but lacks a deep, abiding love of the Scriptures and an understanding of how their sufficiency is related to the gospel and to the assurance of salvation, is liable to be led astray by winsome words or the traditions of men. At the same time, a person who professes great zeal for the truth, but does not honor the truth by growing in knowledge of it, can be easily led astray. We need a balanced understanding of and love for the truth of sola scriptura. Divine truths command our undivided allegiance, and this love of divine truth is what I seek to encourage in your heart. (James White, Scripture Alone)

by Richard Shin

It feels good to be back, doesn’t it? I for one am glad that the hiatus is over. I hope these links are encouraging for your soul.

• To start us off, here’s a quickie, but valuable for those who seek to understand the narratives in the Old Testament. Julian Freeman compiled a list of ten guidelines one must keep in mind when trying to understand narrative portions of the Bible. This framework would be helpful, say, when trying to understand the Books of the Bible.
• Douglas Wilson categorizes workers into two types: makers and fakers. Read the article and if you find yourself in the faker camp, you need to step back and re-assess whether you are truly seeking to glorify God.
• Do you think preaching the gospel to yourself can replace Scripture-reading? I think many of us would tend to lean this way. David Mathis helps us understand why this has a short shelf life and one needs to do both: preach to yourself daily and soak in the Scriptures.
• Ray Ortlund (you saw this one coming) shares some wise words on obedience and leadership. You can check it out here.
• Just the words “doctrine of predestination” can make some people squirm in their seats. But for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, this doctrine is all-encouraging. BJ Stockman, guest blogger for Zach Nielson’s blog, helps us understand why.
• In response to dissidents of the doctrine of hell, Tim Challies has a short series on “The Holiness of God and the Existence of Hell.” You can find them in four parts: part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

I hope these articles energize you in your walk and are enough to keep you busy until next week. Have a great weekend everyone, and see y’all at the Luau!

Coram Deo