The Riddleblog

Paul's Message of Hope for the Thessalonians--A Gospel Grounded in Eschatology, Election, and Redemptive History

Hope for the Future

For Paul, hope is directly related to the eschatological expectation associated with the person and work of Jesus Christ. We have hope for the future because of Christ’s resurrection and in light of his promise of his return following his ascension (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). Paul is not speaking of a passive resignation to accept those trials and troubles which God may allow to come into our lives (as in certain forms of ancient stoicism which can function as a sort of practical atheism).[1] Rather, the hope of which Paul speaks is that all those things which God has promised to his people in Jesus Christ will, at some point, become a wonderful reality. As Gene Green points out,

The Christians’ hope was bound up with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, an event that is mentioned frequently in these letters (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 1:7–10; 2:1; and cf. 1 Thess. 5:8). The hope they held was not some vague expectation about a better future but rather solid confidence rooted in the expectation of Christ’s coming. This was the strong foundation that gave the Thessalonians the power to endure and persevere in the face of the tremendous hostility leveled against them.[2]

Such hope enables Christians to endure and remain steadfast knowing that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). The life of Jesus in which the agony of Calvary leads to the glory of Easter is also exemplary for Christians as well. Suffering precedes glory. We know that we are not left on our own to suffer from the ambiguities of life as would a pagan or an atheist, who have no such hope and whose gods (if there are any) are weak, capricious, and arbitrary. As Christians, we may not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. Christ’s work of redemption is the basis of our hope for the future regardless of our present circumstances. Although new Christians, Paul gives thanks to God that the Thessalonians embraced this hope as fruit of their faith in Jesus. As is clear from the beginning of the letter, Paul is an eschatological thinker and has taught the Thessalonians that our Lord’s return is the “blessed hope” (cf. Titus 2:13).

To read the rest, follow the link below

Pauline StudiesKim RiddlebargerJuly 30, 2025Hope, Eschatology, ElectionComment

B. B. Warfield: "Is Justification by Faith Out of Date?"

This short essay is a real gem. It was originally published in The Christian Irishman, Dublin, on May 1911. It is republished in Selected Shorter Writings, Vol. 2 , 283-284. An online version can be found here.

Sometimes we are told that justification by faith is "out of date." That would be a pity, if it were true. What it would mean would be that the way of salvation was closed and "no thoroughfare" nailed up over the barriers. There is no justification for sinful men except by faith. The works of a sinful man will, of course, be as sinful as he is, and nothing but condemnation can be built on them. Where can he get works upon which he can found his hope of justification, except from another? His hope of justification, remember—that is, of being pronounced righteous by God. Can God pronounce him righteous except on the ground of works that are righteous? Where can a sinful man get works that are righteous? Surely, not from himself; for, is he not a sinner, and all his works as sinful as he is? He must go out of himself, then, to find works which he can offer to God as righteous. And where will he find such works except in Christ? Or how will he make them his own except by faith in Christ?

To read the rest, follow the link below

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerJuly 28, 2025justificationComment

Growing Up In the Christian Bookstore Industry and Becoming Reformed

My family owned and operated a Christian bookstore at Knott’s Berry Farm—The Inspiration House. My folks opened the store in 1955, and I closed the store in January of 1995 to work at CURE (Christian United for Reformation). The White Horse Inn went on the air in 1990 and Christ Reformed Church held its first service on October 29, 1995.

In the picture above (taken about 1977) I was in my early twenties and had just graduated from college (Cal-State Fullerton) with a degree in Business Administration. At this point in my life, I had no idea where the Lord would take me. My embrace of Reformed theology would begin a few years later.

Some of you have asked if I could post all the links to the posts in the “Memories from Those Days When I Was Becoming Reformed and Working in the Christian Bookstore Industry” series in one place for convenience—so here you go.

Follow the link below to see the “links” to posts in the series

Calvin on Prayer -- Christ's Mediation Is the Basis for Intercession

20. Christ is the eternal and abiding Mediator

Calvin was concerned about an error in his day which held that Christ was mediator, but left “intercession” (prayer on behalf of others) to believers. Elsewhere, Calvin speaks of the “Sophists” (the Roman theology professors at the Sorbonne in Paris) as “sporting with Scripture.” Here he speaks of their denial of Christ’s on-going intercession on behalf of believers as “nonsense.” He even mocks them for not giving Jesus the full honor due him.

