tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-192199222024-03-17T23:00:46.060-04:00stylosStylos is the blog of Jeff Riddle, a Reformed Baptist Pastor in North Garden, Virginia. The title "Stylos" is the Greek word for pillar. In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul urges his readers to consider "how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar (stylos) and ground of the truth."
Image (left side): Decorative urn with title for the book of Acts in Codex Alexandrinus.Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.comBlogger3468125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-75369076554251749012024-03-15T16:40:00.008-04:002024-03-15T16:40:59.587-04:00WM 302: The Failure of James White's Apologetic in the "Real World": RCC, PA, and Sola Scriptura<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q-0p2wpWrQU?si=9sjMn4DFRZJhDi8z" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/31524010381000/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-59317144971062781202024-03-15T15:38:00.003-04:002024-03-15T15:38:48.415-04:00The Vision (3.15.24): The Spiritual Advantage of Knowing God's Providence<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUMDnGqcdxpeN2ozyo6QErpGMFQGm5zTA65xbYhanEnPE4Th7gFJWsXsbL2uxyP4CnCnBm28C7zERh9uaQlMD5S1HWNgnm1vE6Mfi4fVE4lkPB-30flnTae3CxfCKx5MO9lsTwLd_kKJgzJDoo0uTXYD98B4U6-DP5_Xj0PnezwCyJJv3C47TnA/s4032/IMG_4161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUMDnGqcdxpeN2ozyo6QErpGMFQGm5zTA65xbYhanEnPE4Th7gFJWsXsbL2uxyP4CnCnBm28C7zERh9uaQlMD5S1HWNgnm1vE6Mfi4fVE4lkPB-30flnTae3CxfCKx5MO9lsTwLd_kKJgzJDoo0uTXYD98B4U6-DP5_Xj0PnezwCyJJv3C47TnA/w480-h640/IMG_4161.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Image: Daffodils, Charlottesville, Virginia, March 2024.</i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Note: Devotion is taken from <a href="https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=311241551556119">last Sunday's afternoon sermon</a> on Lord's Day 10 Heidelberg Catechism:</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">And not only so, but we glory in
tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience,
experience, and experience, hope (Romans 5:3-4).<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">It is interesting that there are
various apologetic ministries that are dedicated to upholding the doctrine of
God as Creator. One thinks of ministries like Answers in Genesis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">I couldn’t think of any ministry
offhand, however, that is specifically dedicated to the doctrine of God’s
Providence. Maybe we need to found one that could be called “Answers in
Providence.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">On Lord’s Day 10 in the
Heidelberg Catechism, Q. 28 asks, <i>What advantage is it to us to know that
God has created, and by His providence doth still uphold all things?<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">The answer given to the question
illustrates why this catechism has been called a “book of comfort”:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Answer: That we may be patient
in adversity; thankful in prosperity; and that in all things, which may
hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father,
that nothing shall separate us from His love; since all creatures are so in His
hand, that without His will they cannot so much as move.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">This is very practical counsel. What
is to be the Christian’s disposition or attitude in times of adversity (in the
midst of frowning providences)? Patience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">And what is to be the Christian’s
disposition or attitude in times of prosperity (in the midst of smiling
providences)? Thankfulness. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything
give thanks.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Maybe rather than asking, “How
are you doing?”, Christians need to start asking one another, “Are you in a
season of patience or in a season of thankfulness?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">One of the prooftexts provided
for this teaching in the catechism is Romans 5:3-5. In Romans 5:3a, Paul says, “we
glory in tribulations also.” He then proceeds in Romans 5:3b-4 to describe what
we might call a “golden chain” of sanctification: tribulation produces patience;
patience produces experience; and experience produces hope. Paul concludes, “And
hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">May the Lord teach us in all the
providential circumstances of life to respond with patience and thankfulness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff
Riddle<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-40402880230310862502024-03-08T12:55:00.001-05:002024-03-08T12:55:14.242-05:00The Vision (3.8.24): They went out from us, but they were not of us<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDXpLUq1QZqg7uoqAIVibTYqYkC-Dqyo0gtf-1aUMQnrOxFwFSXbNV47phMxRI1YOYx_jO9HOYkaITQa7Jum5yU6T1GDmFeSc5hckCZRwvPoh5AfDcnAs6XEGL6y3slm2hy-NTy_eGtqak_sFjmoELH1hJzu0bOHHR95sNA9MsXnMarBUXocGrQ/s512/church%20exit%20doors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDXpLUq1QZqg7uoqAIVibTYqYkC-Dqyo0gtf-1aUMQnrOxFwFSXbNV47phMxRI1YOYx_jO9HOYkaITQa7Jum5yU6T1GDmFeSc5hckCZRwvPoh5AfDcnAs6XEGL6y3slm2hy-NTy_eGtqak_sFjmoELH1hJzu0bOHHR95sNA9MsXnMarBUXocGrQ/w640-h640/church%20exit%20doors.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 John 2:18-23.</b></span></i></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">They went out
from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt
have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that
they were not all of us (1 John 2:19a).<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">The church
addressed by the apostle in 1 John had likely suffered serious conflict over
Christology, with some denying that Christ has come “in the flesh,” that is, denying
his true humanity (see 4:1-3; cf. 1:1).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">John goes so far
as to call such persons “antichrists” (1 John 2:18; cf. 4:3).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">As a result, this
church had suffered schism, as these false teachers and others, perhaps even innocent
