Brad Klassen on the Triunity of God

James White on Galatians 5:4 and Hebrews 6:4-6

You have been severed from Christ, you who are being justified by law; you have fallen from grace! (Galatians 5:4)

For in the case of those once having been enlightened and having tasted of the heavenly gift and having become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and having tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and having fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame (Hebrews 6:4-6).

Galatians 5:4 is written to those who attempt to be justified by their works. They refuse God’s grace, God’s way of righteousness. It is because of this that they are said to be severed from Christ, and to have fallen from grace. These men were not Christians to begin with. There are a number of passages in Hebrews that provide “warnings” to the Church. In each instance, the entire Christian fellowship is addressed. The book of Hebrews is written to all who are a part of that fellowship— including non-believers, some of whom were not completely convinced of the superiority of Christ over the old law, others who were simply hypocrites. The warnings that are provided are needed since we, as human beings, cannot see into the hearts of all men. We cannot assume, simply because someone sits in the pew next to us each Sunday, that they are of God’s elect. 

The minister of God’s people must exhort his people to examine their lives— knowing that some who sit before him are not actually followers of Jesus Christ. However, are we justified, in light of all the plain Scriptures affirming the security of the believer, to take warning passages to the Church and use them to deny that Christ will save His people? Are warning passages sufficient basis to assert that Christ can fail to do the will of the Father? Is this consistent biblical interpretation? I think not.

Adapted from The Sovereign Grace of God by James White

Justin Peters: Boasting in the Beloved

This message is from the Coram Deo Conference 2025 at Trinity Bible Church in Morgan Hill, CA:

Top 5 Books for 2025 so far

We are halfway through 2025, and it has been another good year for reading God-exalting material so here are my top 5 books of the year so far in no particular order:

Consider the Lilies: Finding Perfect Peace in the Character of God by Jonny Ardavanis

Cultivating Spiritual Growth: Striving for Maturity in Christ by Conrad Mbewe

Fight Like a Man: A Bold, Biblical Battle Plan for Personal Purity by Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne

The History and Theology of Calvinism by Curt Daniel

A Biblical Theology of Climate Change by Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker

Joel Beeke: The Beautiful, Biblical Worship of Christ's Bride

This message is from the Coram Deo Conference 2025 at Trinity Bible Church in Morgan Hill, CA:

What is Zeal in Religion?

Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire which no human feels by nature, which the Spirit puts into the hen of every believer when he or she is converted, but which some belies feel so much more strongly than others, that they alone deserve to be called zealous Christians. This desire is so strong when it really reigns in believers that it impels them to make any sacrifice, to go through any trouble, to self-deny to any amount, to suffer, to work, to labor, to toil, to spend and be spent, and even to die, if only they can please God and honor Christ.

A zealous man is preeminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thoroughgoing, wholehearted, fervent in spirit. He sees only one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing — and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives or dies, whether he has health or sickness, whether he is rich or poor; whether he pleases man or gives offense; whether he is thought wise or foolish; whether he gets blame or praise; whether he gets honor or shame —for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing, and that one thing is to please God and to advance God's glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he is not worried; he is content.

Adapted from Our Great Redeemer: 365 Days with J. C. Ryle

Resting in Christ

The rest that Christ gives is an inward thing, It is rest of her, rest d conscience, rest of mind, rest of affection, rest of will. It is rest from a comfortable sense of sins being all forgiven and guilt all put away; it is rest from a solid hope of good things to come, laid up beyond the reach of disease, and death, and the grave. It is rest from the well-grounded feeling that the great business of life is settled, its great end provided for; that in time all is well done; and in eternity heaven will be our home.

Rest such as this the Lord Jesus gives to those who come to Him y showing them His own finished work on the cross, by clothing them in His own perfect righteousness, and washing them in His own precious blood. When a man begins to see that the Son of God actually died for his sins, his soul begins to taste something of inward quiet and peace.

Rest such as this the Lord Jesus gives to those who come to Him by revealing Himself as their ever-living High Priest in heaven, and God reconciled to them through Him. When a man begins to see that the Son of God actually lives to intercede for him, he will begin to feel something of inward quiet and peace.

