Nathan Whitley's Blog, page 29
August 26, 2019
A Journey With the Pilgrim’s Progress
The Pilgrim’s Progress was written by John Bunyan in 1678. Bunyan was born in Bedforshire, England in 1628. Seventeenth century England was in the midst of a civil war during the early part of his life. The war broke out over the limits of power between King Charles and Parliament. Bunyan served as a parliamentarian soldier during the war, which aligned him with the Non-Conformists such as the Congregationalists, Baptists, and Puritans who were also at odds with the king. After the war, Bunya...
August 11, 2019
The Gospel According to the Thief on the Cross
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise (Lk. 23:43-44).
The thief on the cross is a polarizing figure. Some want to overlook his supposed last-minute faith. Others want to claim his salvation as reasoning for delaying their faith in Christ until their dying moment. What can we learn from the thief on the cross? If we are willing to look closer at this event, we will s...
July 5, 2019
The Gospel According to Philemon
The letter to Philemon is one the shortest books in the New Testament. Though it is only twenty-five verses in length it is teeming with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some have wondered why this short letter was included in the New Testament. There are no theological or doctrinal issues dealt with. No warnings are given in the letter either. But this overlooked letter shows how the gospel affects even personal relationships, and how real change is made ethically through the power of the gospel....
June 30, 2019
Made for a Purpose
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5).
There are twin questions a pastor is asked: “What is the will of God for my life?” The other is “What is my calling?” Many feel these two questions are mysteries to be solved.
Callings in the BibleUniversal calling: The general call that goes out to every human as an invitation to repentance, and faith. This is done through the preaching of God’s W...
June 24, 2019
Things Most Surely Believed
In his online article for Huffpost, Brandan Robertson wrote, “Run to God, Not to the Bible.” Throughout his article he insists that Christians do not need the Bible to hear God’s voice. He quotes liberal theologian Peter Enns who claims, “We need to be training our children to cultivate a relationship with God, not a relationship with the Bible.” Robertson’s argument is that the Bible should be referenced, but it shouldn’t be the main place where we come to learn about God, or how to interact...
June 19, 2019
The Practice of Study
I want to give you a few options for studying the Bible. You don’t just have to read through the Bible from cover to cover to get something out of it. I’ve given you the tools to help you properly interpret Scripture, but I want to see there are several different ways we can glean from the Bible.
In our next lesson we will look at studying the Bible in a very inductive manner. I’m going to show you next week how to break down a Scripture and study it. This week I want to go over a few methods...
The Principles of Study
Eighteenth Century preacher, J.C. Ryle, said, “We must read our Bibles like men digging for hidden treasure.” The late pastor of Westminster Chapel, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, said, “Every time we consider or study the Bible we are, of necessity, worshipping.”
Someone once said, “God feeds the birds, but He doesn’t throw the food into their nests.” This is true for the Bible student too. If we want fed from the Word of God, then we must search for the food that will feed us.
Bible teacher, Howard He...
The Purpose of Study
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Biblical Illiteracy“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6).
Study after study in the last quarter-century has revealed that American Christians increasingly don’t...
May 17, 2019
Cut it Straight Podcast Episode 32 The Call to Write
May 13, 2019
Nameless, but Faithful
Mother’s Day is a time where we honor our mothers, and celebrate who they are, and what they have done for us. Like other holidays, perhaps we should honor and celebrate our mothers more than once a year, for mothers play a very important role in our lives.
Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote recently:
“Why do dying men call for ‘Mama?’ That’s the question I’ve been pondering for months, since reading a line in an Atl...