ones (“they were not all of us”), were caught up in the fray and departed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">There are
several things to learn here:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">First, not all
conflicts in the church are bad. Often churches have conflict for bad reasons,
like inter-personal conflicts or the color of the carpet. But sometimes there
is good reason to have conflict, if it means opposing false teaching.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Second, it is
not always bad for persons to leave a church, if they hold views that oppose
the teaching of Christ and are not willing to repent and learn the way that is
right and Biblical.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">We do not
believe in peace at all costs. Obedience to Christ is paramount. Just as surgery,
though painful, is sometimes needed to remove what brings harm to the body, it
must be done. If the pain of surgery is avoided the end result might be something
far worse, even death itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is yet a
third lesson. In this case, the “orthodox” camp apparently held the majority
and prevailed. The antichrists departed. But it does not always happen that
way. Sometimes it is the orthodox who must depart as the majority wrongly sides
with error.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">John addressed a
situation like this in 3 John 9-10 where he makes mention of an antichrist
teacher named Diotrophes who cast out faithful brothers from a church.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Luther and
Calvin and thousands of other “Protest-ants” had to come out of the Medieval
Roman church during the time of the Reformation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I recently read
a book written by a man named D. A. Thompson who in the early twentieth century
had to come out from the Church of England due to compromise in that body.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">We do not desire
to be schismatic and fractious in spirit. But we must hold fast to Christ above
all. We want no schism with Christ!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-46415176179741273992024-03-06T09:37:00.001-05:002024-03-06T09:37:07.115-05:00RBF-VA Spring 2024 Pastors' Fraternal (Prebyterion): April 26<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5c2BLv1ztZOYI79mLBSwRtdKHhXZgXiQzUAQ5os1xqcAaaesxeJVDV6JxC0BYu9iS8yBrcf0mLgL2rBjsZEr4sLlApvDTCneiJdRu-lAP_iVmAL7strGgab4kfBnCJmEqjtgKP_tAu6Q0fnaIxyzjjaJq3Rn2P_XGlVsW6tb573XcoFDXgxBsg/s1080/Pastors-fraternal-2024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5c2BLv1ztZOYI79mLBSwRtdKHhXZgXiQzUAQ5os1xqcAaaesxeJVDV6JxC0BYu9iS8yBrcf0mLgL2rBjsZEr4sLlApvDTCneiJdRu-lAP_iVmAL7strGgab4kfBnCJmEqjtgKP_tAu6Q0fnaIxyzjjaJq3Rn2P_XGlVsW6tb573XcoFDXgxBsg/w640-h640/Pastors-fraternal-2024.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-44779255048958154292024-03-04T10:46:00.005-05:002024-03-04T10:46:24.945-05:00Text and Translation Note: John 16:21, "Man" or "Human Being"? (Jots & Tittles 25)<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bDJcZYYxjJc?si=AqJBxV1MOkAXqCZT" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/34241534346362/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-7970430943167440002024-03-02T17:47:00.002-05:002024-03-02T17:47:19.715-05:00The Vision (3.1.24): All that is in the world<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYlsHUntd2cG51viGZrygwLUysVmjylvVeuhP-QfOl2rjakw5FTf7q2Hp3hDx06wTIrPeKvciBJcry0GWNIhD2_pzeMmRfdfUEPgT2KWl0VnvLtYCb2Yvbd4fUUaiSx1m68vzFovwcNw872IbGTItmOnION0fnISNICu5GMP10Zm6MD8a-9ZHqA/s1024/Public_Domain_Fear-1024x727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="1024" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYlsHUntd2cG51viGZrygwLUysVmjylvVeuhP-QfOl2rjakw5FTf7q2Hp3hDx06wTIrPeKvciBJcry0GWNIhD2_pzeMmRfdfUEPgT2KWl0VnvLtYCb2Yvbd4fUUaiSx1m68vzFovwcNw872IbGTItmOnION0fnISNICu5GMP10Zm6MD8a-9ZHqA/w640-h454/Public_Domain_Fear-1024x727.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 John 2:12-17.</b></span></i></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world (1 John 2:16).<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
apostle exhorts his hearers, “Love not the world, neither the things that are
in the world” (1 John 2:15a). By “the world [Greek: <i>kosmos</i>]” he does not
mean the created order, or the people within it, but the fallen world as it
sets itself up against Christ and his kingdom.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">John
proceeds to describe three things “that are in the world” in particular that
are especially devious in deflecting and turning one’s attention away from
Christ and his kingdom and toward the god of this world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">First,
the lust of the flesh. This refers to fleshly cravings. God has given us lawful
desires, but Satan causes those lawful desires to overflow their proper
boundaries. Even as believers we have those remaining corruptions within us,
and the lust of the flesh entices us. So Paul counseled in 1 Corinthians 6:18,
“Flee immorality.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Second,
the lust of the eyes. This can take many forms including avarice, greed, and
materialism. The barn-builder in Christ’s parable in Luke 12 was consumed with
this lust and wanted to build for himself bigger barns to hold his possessions,
but the very night he gained his desire, the Lord said to him, “Thou fool, this
night thy soul shall be required of thee” (v. 20).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Third,
the pride of life. This has been described as “Boasting in one’s acts and
resources”” (<i>RH KJV Study Bible</i>). Do we point more to ourselves and our
supposed accomplishments or do we point toward Christ? Peter admonished,
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt
you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">These
things are not of the Father, but of the world, John says (v. 16b).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
last word in v. 17 is that the world “passeth away” along with its inordinate
desires or lusts, but the will of God abideth forever. To which do we want to
hitch or join our lives? That which is here today and gone tomorrow, or that