Rest such as this the Lord Jesus gives to those who come to Him by implanting His Spirit in their hearts and witnessing with their spirits that they are God's children. When a man begins to feel an inward drawing toward God as a father and a sense of being an adopted and forgiven child, his soul begins to feel something of quiet and peace!

Adapted from Our Great Redeemer: 365 Days with J. C. Ryle

Kevin Hay Preaching on the Creation Mandate

Does 2 Peter 3:9 Disprove the Doctrine of Election?

We must always apply sound rules of exegesis to the Scriptures. Peter accepted the Old Testament’s teaching about the nature of God. He knew Psalm 135:6 and Psalm 115:3, and the truth that whatever God pleases, He does. And, since we have already seen that repentance is the gift of God, could He not give repentance to anyone He chooses? Finally, the context of the passage must be consulted. 2 Peter is written to the elect, as 2 Peter 1:1 shows. In chapter 3, Peter is explaining the delay of the parousia, that is, the coming of Christ. He explains that Christ will indeed return, and that the delay is in order that God may gather His people. “He is patient with you,” Peter writes to God’s people, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” The “everyone” is in reference to all of God’s elect. The only reason that you are reading this book nearly 2,000 years later is because God has been patient, giving the world all this time, so that all of God’s elect could be gathered in.

Adapted from The Sovereign Grace of God by James White

Brad Klassen on the Spirituality of God

Why I made the Switch to the LSB

This is from my original post Switching to the LSB:

When it comes to Bible translations, this is something that I do not take very lightly. I do not switch when new translations come out, but when it came to the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB), it was almost an easy decision but still something that was not made overnight. Why did I make the switch? Here are my reasons.

First, it is a better update of NASB. When it was announced that the New American Standard Bible (NASB) was getting an update, I was excited because I love the NASB, but there was a lot of jargon in the translation. There were a few verses that were confusing that made it hard to read. However, I read the NASB 2020 and was disappointed they were going to the gender-neutral way of translating the Bible as other translations such as the New International Version (NIV) and Christian Standard Bible (CSB). The LSB is what the NASB 2020 should have been.

Second, it is a smoother read. Unlike the NASB, the LSB is a better read even though the translators focused more on what the author of the text said rather than focusing on how the readers is going to take it. 

Third, the use of Yahewh. In most translations, the Old Testament has God's covenant name, Yahewh, as LORD. God's name is not Lord. Lord is a title that we ascribe to God. Yahewh is His name. In Exodus, we see:

Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am about to come to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ And they will say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” 

And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation (Exodus 3:13-15).

In Psalm 110:1, we see God's covenant name and the Hebrew word for Lord, Adonai, used:

Yahweh says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet.”

In other translations, it would read, "The LORD said to my Lord," which reading it, it made no since especially when reading it out loud. Reading Psalm 110:1 in the LSB shows us that Yahewh is speaking to an earthly master. Yes, there was the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) that did use Yahewh in the Old Testament, but that translation is out of print and became the CSB. There is also the Lexham English Bible (LEB), which is a great translation to use for study, but it is not that accessible unless you have Logos or use Bible Gateway. 

Fourth, the use of doulos. The LSB uses the Greek word doulos as slave rather than servant or bondservant as other translations have used. I know in America; the word slave is not very appealing. If we understand how the word was used when the Greek New Testament was written, we would see that it is not referring to what most Americans think of slavery. We owe a debt to Christ for saving us from our sins which can never be repaid. We call Jesus our Master; therefore, we are His slaves. 

Fifth, the consistency. The LSB is a very consistent translation. It does not translate the text based on tradition. One place would be the model prayer. As Jesus concludes the prayer, most translations have it as "And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil" (ESV). The LSB has it as this, "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." This is translated the same way in Matthew 5:37 and John 17:15. 

Finally, When I read the LSB, it gives me a greater desire to go in depth into the original languages of both testaments. I will admit, I am not a great Hebrew and Greek scholar, but I always want to see what the original word was when it written. As I read the LSB, I seek to see how it was translated. I compare it to other translations to see if it was the right way to translate it or not. One passage that comes to mind is Psalm 73:25-26. My pastor uses the ESV and made a reference to this passage which reads:

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

This is how the LSB translates this passage:

Whom have I in heaven but You?

And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

My flesh and my heart fail,

But God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.