This babbling of the Sophists is mere nonsense: that Christ is the Mediator of redemption, but believers are mediators of intercession. As if Christ had performed a mediation in time only to lay upon his servants the eternal and undying mediation! They who cut off so slight a portion of honor from him are, of course, treating him gently!

To refute such nonsense Calvin appeals to Scripture—citing those texts which teach what the Sophists deny, namely that Christ is mediator and intercessor.

Yet Scripture speaks far differently, disregarding these deceivers, and with a simplicity that ought to satisfy a godly man. For when John says, “If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus” [1 John 2:1], does he mean that Christ was an advocate for us once for all, or does he not rather ascribe to him a constant intercession? Why does Paul affirm that he “sits at the right hand of the Father and also intercedes for us” [Rom. 8:34]? But when, in another passage, Paul calls him “the sole mediator between God and man” [1 Tim. 2:5], is he not referring to prayers, which were mentioned shortly before [1 Tim. 2:1–2]? For, after previously saying that intercession is to be made for all men, Paul, to prove this statement, soon adds that “there is one God, and … one mediator” [1 Tim. 2:5].

Calvin cites a favorite of the Sophists (Augustine) to make his point, before appealing to additional texts from Paul.

To read the rest, follow the link below

John CalvinKim RiddlebargerJuly 23, 2025Christ's mediation Comment

Season Four of the Blessed Hope Kicks Off with "An Introduction to 2 Corinthians"

Episode Synopsis:

“Life in the Midst of Death” An Introduction to 2 Corinthians

When we wrapped up season three (our deep dive into 1 Corinthians), Paul was in Ephesus responding to reports from Chloe’s family about troubling things going on back in Corinth. About the same time, Paul received a delegation from Corinth asking a series of questions about various matters which were disputed or required Paul’s instruction. The Corinthians were a divided church, struggling with many of the issues one would expect of a new church in a very pagan environment with all its temptations and distractions.

Paul responded to these troubling reports in the letter we know as I Corinthians. At the close of the letter, Paul indicated that he plans to come to Corinth as soon as he could and that in the meantime he would send them Timothy to help out.

Fast forward six months or so. Paul has sent Timothy to Corinth. Paul has sent Titus to Corinth. Paul has visited Corinth himself and it did not go well–an event now immortalized as the “painful visit.” Things had gotten so bad that Paul even sent what is known as the “painful letter”– the contents of which have been lost to us, but which called for the Corinthians to take steps necessary to remedy its ills. Although the Corinthians did what Paul had asked of them–they disciplined an individual who challenged Paul’s authority in such a way as to do great harm to the whole church–the relationship between Paul and the Corinthians remained strained. His critics tried to take advantage of the situation.

Paul made his way from Ephesus to Macedonia and was preparing to head south to Corinth for yet another visit–one he hoped would not be as painful as his previous visit. In the letter we now know as 2 Corinthians, Paul writes to defend both his apostolic office and his Gentile mission, and to discuss both his travel plans and the offering being collected for the church in Jerusalem. But after composing much of the letter (chapters 1-9), Paul got additional news that false teachers and false apostles were causing havoc in the church, and so Paul adds four very pointed chapters (10-13) in which he rebukes the false teachers and those foolish enough to be taken in by them. Yes, he will return to Corinth and yes, he retains both his apostolic office and authority despite his detractors in Corinth. And no, he will not let his detractors undermine his mission to preach the gospel.

Show Notes:

The fourth season of the Blessed Hope is under way — a deep dive into 2 Corinthians. There are 70 previous episodes over three seasons (Galatians, the Thessalonian letters, and 1 Corinthians)

I will do my best to keep the same bi-weekly schedule as with previous seasons, but I do have some travel coming up, so I may skip a week or two as we move into August and then into the Fall

I will try to keep the episodes to around an hour or less when I can. But there are several passages which may require longer treatment

To see the show notes and the recommended resources and listen to this episode, follow the link below

Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerJuly 21, 2025Intro to 2 CorComment

Who Said That?

