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The Epistle of James is now Available!
October 3, 2017 by Sam Storms
Several weeks ago I announced that my entire series of sermon notes on the book of Hebrews was available on my website. Today I’m happy to tell you that all twenty-two lessons on the book of James are now posted. If you are unfamiliar about how to access these documents, simply click on Resources at the top of the Home page, and then on Articles. Look under Biblical Studies, and at the bottom of the list you will see both Hebrews and James. These twenty-two articles are essentially a verse-by-verse analysis of James. I hope and pray you will find them helpful in your life or ministry, or in both.
"The strongest and most lively sensation"
By: Sam Storms
"The strongest and most lively sensation"
By: Sam Storms
“If we can learn anything of the state of heaven from the Scripture, the love and joy that the saints have there, is exceeding great and vigorous; impressing the heart with the strongest and most lively sensation, of inexpressible sweetness, mightily moving, animating, and engaging them, making them like to a flame of fire. And if such love and joy be not affections, then the word ‘affection’ is of no use in language. Will any say, that the saints in he...Read More ➔
The Peril of Performing at Prayer
By: Sam Storms
The Peril of Performing at Prayer
By: Sam Storms
In an earlier post I spoke of the danger of insincere and ostentatious praying, that is to say, performing at prayer for the praise of men. Some have mistakenly concluded that Daniel was guilty of precisely this sin. The story is familiar to all of us. Motivated by jealousy and resentment of Daniel, several commissioners and satraps of King Darius hatched an insidious plot that would land Daniel in jail, if not kill him. Knowing that Daniel was a man of habitual prayer,...Read More ➔
Love without Alloy
1By: Sam Storms
Love without Alloy
By: Sam Storms
“It is a comfort to think of that [heavenly] state, where there is fullness of joy; where reigns heavenly, calm, and delightful love, without alloy; where there are continually the dearest expressions of this love; where is the enjoyment of the persons loved, without ever parting; where those persons who appear so lovely in this world, will really be inexpressibly more lovely, and full of love to us. and how sweetly will the mutual lovers join together, to sing the...Read More ➔
"Fine prayers are generally very wicked prayers"
By: Sam Storms
"Fine prayers are generally very wicked prayers"
By: Sam Storms
What role does “sincerity” have in prayer? We know that hypocrisy is a poison that not only pollutes our prayers but causes a stench in the nostrils of God. This is why Jesus warned us against praying in order to be seen of men: “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But ...Read More ➔
"These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun"
By: Sam Storms
"These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun"
By: Sam Storms
“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams, but God is the ocean” (Jonathan Edwards, Heaven is a World of Love)....Read More ➔
What Some Think God Should Have Said To Job, But Never Did
2By: Sam Storms
What Some Think God Should Have Said To Job, But Never Did
By: Sam Storms
Most people come to the concluding five chapters of Job (38-42) with great anticipation. Having endured the seemingly endless cycle of repetitive speeches, the time has finally come for God to speak. Now that Job has endured indescribable suffering, now that his three friends and Elihu have had their say, what might one expect God to say? Amazingly, all the things one might think God would say (or should say) are nowhere to be found. (1) There is no condemnation of Job,...Read More ➔
Obedience, Abiding, and Answered Prayer
By: Sam Storms
Obedience, Abiding, and Answered Prayer
By: Sam Storms
Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). John said something similar in his first epistle: “and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 John 3:22). Clearly, both Jesus and John want us to understand that obedience is fundamental to effective prayer. But what exactly is the relationship between piety and pray...Read More ➔
God is like a Mountain Spring!
1By: Sam Storms
God is like a Mountain Spring!
By: Sam Storms
Jonathan Edwards once described God as “an infinite fountain of divine glory and sweetness.” In other words, God endlessly overflows in goodness and grace toward us, bringing matchless and never-ceasing satisfaction to our souls. Thus he can never be replenished by his creatures. He stands in need of nothing. We supply no lack in God. So, how do we worship him? How do we honor him? With what attitude and intent should we approach him? In what way do we &ldqu...Read More ➔
"I could care less" - Grammatical Gripes (3)
5By: Sam Storms
"I could care less" - Grammatical Gripes (3)
By: Sam Storms
Really? Could you? I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am, by how often I hear this in daily speech. It happens when people are trying to express their disdain or indifference toward something. They want to communicate as emphatically as they can that they have no interest whatsoever in a particular event or opinion or person. They want you to know that there is nothing that ranks lower on their list of priorities. They want to say that they are entirely oblivious to ...Read More ➔
The "sweetest joys and delights" of all
By: Sam Storms
The "sweetest joys and delights" of all
By: Sam Storms
“Sometimes, only mentioning a single word caused my heart to burn within me; or only seeing the name of Christ, or the name of some attribute of God. And God has appeared glorious to me, on account of the Trinity. It has made me have exalting thoughts of God, that he subsists in three persons; Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The sweetest joys and delights I have experienced have not been those that have arisen from a hope of my own good estate; but in a direct view of ...Read More ➔
Good Health and God's Will
1By: Sam Storms
