Persevering Grace 1 Peter 5:8–11 After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace . . . will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10 What the suffering Peter has in mind is the suffering Satan causes. How can we resist Satan’s powerful onslaughts? In ourselves we cannot resist him even for…

Regeneration and God’s Word 1 Peter 1:22–25 You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. 1 Peter 1:23 God exalts his Word in the saving of men and women. For it is by his Word and Spirit, and not by testimonies, eloquent arguments, or…

Submitting to God James 4:1–10 Submit yourselves therefore to God. James 4:7 James calls us “adulterous people” (v. 4) because we have committed spiritual adultery against God. He speaks of a friend of the world being God’s “enemy.” What James has in mind here is the fact that we have rebelled against God’s rightful rule…

Tongue Control James 3:1–12 No human being can tame the tongue. James 3:8 You and I cannot control our tongues, but God by the power of his Holy Spirit within us can control them. Let me give you three helpful principles, based upon the fact that the tongue speaks what the mind thinks. 1. Present…

Judgment and Mercy James 2:1–13 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. James 2:12 James says that the favoritism we practice but think of as unimportant is actually a very serious sin. It is a sin that will bring us into judgment. If you break…

Benediction of Peace Hebrews 13:20–21 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant . . . Hebrews 13:20 This benediction tells how God has become a God of peace to us rather than a God of wrath….

What Is Faith? Hebrews 11:1–7 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for. Hebrews 11:1 Faith is believing God and acting upon it. But let me break this down into faith’s three elements. Faith has an intellectual element. Biblical faith is faith in God and in the promises of God. So we do not…

Born for a Purpose Hebrews 10:5–10 I have come to do your will, O God. Hebrews 10:7 Our Lord came into the world for a purpose. That is important, for it is uniquely true of him. It cannot be said of any other person that he or she came into the world to do something….

Christ’s Saving Work Hebrews 9:25–28 So Christ [has been] offered once to bear the sins of many. Hebrews 9:28 Jesus’s offering of himself was the perfect and final sacrifice for sin. Therefore, nothing more needs to be done or can be done to reconcile sinful men and women to God. Jesus’s sacrifice of himself was…

Our Great High Priest Hebrews 8:1–6 We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 8:1 Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament priestly function in two ways, by offering himself up as a sacrifice for sin (which the Old Testament priests could…