Who Said That?

“My ex-wife is the Antichrist’s sister”

Please do not look up the answer—the whole point is to guess! But if you can’t restrain yourself, or if you know the answer, please don’t post the source and ruin it for everyone else.

You can leave your guesses in the comments section—follow the link below

Who Said That?Kim RiddlebargerJuly 18, 2025The Antichrist's sister Comments

“God Is Able” Hebrews 11:17-22 (An Exposition of the Book of Hebrews–Part Eighteen)

Setting the Context — Abraham and Sarah

We’ve all heard people complain that the Bible is boring. But when we take a look at the events of redemptive history, we find what has to be the most interesting and compelling story in all of human history. In Genesis 12, God calls a man named Abraham and his wife Sarah to leave their home and move to a new country as yet unseen. Abraham obeys. God then tells Abraham that he will become the father of a great nation, and will have so many descendants that only God can count them all. What makes this promise so remarkable is the fact that Abraham and his wife were nearly one hundred years old, and was impossible—humanly speaking—that they would be able to conceive a child.

Yet, despite the physical limitations of old age, Abraham and Sarah believed that God would make good on his promise. And then when Sarah gives birth to a son (Isaac) through whom the promise would be fulfilled, and after the boy grew to manhood, God appears to Abraham yet again, and this time commands Abraham to take his only son and sacrifice him. What? How could God command such a thing? How could God’s promise be fulfilled if the heir is dead? And what would Abraham do in light of such a command? This is not only a compelling story and a startling turn of events, it raises a number of questions about the mysterious redemptive purposes of God, one of several questions about the patriarchs addressed in the 11th chapter of Hebrews.

The Nature of Faith – They All Believed God’s Promise

In Hebrews 11, we find the so-called “hall of faith” – that list of Old Testament luminaries who are considered to be examples of people who had great faith under the most trying of times. As we have seen in previous installments when covering this chapter (chapter 11), the author of Hebrews’ focus falls not so much upon the examples these people set for us (although this is certainly a part of what is in view), but primarily upon the fact that these people all placed their trust in the same thing–the immutable and gracious promise of the covenant making God to provide his people with a Messiah who will redeem them from their sin.

To read the rest, follow the link below

HebrewsKim RiddlebargerJuly 16, 2025Abraham, Isaac, Noah, Enoch, AbelComment

“The Error of Teaching That Original Sin Condemns the Entire Human Race” — The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (1)

Having set forth the orthodox teaching, the Synod rejects the errors of those

(I) Who teach that, properly speaking, it cannot be said that original sin in itself is enough to condemn the whole human race or to warrant temporal and eternal punishments.

For they contradict the apostle when he says: Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death passed on to all men because all sinned (Rom. 5:12); also: The guilt followed one sin and brought condemnation (Rom. 5:16); likewise: The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).

____________________________________________

The first error of the Arminians addressed by the Canons under the third and fourth head of doctrine is the teaching that although the human race is fallen in Adam, Adam’s act of rebellion and the resulting “original sin” is not the basis upon which the unbelieving members of the human race will be condemned.

According to the Arminians, Adam’s sinful act plunged the human race into sin and condemnation, but the death of Jesus Christ (they contend) remits the guilt of that original sin. Since people are actually condemned to eternal punishment, however, it is not because of imputed or inherited guilt from Adam’s sin that such punishment comes about. Having remitted the guilt of Adam’s sin and removed the grounds for God’s just condemnation of the entire human race, it is now left up to the individual sinner to believe in Jesus Christ (as enabled by prevenient grace secured by Jesus Christ) and thus be saved. Should the sinner reject the Savior, they are lost.

Arminians teach that those who are condemned, reject Jesus Christ and are punished for actual sins only, not because of the imputed guilt and inherited corruption resulting from Adam’s act. “Fairness” supposedly dictates that we can only be held responsible for our own acts, not for the actions of another. This denial of the imputation of the guilt of Adam’s sin to all of his descendants sets up a very serious theological precedent, which, as we will see, has grave consequences for the gospel.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJuly 14, 2025Original sin, Orginial guiltComment

Don't Have the Gift of Interpretation? AI Can Interpret Tongues for You

Just when you think you’ve heard it all . . . From Protestia

I’m not one to be freaked out by AI, but it never occurred to me that someone would think to do this..