which will never pass away?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Grace
and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-46824038877766846472024-02-29T16:45:00.003-05:002024-02-29T16:45:16.057-05:00Article: Jean-Marc Berthoud, "Is Textual Criticism To Be Feared?"<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uIpJlav8Hmg?si=NcZAcSLv9KnkEkeG" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/22924212591332/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/115605190/Jean_Marc_Berthoud_Is_Textual_Criticism_To_Be_Feared_in_Christianity_and_Society_Vol_XII_No_4_October_2002_24_28">Read the article on my academia.edu page here.</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.zurichpublishing.org/jean-marc-berthoud">Find a bio and bibliography of the author here.</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>JTR</b></span></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-52682013620896316372024-02-23T17:15:00.002-05:002024-02-23T17:15:08.610-05:00WM 301: Sermon Review: Gurry on the PA as a Spurious but "True" Illustration<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_zexMyoQHBE?si=LZDXIz4WOOn5xZUe" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/2212401545475/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/104760700/Why_John_7_53_8_11_is_in_the_Bible_A_Defence_of_the_Authenticity_of_The_Woman_Taken_in_Adultery_Account_in_the_Text_of_Holy_Scripture_Trinitarian_Bible_Society_2023_">Here is a link to my TBS booklet, <i>Why John 7:53-8:11 is in the Bible.</i></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-1924757016969643582024-02-23T17:05:00.001-05:002024-02-23T18:47:39.850-05:00The Vision (2.23.24): A New Commandment<p><i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBm9DZHuCKfL0hsbwIe8qJwd3shI6FPMkwMEiOr0PxCdYjiDibzq4hXcxGWICqcktpctTiYBuc_A3tqm9a6Lmt22s9-grKZCxgWNAlkfrY1UK6KyktiqcRk9kfwFPmRUo9V7olWAQjEYYiJTqI2QMBa-KJkBLbWcnyFFkLjbgd8jWFfSD49wNZPQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="800" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjBm9DZHuCKfL0hsbwIe8qJwd3shI6FPMkwMEiOr0PxCdYjiDibzq4hXcxGWICqcktpctTiYBuc_A3tqm9a6Lmt22s9-grKZCxgWNAlkfrY1UK6KyktiqcRk9kfwFPmRUo9V7olWAQjEYYiJTqI2QMBa-KJkBLbWcnyFFkLjbgd8jWFfSD49wNZPQ=w640-h416" width="640" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;"><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="text-align: justify;">Image: Harbor Street, ancient Ephesus, Turkey.</i></div><p></p><p><i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on 1 John 2:7-11.</b></span></i></p><p><i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is
true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth
(1 John 2:8).</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1 John 2 the apostle tells his readers that he writes “no
new commandment unto you, but an old commandment” (v. 7). Nevertheless, he then
proceeds to call it “a new commandment" in v. 8.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">What is this old, new commandment? The reference here is
likely to the new commandment which Christ gave his disciples in the upper room
in John 13:34-35, that they love one another as Christ loved them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">John was reminding his Christian readers of the special love
and regard Christians are to have for one another, based on Christ's example. Christ,
as the New Lawgiver, gives them this new commandment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Friends, we are also being exhorted today to take up this new
commandment. He has set an example for us. We should serve one another as
Christ has served us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It starts in the home in the way Christians husbands and
wives treat one another, and it expands to the way Christian parents interact
with all their children, but especially their believing children. How wonderful
it is when our children are also our brothers and sisters in Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It extends into our church in the ways in which we listen to,
honor, and care for one another within the household of faith.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It extends to the way we treat Christian brethren in our
sister congregations here in Virginia and around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It will govern the language we use and the tone of our
discourse on social media.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Do our actions reveal that we walk in the light or that we
are walking in darkness?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">What do you do if anyone, but especially a Christian brother,
rubs you the wrong way? Can you plod? Can you continue to abide or remain in
Christ? As John said, “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light…” (1
John 2:10).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">We have an old, new commandment to love one another as Christ
has loved us. And we have assurance of our faith if we obey his commandments (1
John 2:5; cf. John 14:15; 15:14).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<i><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Grace
and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle</span></i>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-32048799804083612692024-02-20T19:37:00.001-05:002024-02-20T19:37:02.878-05:00WM 300: Article Review: T. David Gordon, The Case for the Eclectic Text & the OPC<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mgWqz8P866E?si=WZFhrDYatPPu5vga" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/2212401545475/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">JTR</b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-60879672167821930802024-02-16T12:54:00.001-05:002024-02-16T12:56:55.476-05:00The Vision (2.16.24): We have an Advocate<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4diBrthfy8F60OyV7WZS0BP_JFQ1md-Bin9Z7iHePlgnxaAdKW9k8jKHH6F65grxJxWp1whtnlcoCPrrz7TT9xfQs0yFFcwg9bpXRwghWCb5gWwRT4wdux4Mji9hc7gxk7BH6rTcOJz4amf5XsQbY2UiAmrLxIF-urttSu0aKhuto6-scvPY0A/s3000/Library%20of%20Celsus.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2009" data-original-width="3000" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4diBrthfy8F60OyV7WZS0BP_JFQ1md-Bin9Z7iHePlgnxaAdKW9k8jKHH6F65grxJxWp1whtnlcoCPrrz7TT9xfQs0yFFcwg9bpXRwghWCb5gWwRT4wdux4Mji9hc7gxk7BH6rTcOJz4amf5XsQbY2UiAmrLxIF-urttSu0aKhuto6-scvPY0A/w640-h428/Library%20of%20Celsus.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Image: Ruins of the Library of Celsus in ancient Ephesus, Turkey.</i></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><i><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on 1 John 2:1-6.</b></span></i></span></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><i><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin
