the effect of the word

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV)

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16 ESV)

Herman Bavinck writes,

"Through that word, we are always led and guided, admonished and comforted, encouraged and ashamed, convinced of sin and pointed to Christ. It is the very atmosphere in which we breathe from our birth; it is the food, the drink, the air, the sunshine, the rain for our spiritual life, and that all combined together at one time.

"That word is always the power. Without being able or wanting to determine when it is already exerting its influence on the conscience and heart of man, it always remains in itself the power of God unto salvation [Rom. 1:16]. Never is it an empty sound, a dead letter, a meaningless phrase. It is always "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" [Heb. 4:12]. It is always a hammer that smashes the hard heart of the
sinner, a sword of the Spirit that strikes a deadly blow to the proud and self-righteous, a testimony of God that shakes the conscience awake, the seed of regeneration, the power unto sanctification. It is always "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be compete, equipped for every good work" [2 Tim. 3:16-17]. In a word, it is a means of grace, going before and standing high above the sacraments.

"Even there, where it does not bestow a blessing, it still exerts its effect. The demons believe and shudder [James 2:19]. For unbelievers, it is a fragrance of death to death [2 Cor. 2:16]. It is a rock of offense over which the godless stumble [Isa. 8:14; Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:8]. If it does not soften it hardens. If it does not warm, it burns. A person never remains the same after coming in contact with it. That person becomes better or worse, but one can never hide behind the shield of neutrality."

~ Herman Bavinck, The Sacrifice of Praise (1921) (Hendrickson Publishers, 2019) pp. 22-23.

Photo at top by michael podger on Unsplash

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...

sword and trowel

"From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me." (Nehemiah 4:16-18 ESV) The great London preacher, Charles Spurgeon, published a monthly magazine called The Sword and The Trowel; A record of combat with sin and of labour for the Lord. It was published from 1865 to 1892. The cover of the journal had a drawing taken from Nehemiah 4, which included both a trowel (representing the work) and a sword (representing the fight). The sword was necessary to protect what the men with trowels were building. These citizen-soldier-builders would successfully complete the wall aroun...

my burg

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