Shawn Bolz continues to discredit himself more and more as a spiritual leader and supposed prophet of God, recently claiming that ChatGPT is interpreting tongues.

Beloved by whom?

Once a prominent and beloved prophet, Bolz has been canceled by several major charismatics over multiple allegations that he has been using secretly gathered social media information to make accurate ‘prophetic words’ over people, including one that nearly led to the death of a young woman.

Sometimes you are known based on those who “cancel you.” Phony prophecy? “I’m shocked that fake prophecy is going on in here!”

He has been canceled by Sid Roth, TBN, and especially by Bethel Church, where, after leaked text messages from Bethel Church’s head prophet Kris Vallotton called Bolz a fake and a phony, the church released a formal statement suggesting that Bolz engaged in sexual harassment and false prophecies.

How do you get to be “head prophet”? The title means there must be more than one. Does it depend upon who makes the best “guesses” (“prophecies”)?

To read the rest, follow the link below

American Religion, History and CultureKim RiddlebargerJuly 11, 2025AI interpreting tonguesComment

Rapture Stuff, Again

It is time for the annual “Rapture Index” check-up. It currently stands at 181, which remains in the “fasten your seat belts” territory. The all-time high was 189 (on October 10, 2016, and again in 2023). With all the culture war unease, political tribalism, and “wars and rumors of wars” currently in the air, I suspect the proprietor must be sympathetic to Trump, which is why the index is as low as it is. If all the typical punditry signs are showing things getting worse, but you like the guy in charge, you probably cannot bring yourself to push the index higher. That is not supposed to happen on his watch.

And I keep asking, why would you want to “fasten your seat belts” if the rapture was near? Wouldn’t that leave a nasty mark when you get snatched away?

To read the rest, follow the link below

Books Which Shouldn't Change Anybody's Mind!

Roberts Liardon arrived in Orange County CA about the same time Benny Hinn did. “Roberts” Liardon (named for Oral Roberts) was in his early twenties at the time,and was the l'enfant terrible of the word-faith movement. One of our employee’s sisters attended his new and rapidly growing church in Irvine (Embassy Christian Center) and wanted us to sell his book, I Saw Heaven. She gave us a copy to read—thinking this would convince us. Instead it brought howls of laughter.

Between customers, my employees and I would take turns reading sections to each other. There are not words. Liardon recounts being taken to heaven, and then describes what he saw. He claims that Jesus led him into a warehouse which contained all of the organs, limbs, eyeballs, etc., which were waiting for those who were sick and which could be theirs if only they would name and claim them. Liardon was shocked and saddened to the point of tears by the unclaimed healings (and body parts), and announced this as the basis for his burgeoning healing ministry—to motivate God’s saints to claim what God had already provided for them. To buoy his spirits, he describes how Jesus took pity on him and they engaged in a playful splash fight in the River of Life. I’m not kidding.

I laughed at it then, but am now disgusted by the sight of the cover of the updated version of I Saw Heaven which celebrated its 25th anniversary awhile back, bragging of sales of over 1.5 million copies. Yes, this is thoroughly heretical, but my present concern is “how on earth do 1.5 million people find this kind of book worth buying?”

To read the rest, follow the link below

“We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident”

249 Years later, it is always good to go back and read why we celebrate “the 4th of July.”

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

When in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Current Events, History and CultureKim RiddlebargerJuly 4, 2025Declaration of IndependenceComment

Warfield on Calvin's Doctrine of Natural Revelation

Warfield’s essay summarizing Calvin’s “Doctrine of the Knowledge of God” is important in two respects. One, in this small portion of the essay, Warfield gives us a complete and thorough summary of Calvin’s doctrine of natural revelation. Although some feel this is more Warfield’s understanding than Calvin’s, I think it rather obvious from Warfield’s careful citations of Calvin, the supposed wedge between the two is more imagined than real. Second, when Warfield develops his notion of general revelation as the necessary backdrop and context for special revelation (in his essay, “The Biblical Idea of Revelation,” reprinted in his famous Inspiration and Authority of the Bible), he draws heavily upon Calvin’s view.