not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous (1 John 2:1).<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">John addresses the recipients of this letter as “my little
children” </span></span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-color-alt: windowtext; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(cf. 1 John 2:12, 28; 3:7,
18; 4:4; 5:21). He has been their spiritual father, and they are children of
God by the new birth (John 1:12-13).</span><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">To what end does he write? “that ye sin not.” John was not
expecting perfectionism from the saints (cf. 1 John 1:8-10). He knew that on
this side of the kingdom they would not be fully sanctified, but he wanted them
to live victorious Christian lives in which they were no longer bound by the
old ways of sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He also knew that in this life, with all their remaining
corruptions, they would continue to come short of God’s glory, but when they did,
he did not want them to be crushed by this but instead to realize that
provision had been made for them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So he continues, “And if any man [Christian man, believer] sin, we
[believers] have an advocate with the Father….” The word rendered as “advocate”
in Greek is <i>paraklētos</i>. It means a spokesman, an intercessor, a helper,
a comforter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Four times in the Gospel of John Christ used this term in
reference to the Holy Spirit, and it is translated there as “Comforter” (see
John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Paul
likewise speaks of the Spirit in this way, describing the Comforter as one who
helps us in our infirmities when we don’t know how to pray, and who makes intercession
for us with groanings that cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In 1
John 2:1, however, the apostle John applies that term not to the Spirit but to
Christ. Not only does the Spirit help us in our prayers, but so does Christ
himself. He goes before the Father when we sin and serves as our advocate
before the Father. We might imagine his advocacy for us before the Father as
perhaps like this:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Father, remember, that this redeemed sinner is
but dust.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">O Father you have saved this man and promised to
sanctify him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">O Father, remember that my blood was shed to
satisfy thy wrath and for the forgiveness of this man’s sins.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When
we sin and we are burdened down by it, John said that we are to remember that
we have an Advocate with the Father who is “Jesus Christ, the righteous.” The
word “righteous” is there to remind us that while we are sinners, our Advocate is
without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
apostle Paul likewise declares that Christ is able to save “to the uttermost”
those who come to the Father by him, “seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them” (Hebrews 7:25).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Christ
is our Advocate!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Grace
and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-33968050802579077152024-02-09T14:59:00.004-05:002024-02-09T14:59:18.994-05:00The Vision (2.9.24): God is Light!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZAyO6rj-ZdCks5LqZi334hgwRCF5JKKG4mkinOVCaUlghiURLVVpuAXHSiTCQHm03FrAwFIwd3RTBnvU59o9NrU0lsYmHXGGgSYWyX_C9sjgF2DytT7WTjOYWrp1Hz3m3nh8Cg8lBN4mNNnW1PN2h7k75A-8lKwqMifKxQk0dvBkcQD7PCCztA/s4032/IMG_4024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZAyO6rj-ZdCks5LqZi334hgwRCF5JKKG4mkinOVCaUlghiURLVVpuAXHSiTCQHm03FrAwFIwd3RTBnvU59o9NrU0lsYmHXGGgSYWyX_C9sjgF2DytT7WTjOYWrp1Hz3m3nh8Cg8lBN4mNNnW1PN2h7k75A-8lKwqMifKxQk0dvBkcQD7PCCztA/w480-h640/IMG_4024.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Image: Winter morning, North Garden, Virginia, February 2024</i></p><p><i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Note: Devotion based on last Sunday's sermon on 1 John 1:5-10.</b></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This then is the message which we have heard of
him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all
(1 John 1:5).<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">John declares, “God is light.” What, however,
does this mean? Technically speaking, the scientists will tell us that light
refers to electro-magnetic radiation that can be perceived or detected by the
human eye at certain wavelengths and which travels in a vacuum at 186, 282
miles per second.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Bible tells us that God created light when he
said, “Let there be light, and there was light” (Genesis 1:3, 14-16).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">When John wrote, “God is light,” he did not mean
to say that God is part of the creation. What he meant to say is that God is <i>like
</i>light. This is true in at least two ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">First, God is like the light in that he brings
clarity and illumination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Go into a dark basement and grope about and then flip
the light-switch, and the things that were hidden are revealed as they are
bathed in light. John is saying God is like that and knowing God is like that. Apart
from God we are confined by fear and ignorance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Second, like light God is powerful and even incomprehensible
to mere men. Light can be so powerful that we cannot look directly upon it.
