world-conquering faith

"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5 ESV)

I finished reading Bavinck on the Christian Life, by John Bolt (Crossway, 2015). The excerpt below is from a sermon given by Dr. Bavinck in Kampen (the Netherlands) on June 30, 1901. It is the concluding chapter in Bolt's excellent book. The excerpt below comes after Bavinck reviews the victorious faith of believers down through biblical history. He asserts that this faith is not merely psychological faith, nor faith in general, but a specific faith...

"Acknowledge this history therefore as witness to the world-conquering power of faith! But history does not bear this kind of testimony to every kind of faith -- not to the faith that is only a psychological phenomenon without reference to its object, its origin, its essence. For there are many kinds of faith. There is a faith that proceeds only from within a person, that belongs to the world, that bends the knee to an idol, that is nothing more than unbelief or superstition. Such a faith does not fight or conquer the world, but supports and establishes it. John, the apostle of the Lord, ascribes world-conquering power only to that faith that he shares with his brothers and sisters, the faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Only this specific faith, this well-defined faith alone, is capable of victory. For this faith believes that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ. Jesus -- that is to say: that historical person, that man born of a woman who lived nineteen centuries ago in Palestine; who was like us in every way, sin excepted; who traveled through the land preaching, doing good, healing all kinds of diseases among the people; who gave his life on the shameful and scandalous cross. Such faith believes that this Jesus, who, when he came among us, would not be recognized by anyone using only the human eye as anything more than a man, that this Jesus, who had no form or comeliness that we should desire him, notwithstanding all this is the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, truly human according to the flesh, but nonetheless true God, to be praised beyond all else for eternity. Such faith believes that this Jesus is the Christ -- and neither our virtues nor our good works, neither art nor science, neither any state nor potentate, nor any creature in heaven or on earth, but he and he alone is the Christ -- the Lord's Servant, God's Anointed, the Atonement for sins, the Redeemer of the world, our highest Prophet, our only High Priest, our eternal King."

~ Herman Bavinck, "The World-Conquering Power of Faith" (1901)

Photo below: Burgwalkerk at Kampen, Netherlands

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Prie...

Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

a brief history of bcf

Blacksburg Christian Fellowship, or BCF as it is popularly known, was founded in November 1969. Prior to this time several families had been meeting for Bible study and prayer, with a particular concern that the Lord raise up an effective biblical ministry to the students of the Virginia Tech campus. Growing from these meetings, the Lord led them to begin a public ministry on Sunday mornings. The Wesley Foundation agreed to the rental of their facilities, and the first meeting was held in November 1969, with about 30 people in attendance. Since the first meeting BCF has been greatly blessed by the Lord and has seen a steady growth in ministry and in numbers. Two other local churches were formed in part from BCF. In 1974 the Lord led Houston Couch, who at that time was an Elder in BCF, to leave and start Dayspring Christian Fellowship. In 1980 Max Harris, who was a regular attender at BCF, was encouraged by the Elders and members to start a ministry which has now become Grace Cov...

my burg

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