This essay was originally published in The Princeton Theological Review, vii. April, 1909, 219-325. It has been reprinted in Calvin and Augustine (P & R 1956), 29-130; and Warfield, Calvin and Calvinism, vol 5., in the Works of Benjamin B. Warfield (Oxford Edition, 1931), 29-130. The essay can also be found here in its entirety: Calvin's Doctrine of the Knowledge of God

We are to contemplate God in his works . . .

The vigor and enthusiasm with which Calvin prosecutes his exposition of the patefaction [manifestation]of God in nature and history is worth emphasizing further. [Calvin] even turns aside (Institutes I.5.9) to express his special confidence in it, in contrast to a priori reasoning, as the "right way and the best method of seeking God." A speculative inquiry into the essence of God, he suggests, merely fatigues the mind and flutters in the brain. If we would know God vitally, in our hearts, let us rather contemplate Him in His works. These, we shall find, as the Psalmist points out, declare His greatness and conduce to His praise. Once more, we may observe here the concreteness of Calvin's mind and method, and are reminded of the practical end he keeps continually in view. So far is he from losing himself in merely speculative elaborations or prosecuting his inquiries under the spur of "presumptuous curiosity," that the practical religious motive is always present, dominating his thought.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Battle Cry of the Risen Savior (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

Three Important Elements in Paul’s “Battle Cry of the Risen Savior”

Christ as “Firstfruits”

There are three important elements found in Paul’s “battle cry of the Risen Savior.” First, Paul speaks of Christ’s resurrection as the “firstfruits,” which is an agricultural term, referring here to a much larger harvest yet to come.[1] When viewed against the background of the Old Testament, when the first sheaf of the harvest was brought to the temple so as to consecrate the entire harvest of grain which had not yet ripened or been harvested,[2] so too, Christ’s resurrection consecrates the entire harvest of those who also will be raised from the dead–that is, all of the elect, who are already seen as “raised with Christ” (cf. Ephesians 2:4-7; Philippians 3:20-21).[3]

The very fact that the resurrection constitutes the “firstfruits” of a future harvest, guarantees that there will be a much larger harvest yet to come. Lest we forget, this includes all those who have “fallen sleep,” that is, those who have died in Christ. As Wright points out, Paul “is arguing for the certainty of the future bodily resurrection of all the Messiah’s people.”[4] Gaffin adds, our Lord’s “resurrection is the representative beginning of the resurrection of believers.”[5] This should give us great optimism as far as the missionary enterprise is concerned, because the multitude before the throne who are raised with Christ is so vast they cannot be counted (cf. Revelation 7:9). The harvest will be huge–beyond all human imagination.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Pauline StudiesKim RiddlebargerJune 30, 2025Christ as firstfruits, With Christ in th heavenliesComment

June/July 2025 Musings

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:

I expect to be traveling a bit this Summer and Fall, so Riddleblog posts may be irregular
I am hard at work on Season Four of the Blessed Hope Podcast, “Life in the Midst of Death,” a deep-dive into 2 Corinthians. Look for new episodes soon
I hope you are enjoying my series on memories of my days in the Christian bookstore industry while I was becoming Reformed. I’ve had much fun working on it
I recently updated my Riddlebarger Family History tab (my cousin finder) with new DNA info. It will explain why I like to draw buffaloes in charcoal on our walls

Thinking Out loud:

Wars and rumors of wars will persist until the Lord returns. It never ceases to amaze me at how prophecy pundits can turn any event in the Middle East which involves Israel—no matter how flawed their understanding of Scripture, or how distorted their interpretation of the facts on the ground may be—into a sensational “proof” that the rapture is at hand. My inner cynic says “follow the money.” The pundits sell books and get clicks. But so far, they’ve also been wrong every time
Iran has been killing and threatening Americans since the 1979 revolution. As the Ayatollah says, “death to America is not merely a slogan, it is our policy.” How close Iran was to constructing a nuclear weapon matters not a wit to me. It is beyond all doubt they were building such a weapon. They have never attempted to build a nuclear power facility—which was the justification for their uranium processing program. Israel took out Hamas, crippled Hezbollah (Iranian proxies posing a serious threat on Israel’s border), and with the fall of Syria there were no Syrian or Russian air defenses blocking Israel’s air corridor into Iran. Trump was vocal in his support for Israel. As the old Jewish saying goes, “if not now, when?” It needed to be done and finally it has been done
I heard a great term to describe Trump’s style of governing —“adhocracy.” There’s no brilliant master plan. He’s making it up as he goes along, and he frequently changes his mind
Oh, the irony . . . Texas Republicans passed a bill requiring that the Ten Commandments be posted in every classroom. The vote was held on Sunday
The Trump - Musk bromance and subsequent feud are over, but I’m still waiting for the ultimate insult from either: “You play ball like a girl!”
Endnotes are still of the devil!

To read the rest, follow the link below

Christian Books Which Fudged the Truth

Christians are often taken in by those who are less than truthful. It is not a character flaw to expect others to tell the truth, or to assume that their testimonies to the grace of God in Christ are factual. So, it comes as a shock and a disappointment when dramatic conversions and the books which recount them are discovered to be more fictional than factual. Sadly there have been a number of these, but a couple stand out in my memory.

Crying Wind purported to be the account of a young native American girl (whose real name was Linda Davison Stafford) who claimed a dramatic conversion experience as recounted in her compelling and heart-warming autobiography. Crying Wind—both the book’s title and the author’s pseudonym at the time—was published by Moody Press in 1977. She became a popular church and conference speaker, and dressed as a native American as she recounted her dramatic conversion. It was followed by a sequel, My Searching Heart in 1980, published by Harvest House.

We sold cases of them and Crying Wind may have been our best-seller for a time shortly after its release.

But significant factual discrepancies arose regarding her story—enough so that Moody Press changed the original cover in 1978 to the one pictured above. Crying Wind was now a “biographical novel,” which I take to mean, “here’s a book about the stuff I made up about myself.”

To read the rest, follow the link below

American Religion, Book ReviewsKim RiddlebargerJune 26, 2025Crying Wind, Mike Warnke, Satan sellerComment

“God's Use of Means in Regeneration” -- Article Seventeen, The Third and Fourth Main Points of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 17: God's Use of Means in Regeneration

Just as the almighty work of God by which he brings forth and sustains our natural life does not rule out but requires the use of means, by which God, according to his infinite wisdom and goodness, has wished to exercise his power, so also the aforementioned supernatural work of God by which he regenerates us in no way rules out or cancels the use of the gospel, which God in his great wisdom has appointed to be the seed of regeneration and the food of the soul. For this reason, the apostles and the teachers who followed them taught the people in a godly manner about this grace of God, to give him the glory and to humble all pride, and yet did not neglect meanwhile to keep the people, by means of the holy admonitions of the gospel, under the administration of the Word, the sacraments, and discipline. So even today it is out of the question that the teachers or those taught in the church should presume to test God by separating what he in his good pleasure has wished to be closely joined together. For grace is bestowed through admonitions, and the more readily we perform our duty, the more lustrous the benefit of God working in us usually is and the better his work advances. To him alone, both for the means and for their saving fruit and effectiveness, all glory is owed forever. Amen.

______________________________

Article 17 points out to us that the Scriptures themselves connect the divinely appointed ends (the salvation of God's elect) to the divinely appointed means (the preaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments).

Therefore, as Christians, we must not only believe the correct things about God and his grace as taught us in his word, but we must also ever be on our guard not to separate that which God has joined together. God does not effectually call his elect to faith in Jesus Christ, nor does he give us the new birth, through any means other than those which he has prescribed in his word.

This means that there is a spiritual marriage between divinely appointed means and ends, a marriage in which we dare not attempt to divide what God has so clearly joined together. This, of course, was the error of the Anabaptists at the time of the Reformation, who sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit apart from the text of Holy Scripture, the same error made by many Charismatics and Pentecostals today. Everything we need to know about how God saves sinners has been revealed in God's word and is confirmed through the two divinely appointed sacraments.