Look at the sun directly and you will go blind. God is like the light in this
way. He makes himself known to us, but we as mere men cannot look upon him
directly, lest our senses be scourged.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">This is what the hymn writer was getting at when
he wrote, “Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible, hid from
our eyes….”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So, when John says God is light, he is saying God
is THE only one who allows us to see all things as they truly are. And he is so
great and so powerful that we mere men are in no wise able to look upon him
directly and comprehend all that he is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is one more important part of this
statement that needs emphasis. John says he, as an apostle, is conveying this
because this is what he heard directly from Christ himself: “This is the
message <b>which we have heard from him</b>….”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We might ask when Christ declared, “God is
light”? If we look through the Gospels, we cannot find that statement, but we
can find in John 8:12 where Christ said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12),
and where he later said, “I and <i>my</i> Father are one” (John 10:30).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">At the beginning of John’s Gospel, the apostle refers
to Christ as “the light of men,” adding, “And the light shineth in the darkness”
(John 1:4-5). Later he says, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John
1:18).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">God is light. Christ is the light of the world. When
we see and know Christ, we see and know God.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-1338623656048236962024-02-08T08:06:00.001-05:002024-02-08T08:06:04.217-05:002024 Reformation Bible Society Promo Video<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c9IbP7-gp7M?si=ASkw6dvm6RQxeNxh" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-55098467023581939432024-02-07T14:35:00.005-05:002024-02-07T14:35:44.842-05:00WM 299: Article Review: Bruce A. Stahl, The Case for the Majority Text & the OPC<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5NpcyISf7vc?si=cDLvlj5zNB8XJn-Z" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/2624224328497/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/104737711/_FIVE_QUESTIONS_ABOUT_THE_MAJORITY_TEXT_Posed_to_its_Contemporary_Evangelical_and_Reformed_Advocates_Bible_League_Quarterly_No_494_July_September_2023_19_23"><span style="font-size: large;">You can also find here my article, <i>Five Questions About The Majority Text</i>.</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-63891450716752361942024-02-05T12:20:00.000-05:002024-02-05T12:20:04.192-05:002024 Reformation Bible Society: August 3, 2024 @ Liberty Mountain Conference Center, Lynchburg, Virginia<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6R_aNZwWtFxF5_O0Sjs7MAHIrIyht8qdr9OocGkpDly70ANT2kaVpUbnEYmPo9sW3LXyrUYsG_SCon76huh2eRGJ5DXenk8pjXzdxVfnxzR7xK1ILUwwlJL7BMqW3IcLXAiN36jrx9YPuxc993etx3MWcEh_ESHSpqVLcJfd-dH_cj0gocQ4a5g/s1080/Reformation-Bible-Society-August-Annual-Meeting3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6R_aNZwWtFxF5_O0Sjs7MAHIrIyht8qdr9OocGkpDly70ANT2kaVpUbnEYmPo9sW3LXyrUYsG_SCon76huh2eRGJ5DXenk8pjXzdxVfnxzR7xK1ILUwwlJL7BMqW3IcLXAiN36jrx9YPuxc993etx3MWcEh_ESHSpqVLcJfd-dH_cj0gocQ4a5g/w640-h640/Reformation-Bible-Society-August-Annual-Meeting3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can learn about the Reformation Bible Society by visiting its website:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.reformationbiblesociety.org"><span style="font-size: large;">www.reformationbiblesociety.org</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>"The purpose of this Society shall be to foster and promote scholarly study, defense, and interpretation of the traditional Reformation text of Christian Scripture (i.e., the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Old Testament and Received Text of the Greek New Testament) by providing a medium for oral exchange and written expression of thought and reseach."</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The theme of the 2024 Annual Meeting will be, "The Reformation Text and the Septuagint."</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Plenary Lectures will be given by Russell Fuller, Jeffrey T. Riddle, David Kranendonk, and Christian McShaffrey.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.reformationbiblesociety.org/schedule/"><span style="font-size: large;">You can find the conference schedule here.</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Various short papers addressing the conference theme will be presented in breakout sessions, including papers by Albert Hemb, Matthew Vogan, Jonathan Arnold, Peter Van Kleecke, Jr., Brett Mahlen, and Patrick Morgan.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.reformationbiblesociety.org/schedule/"><span style="font-size: large;">If you are interested in presenting a short paper, read the Call for Papers.</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The deadline to submit short paper proposals for consideration is April 30, 2024.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>JTR</b></span></div><br /><p></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-26681373016904157662024-02-02T13:19:00.002-05:002024-02-02T13:19:58.140-05:00WM 298: Article Review: T. David Gordon on Textual Criticism & the OPC<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BxJkJwq9lzg?si=yWjwJGdOEGj_pkTG" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/2224164471032/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-48694148791041023072024-02-02T13:13:00.001-05:002024-02-02T13:13:40.890-05:00The Vision (2.2.24): Eyewitness of the Word of Life<p> </p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM7tOqrNoPHT2AlCy7Q5tgA2FwS2LLxVI2NhH1DIpvhGT7V09OyIWjnJdTJNHedM_ZKKTHGxV49SEHlM-pXfgO5fdYpk3zUnxcWKx3_cZl47wVjAq0vt7gwZ4wY6uSpAadOgL1fI_E5FnJpcQ7155knfKSkIrJm-yl3VSTP7q8JLxQz7YSUjXgQ/s873/basilica_of_st_john_ephesus.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="873" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM7tOqrNoPHT2AlCy7Q5tgA2FwS2LLxVI2NhH1DIpvhGT7V09OyIWjnJdTJNHedM_ZKKTHGxV49SEHlM-pXfgO5fdYpk3zUnxcWKx3_cZl47wVjAq0vt7gwZ4wY6uSpAadOgL1fI_E5FnJpcQ7155knfKSkIrJm-yl3VSTP7q8JLxQz7YSUjXgQ/w640-h496/basilica_of_st_john_ephesus.webp" width="640" /></a></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Image: Ruins from the Basilica of St. John in Ephesus, built in the sixth century, supposedly on the sight where John the Apostle was buried.</i></div><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></i><p></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Note: Devotion taken from <a href="https://tinysa.com/sermon/12824215883990">last Sunday's sermon</a> on 1 John 1:1-4.</b></span></i></span></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, or