Both translations read very similar except where most translations say, "God is the strength of my heart," it says in the LSB, "God is the rock of my heart." The original Hebrews refers to a rock, cliff, block of stone. So the word "rock" is a better translation than "strength." 

I highly recommend the LSB to any pastor and anyone that loves God's Word. 

Is the LSB a money making Translation?

If you have followed me for some on social media and on this blog, you would know that I use the Legacy Standard Bible for the past few years. There have many that made the switch such as myself but there are others that think it is only here to make money.

In this video, Justin Peters interview Abner Chou and William Varner, two of the translators of the LSB. They are going to discuss how it came about and address if it is around only to make a profit.

Jonny Ardavanis: Transforming & Sustaining Grace

Do We Become Angels When We Die?

 Angels have always been an interesting subject especially around the time when the hit TV show, "Touched by an Angel" was on the air. There have been many discussions about them including whether or not each individual person as a guardian angel.

One question that does come up from time to time is whether or not we, human beings in general, become angels when we die. I am really not sure what has led people to ponder this question., but I do know some people, including Christians, believe we are going to become angels especially after we have done enough good in the world. 

Does the Bible have anything to say on this? As a matter of fact, it does.

First, angels are servants to those who receive salvation: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14). Those who inherit salvation are those who have put their faith and trust in Christ

Second, Jesus is the only Begotten Son of God made in the likeness of His brothers to become our High Priest and make propitiation for our sins (see Hebrews 1 and 2). 

Third, angels are not sparred when they sin: For if God did not spare angels who sinned, but cast them into the pit and delivered them to chains of darkness, being kept for judgment (2 Peter 2:4).

Fourth, Christians will judge the angels: Does any one of you, when he has a case against another, dare to be tried before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not worthy to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? (1 Corinthians 6:1-3).

Fifth, Jesus said, "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10). There is rejoicing when a sinner repents in the presence of angels meaning those who repent will not become angels.

Sixth, angels will not experience salvation: It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been declared to you through those who proclaimed the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look (1 Peter 1:12).

Seventh, "Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight—we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Saints who depart this life are at home with the Lord and do not be transformed into angels.  

Finally, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18). Christians are being transformed into the likeness of Christ not angels. 

Will we become angels when we die? Biblically speaking, no. 

Joel Beeke: Christ Builds His Church

This message is from the Coram Deo Conference 2025 at Trinity Bible Church in Morgan Hill, CA:

Book Review: A Heart Aflame for God by Matthew C Bingham

The Bible says we are to guard our heart (Proverbs 4:23), workout our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), and grow in the grace of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 3:18), however there some Christians that might look at this and say it sound like we are trying to maintain our salvation because we can lose it.

We are saved by grace through faith, yet we are to make every effort to grow in our walk with Christ. There are some good materials out there that are helpful while others not so much. 

What about getting practical ideas from those who have gone before us, like the Puritans, that can assist us in growing spiritually. To help us grow in that grace of Christ 2 Peter 3:18 addresses. This is what Matthew Bingham addresses in his book, A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation.

Bingham looks at Puritan Piety for how modern Christians can grow in their faith not as a means to gain salvation but as a result of their salvation. Growing in grace is the proper response for all believers. Bingham addresses how the Puritans used scripture, meditation, and prayer as spiritual disciplines. 

One area I really appreciated from Bingham was the area of self-examination. Self-examination may seem like doubting your salvation to some, but it is really not. What Bingham is writing about is we need to examine ourselves to fight against the indwelling sin that is in us. We need to see where our blind spots are at times and that requires examining ourselves. The result of this should lead us to, as Bingham writes, confession, repentance, and a renewed sense of gospel assurance. 

There are some that think that spiritual disciplines are a more modern approach to grow in the faith. I am thankful that Bingham wrote this book showing how the Puritans grew in their faith and that spiritual disciplines are not a new concept. 

I received this book from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.

Justin Peters: Christ Protects His Church

This message is from the Coram Deo Conference 2025 at Trinity Bible Church in Morgan Hill, CA:

Ken Ham on Genesis 1-11

This message is from the 2022 Truth Matters Conference.

Brad Klassen on the Aseity of God

Hensworth Jonas Preaching on the Elect