To read the rest follow the link below

The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerJune 24, 2025Ends and MeansComment

“He Was Looking Forward” Hebrews 11:8-16 (An Exposition of the Book of Hebrews–Part Seventeen)

The Importance of Abraham

Three of the world’s great religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) trace their origins back to Abraham. Yet the Genesis account speaks of Abraham as one who believed God’s covenant promise. It is said of him, Abraham “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). This explains why the account of the life of Abraham in Genesis 11-25 fits perfectly within the “catalogue of believers in God’s covenant promise” in Hebrews 11.

That Abraham was justified by faith is the reason why Christians are considered to be the true children of Abraham–much to the chagrin of Jews, and to the disdain of Muslims. Abraham is a man who pitched his tent in the land of promise, yet who also knew that dwelling in the land was not all that God had promised to him–God’s promise included eternal life as well. Therefore, Abraham is regarded as the man of faith, because he believed God’s covenant promise to make him the father of a great nation, and that he would have so many descendants that it would be impossible to count them all–despite the fact that this seemed to be a physical impossibility. It is to the story of Abraham as summarized in Hebrews 11, that we now turn.

Not About “Heroes of Faith” But About God’s Promise

We are working our way through Hebrews 11, the so-called “hall of faith” because so many important Old Testament figures are mentioned here. As we saw last time, the primary point being made by the author of Hebrews in this chapter is not that the people mentioned here are setting examples for us to follow (as people who had faith), but that these Old Testament saints all believed the same gracious covenant promise which God made to his people, and which the author of Hebrews has spent ten chapters unpacking. Rather than speak of Hebrews 11 as the “hall of faith,” it is much better to understand this chapter as a “catalogue of justified sinners,” sinful people who believed God’s covenant promise to save them from the guilt and power of their sin.

To read the rest, follow the link below

HebrewsKim RiddlebargerJune 19, 2025Hebrews 11:8-16, The Importance of AbrahamComment

Tucker Carlson and Ted Cruz Debate Israel

Needless to say, there is far more heat than light here. Both Cruz and Carlson claim to be Christians, but their debate reveals scant understanding of what the Bible actually says about the future of Israel.

I weigh in on the biblical teaching regarding the future of Israel in an episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast. What Does the Future Hold for Israel? A Look at Romans 9-11

This episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast (part of a larger series entitled “The Future,”) was posted about ten days before the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas upon Israel, so I make no reference to recent events. I address the October 7 attack here.

What I do in this episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast is address Paul’s understanding of the future role of Israel in redemptive history in Romans 9-11 where Paul specifically discusses the matter in great detail. I don’t think God is finished with national Israel, but I reject the dispensational teaching about what this entails and how it will work out.

Calvin on Prayer -- Christ Our Mediator Establishes Intercessory Prayer

19. Christ is the only mediator, even for the mutual intercession of believers

Calvin reminds us of a point he made in the previous section, that turning away from Jesus as our mediator is folly. This how the Lord has constituted our relationship to himself – “through the Son.” Apart from Christ, there is no access to God.

Now, since he is the only way, and the one access, by which it is granted us to come to God [cf. John 14:6], to those who turn aside from this way and forsake this access, no way and no access to God remain; nothing is left in his throne but wrath, judgment, and terror. Moreover, since the Father has sealed him [cf. John 6:27] as our Head [Matt. 2:6] and Leader [1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18], those who in any way turn aside or incline away from him are trying their level best to destroy and disfigure the mark imprinted by God. Thus Christ is constituted the only Mediator, by whose intercession the Father is for us rendered gracious and easily entreated.

Furthermore, Calvin adds since God has opened the way to the Father (through the mediation of Christ) this also opens the way for us to pray for each other–intercession for others being one of the great blessings of prayer. This is, in part, the reason why confessional Protestants place such stress upon the necessity and benefits of the pastoral prayer during the Lord’s Day worship service. The saints gather to receive the preached word and the sacraments, and to pray for one another.

To read the rest, follow the link below

John CalvinKim RiddlebargerJune 16, 2025Intercessory prayerComment

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,