the Word of life” (1 John 1:1).<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The early Christians were beset by problems on two sides. We might
say they were fighting a war on two fronts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">First, there was the external struggle with non-Christians,
whether with Jews who were casting Jewish Christians out of the synagogues, or
with Roman authorities who saw Christians as a threat to the civil order.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Second, and perhaps even more difficult and destructive, there
were conflicts within the Body of Christ. There was an internal front that
involved a battle against false teaching and false teachers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One of the greatest early struggles for authentic believers and
for true churches was controversy over Christology. Namely, there were those
who denied that the Lord Jesus had been a true man. Today the main problem is
that people deny the true deity of Christ, but in the early days the more
common problem was that they denied his true humanity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">They asked, How can you say that Jesus was true God and also say
that he was a true man who was conceived in the virgin’s womb, who slept,
hungered, thirsted, wept, perspired, and, most of all, who suffered and died on
the cross?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Their explanation was that Jesus had not been a true man, but that
he had only appeared to be a man. The Greek verb for to appear to be is <i>dokeo</i>.
Later theologians would call those who denied our Lord’s true humanity,
Docetists and their belief Docetism.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1 John is a writing from the Apostle John that was composed, in
part, in order to help a group of Christians, a church, which had been stirred
up by a group of false teachers who denied Christ’s true humanity. We get
various clues about this throughout 1 John.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One clue of schism in this church is found in 1 John 2:19: “They
went out from us, but they were not of us…”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Another huge clue of dispute is found in 1 John 4:1-3, which
contains a call for discernment (“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try
the spirits whether they are of God…”). Some had denied that Christ had come “in
the flesh” (as a true man), and so, John says, they had a spirit of “antichrist”
(opposing right teaching about Christ).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">John wrote to provide these believers with a testimony that he, as
an Apostle, was an eyewitness to the life of Christ, whom he calls “the Word of
life,” and that Christ was and is a true man. He did not just appear to be a
man. He was not a ghost, a specter, a spirit, a hologram, but a true flesh and
blood man. If Christ had not been a true man he could not have sympathized with
us in our weakness, and if he were not true God he could not have saved us to
the utmost.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Lord Jesus Christ is true God and true man!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white;"><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Grace and peace, Pastor
Jeff Riddle</span></i></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-8402175603416675992024-01-30T19:56:00.003-05:002024-01-30T19:56:35.168-05:002024 Keach Conference Coming! September 28, 2024<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIYgPrHQgd591ASKkFxK5_hkEzeLCQ3ZoTWgO9I-kZS3BYqkftiBFGiLMv5JQEUGlhKqAuN6PYQnWWlKVKCg_Y0VTbi7gdIR5RMmI4WdRIyA3dOlbhu_nvRr94rAb9xfLjM1_bl8n0JsRParraNfakqns7ns6DBi0YkM-5-rLpdWkAPTTLZP30g/s1080/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIYgPrHQgd591ASKkFxK5_hkEzeLCQ3ZoTWgO9I-kZS3BYqkftiBFGiLMv5JQEUGlhKqAuN6PYQnWWlKVKCg_Y0VTbi7gdIR5RMmI4WdRIyA3dOlbhu_nvRr94rAb9xfLjM1_bl8n0JsRParraNfakqns7ns6DBi0YkM-5-rLpdWkAPTTLZP30g/w640-h640/unnamed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;"> JTR</span></b><p></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-86541173351677790092024-01-26T12:36:00.000-05:002024-01-26T12:36:11.871-05:00The Vision (1.26.24): The Tower of Babel<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoQNSZXtj16gvONXJgOKd_FgRdOU2S1kAXFe1OSP9Cye8uYycBwiuDLK-eUXrgE1iurqSnlW3trebz0JI4GpEz3Mp3XaLGDGC8PpABjE8HV9Yrwx0YggiwJZFtghGjDco6vd8cmcN-qQTv3Op4Oel16qJMNYprozk0DxDJnu9jvRJwa4HW-G2_g/s1920/Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elder_-_The_Tower_of_Babel_(Rotterdam)_-_Google_Art_Project_-_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1538" data-original-width="1920" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixoQNSZXtj16gvONXJgOKd_FgRdOU2S1kAXFe1OSP9Cye8uYycBwiuDLK-eUXrgE1iurqSnlW3trebz0JI4GpEz3Mp3XaLGDGC8PpABjE8HV9Yrwx0YggiwJZFtghGjDco6vd8cmcN-qQTv3Op4Oel16qJMNYprozk0DxDJnu9jvRJwa4HW-G2_g/w640-h512/Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elder_-_The_Tower_of_Babel_(Rotterdam)_-_Google_Art_Project_-_edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Image: Peter Bruegel the Elder, The (Little) Tower of Babel, c. 1563,</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam</i></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 11.</b></span></i></span></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">“And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose
top may reach unto heaven…” (Genesis 11:4a).</span></i></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the
children of men builded” (Genesis 11:5).<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Moses reports that in the time after the flood men
came into the land of Shinar and said, “Go to, let us build us a city and a
tower….” The mention of a tower likely indicates that they thought to defend
themselves, rather than depend upon the protection and provision of the LORD. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Moses adds of their design for this tower, “whose top <i>may
reach</i> unto heaven.” Many have seen spiritual significance in this
description. These men literally had lofty visions of what their status would
be. The sky was the limit. They could lift themselves up by their ingenuity and
labors “unto heaven,” into the abode or realm of God himself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">So, it is a picture of man in his pride. In the
Scriptures we often read of a contrast between God who is in heaven and lowly
man who is on earth. Consider:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Psalm 115:16</span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: “The
heaven, even the heavens, are the <span class="small-caps"><span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span></span>'s: but the earth hath he
given to the children of men.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ecclesiastes
5:2: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any
thing before God: <b>for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth:</b> therefore
let thy words be few.”</span><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There is a sense here of men leaving their rightful station or
standing in life and attempting to put themselves in the place of God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We soon read, however, in Genesis 11:5, “And the LORD
came down to see the city and the tower….” </span></span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What we are being taught here is that the actions
of man on earth never go unnoticed by the LORD. He may be quiet for a season.
He may give men over to their own devises and inclinations, but there always comes
a time when he arrives to inspect the cities we have built and the towers we
have erected.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Meditation on this account in Genesis 11, may lead us
more soberly to heed the exhortation offered by the apostle Peter, “Humble
yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due
time” (1 Peter 5:6).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle</span></i></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-29711382408387574642024-01-22T15:37:00.004-05:002024-01-22T15:37:16.968-05:00Book Review: Geoffrey Thomas, In the Shadow of the Rock: An Autobiography<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AZ80yWHRbQc?si=k2JMAFN6QGMKJzq9" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/12224202519863/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/113889272/Book_Revew_Geoffrey_Thomas_In_The_Shadow_Of_The_Rock_An_Autobiography_in_Puritan_Reformed_Journal_Vol_16_No_1_January_2024_285_288">You can read the review here on academia.edu.</a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-92035043549481310232024-01-20T15:57:00.006-05:002024-01-20T15:57:32.298-05:00WM 297: Dirk Jongkind on the Goal of Textual Criticism<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z0-iGtJYptg?si=ntt-G6zDN7TYWZ5r" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/120242047123165/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-91795539039403904222024-01-19T14:56:00.000-05:002024-01-19T14:56:24.701-05:00The Vision (1.19.24): The Table of Nations<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pIkmIAhNdoggSCqQ80uTDlzl2FmaC-Prh0tB9phYthjZ4B6ceqU1TVtgiatRxZDfmNtdqWKaTFcCjCrMy07Y1Bie80U_fSRaBiWKpy0FWBui6-wrp2EVBpaYVVSQX_g7Om7sVlhSzV32tguY3pSIAmc1xpRVonkggflpnpV3rUnGfOS3BnAH1w/s622/Nations%20Flags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="622" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0pIkmIAhNdoggSCqQ80uTDlzl2FmaC-Prh0tB9phYthjZ4B6ceqU1TVtgiatRxZDfmNtdqWKaTFcCjCrMy07Y1Bie80U_fSRaBiWKpy0FWBui6-wrp2EVBpaYVVSQX_g7Om7sVlhSzV32tguY3pSIAmc1xpRVonkggflpnpV3rUnGfOS3BnAH1w/w640-h370/Nations%20Flags.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">These
are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their
nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood
(Genesis 10:32).<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Genesis
10 has traditionally been referred to as the Table of Nations. It presents the
descendants of the three sons of Noah, and the nations that sprang from them,
after the flood, the line of Japheth (vv. 2-5); the line of Ham (vv. 6-20); and
the line of Shem (vv. 21-31). 70 descendants or nations are listed (14 from
Japheth; 35 from Ham; and 21 from Shem). This is a number of fullness (10 x
sabbath) and completion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
the end Genesis 10 might be considered a missions chapter, a “Great Commission”
chapter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is
a reminder that God is sovereignly working out his plan of redemption in a
post-fall, post-flood world. The gospel had first been proclaimed in Genesis
3:15. The seed of the woman will eventually crush the serpent’s head, even as
he bruises the Messiah’s heel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sinful
men and the serpent, however, will not go down easily. Their rebellion will
encompass the pride that will lead to Babel and the division of languages
(Genesis 11), which will make it even harder for the Gospel to reach all men,
humanly speaking.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yet
this will not thwart the Lord’s plan of redemption, to seek and to save all
kinds of men from all over the earth. His gospel will reach even those at the
farthest “isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands” (v. 5).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Luke
10 provides an intriguing parallel to Genesis 10. In Luke 10, Luke offers a
unique record of the time when Christ sent out a group of men “into every city
and place” (v. 1) to declare, “The kingdom of God is come nigh to you” (v. 9).
Guess how many he sent? 70. See Luke 10:1-3. Do you think that was by accident?
Of course not. Luke even records the report of the 70 as they returned in
triumph (v. 17), and Christ’s response (vv. 18-20).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">After
his resurrection, Christ commissioned the apostles to go and teach all nations
(Matthew 28:19-20)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Before
his ascension, Christ told his apostles that they would be his witnesses in
Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts
1:8).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What
had been divided by sin and the fall will be united in Christ. God would have
some from every nation, even the nations that hated him and resisted him the
most, Egyptians (v. 13) and Philistines (v. 14), and Hebrews (v. 25), <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to come unto him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Even
men like us.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In a
book on missions, an evangelical author once wrote, ‘Where worship is not,
mission is.’ Where there are nations where men do not know and serve the one
true God our Father, and his Son our Lord Jesus Christ, through his Holy Spirit,
there must be missions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Grace
and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: black; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></i></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-14018322247501009822024-01-18T19:34:00.003-05:002024-01-18T19:34:32.533-05:00Book Review: H KAINH ΔIAΘHKH, The Greek New Testament: Textus Receptus, Reader’s Edition <p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PuYoTGfk7FM?si=-IYmLw-8pOBvBK7u" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/11924018452311/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.academia.edu/113708267/Book_Review_H_KAINH_%CE%94IA%CE%98HKH_The_Greek_New_Testament_Textus_Receptus_Reader_s_Edition_in_Puritan_Reformed_Journal_Volume_16_No_1_January_2024_271_274">You can read the written review here on my academia.edu page.</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-13883757606456042372024-01-13T08:58:00.001-05:002024-01-13T08:58:09.632-05:00WM 296: Review: Can We Recover the Original Text of the New Testament?<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dEFH_YshHdE?si=w0YIQ5sia9baWfYH" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="150" scrolling="no" src="https://embed.sermonaudio.com/player/a/11324038108060/" style="min-width: 150px;" tabindex="-1" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">JTR</span></b></div>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19219922.post-72450504966003000482024-01-12T20:30:00.001-05:002024-01-12T20:30:16.979-05:00The Vision (1.12.24): Noah's Failure<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWwNrpNvi5Bb580xhTw25eETa5d_DPAItlF8MmfGX4rr1YsvAMqADJN28clwFz0_FvJq4Rq2p8bvQrAwUvbADRehsE4HxtgUZMgOyngl5Ehs4W7orJQiRRYCWoDdkMMC0Hpo33qOj0Aak9ztyRgd5ALRd0TdcHaFIXgMv1iF7oT5QPrdychh2ww/s600/noahs-drunkeness-genesis-9-20-23-12344935.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="459" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWwNrpNvi5Bb580xhTw25eETa5d_DPAItlF8MmfGX4rr1YsvAMqADJN28clwFz0_FvJq4Rq2p8bvQrAwUvbADRehsE4HxtgUZMgOyngl5Ehs4W7orJQiRRYCWoDdkMMC0Hpo33qOj0Aak9ztyRgd5ALRd0TdcHaFIXgMv1iF7oT5QPrdychh2ww/w490-h640/noahs-drunkeness-genesis-9-20-23-12344935.jpg.webp" width="490" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Image: Noah's Drunkenness, French manuscript illumination, c. 1250.</i></div><p></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><b>Note: Devotional based on <a href="https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1112441855814">last Sunday's sermon </a>on Genesis 9:18-29.</b></span></i></p><p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Genesis 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a
vineyard: 21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered
within his tent.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Lord graciously preserved the life of Noah and his sons from
the flood. He then blessed them and made a covenant with them, promising never
to destroy the earth again by means of a flood, and he set the bow in the
clouds as a token of that covenant (Genesis 8:1, 11).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The world after the flood was a time of hope and promise, but in
Genesis 9:18-29 we read, to our dismay, of Noah’s failure. He becomes drunken
and uncovered in shame.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">What application can we draw from this description of Noah’s
failure?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We are reminded of a reality for all men, even redeemed men, as
Noah was. There are remaining corruptions within us. Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8). He was a just (justified) man (6:9). But after
the flood he fell into grievous sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Noah anticipates one who will come after him from his line, King David,
the man after God’s own heart, the sweet Psalmist of Israel. But David fell
into adultery with Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11). He arranged the death of her
husband. He was a murderer. And yet when confronted by Nathan the prophet, he
repented in sackcloth and ashes, penned Psalm 51, and pleaded with the LORD, “Create
in me a clean heart O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (v. 10).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Even the great apostle Paul would write of a struggle within him
in Romans 7 when he spoke of doing that which he knew was not right and failing
to do what he knew was right, because of sin dwelling in him (see Romans
7:15-20). He cried out, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from
the body of this death?” (v. 24). He then declared, “I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord” (v. 25).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For every Noah who truly knows and loves the Lord but who succumbs
to sin, whether drunkenness or lasciviousness or a thousand other sins, his
only hope is the righteous life of Christ given to him by grace through faith.
This does not permit him to excuse his sin, but it allows him to repent of his
sin and to strive after new obedience.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span class="text"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Noah’s failure, like all our spiritual failures, in the end, only
shines greater light upon Christ’s victory.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: white;"><span class="text"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Grace and peace,
Pastor Jeff Riddle<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>Jeffrey T. Riddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16374856944409335186noreply@blogger.com0