Good Health and God's Will
By: Sam Storms
“Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul” (3 John 2). Many of those in the Word of Faith or Health and Wealth camp argue on the basis of 3 John 2 that God always wants his children to be physically healthy. He wants all to “go well” with us and for each believer to “be in good health, as it goes well” with our “souls.” But can it be demonstrated f...Read More ➔
A Love Beyond Degree
1By: Sam Storms
A Love Beyond Degree
By: Sam Storms
I read the Old Testament story of Hosea with shock and amazement. Hosea may have lived 2,700 years ago, but his idea of marriage wouldn't have differed greatly from mine. Like most other men, he wanted a wife who was faithful and pure and gentle and loving. He didn't get one. Hosea married a whore. Sorry, but there's no reason to tone down the language. Hosea's wife, Gomer (I've often wondered if she had a brother named Goober!), was a whore, a prostitute. She was unfai...Read More ➔
Go, Send, or Sin
By: Sam Storms
Go, Send, or Sin
By: Sam Storms
“Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth” (3 John 5-8). What is going on here? Apparently some it...Read More ➔
"Keep everything hazy in his mind"
By: Sam Storms
"Keep everything hazy in his mind"
By: Sam Storms
“Last month Exodus International became the opposite of what it had been. It went from helping men and women to be free of sexual strongholds to helping them feel they are OK with Christ in their sexual strongholds. The gap between ‘Christ accepts you as you are and cleanses you of your sins’ and ‘Christ accepts you as you are, period” is the width of the Grand Canyon. But shoe-horn enough God-words into the announcement and you will win ove...Read More ➔
Becoming a "World" Christian
1By: Sam Storms
Becoming a "World" Christian
By: Sam Storms
To be a “world” Christian simply means that you have consciously, sincerely, and sacrificially reordered your life around God’s global purpose to glorify himself. A “world” Christian is a believer who has made God’s global purpose a priority in terms of how you pray, what you read, where you spend your time and energy, and perhaps most important of all, what you do with your money. In his book, In the Gap, David Bryant defines “...Read More ➔
Healing Miracles and Saints
1By: Sam Storms
Healing Miracles and Saints
By: Sam Storms
As you’ve probably heard by now, Pope Francis recently fast-tracked the sainthood of two popes: John Paul II (d. 2005), and John XXIII, who led the church in the early 1960’s. In an article in The Week (July 19, 2013), describing this development, two things stood out to me. First, “Francis declared that John Paul had performed two miracles needed for canonization, with the healing of two very sick women who prayed to him.” This is the identical ...Read More ➔
"Between he and Stan Van Gundy" - Grammatical Gripes (2)
1By: Sam Storms
"Between he and Stan Van Gundy" - Grammatical Gripes (2)
By: Sam Storms
What is the single most common grammatical error made today in both speech and writing? A few days ago I was in my truck listening to sports talk radio. The host was talking about the recent signing of Dwight Howard by the Houston Rockets. In the course of his comments he referred to Howard’s previous struggles, particularly in Orlando where there was an on-going dispute “between he and Stan Van Gundy” (former coach of the Magic). So, what’s wron...Read More ➔
Envy, Pride, and Spiritual Gifts (3)
By: Sam Storms
Envy, Pride, and Spiritual Gifts (3)
By: Sam Storms
We’re now ready to look at the second remedy Paul prescribes to help heal the body of Christ of a disease in which some of its members are persuaded they are useless to everyone else. (2) Paul’s response to those of you who feel useless in the church is to say that your way of thinking is a denial of and a rebellion against the wisdom and goodness of God himself. I know that sounds harsh, and someone might say, “Sam, you shouldn’t say things like...Read More ➔
Only desperation opens our eyes to God's love
1By: Sam Storms
Only desperation opens our eyes to God's love
By: Sam Storms
"It is natural . . . for us to trust in ourselves,” wrote James Denney. “It is so natural, and so confirmed by the habits of a lifetime, that no ordinary difficulties or perplexities avail to break us of it. It takes all God can do to root up our self-confidence. He must reduce us to despair; He must bring us to such an extremity that the one voice we have in our hearts, the one voice that cries to us wherever we look round for help, is death, death, death. I...Read More ➔
Envy, Pride, and Spiritual Gifts (2)
By: Sam Storms
Envy, Pride, and Spiritual Gifts (2)
By: Sam Storms
In the previous article we began looking at a problem in the local church when it comes to the presence and operation of spiritual gifts. The difficulty emerges when some, who don’t know what their spiritual gift is or don’t like the one they have, feel useless and say, “You don’t need me,” and others, who take pride in their gift, feel self-sufficient and say, “I don’t need you.” When this happens, the body suffers, which ...Read More ➔
An Infinite Fountain of Divine Glory and Sweetness
By: Sam Storms
An Infinite Fountain of Divine Glory and Sweetness
By: Sam Storms
“I have many times had a sense of the glory of the third person in the Trinity, in his office of Sanctifier; in his holy operations, communicating divine light and life to the soul. God, in the communications of his Holy Spirit, has appeared as an infinite fountain of divine glory and sweetness; being full, and sufficient to fill and satisfy the soul; pouring forth itself in sweet communications; like the sun in its glory, sweetly and pleasantly diffusing light and...Read More ➔
Envy, Pride, and Spiritual Gifts (1)
By: Sam Storms
Envy, Pride, and Spiritual Gifts (1)
By: Sam Storms
I don’t think I would have enjoyed living during the time of the Old Testament, that era of redemptive history before the coming of Jesus Christ. I don’t think I would have enjoyed having to bring a blood sacrifice year after year after year, knowing that the offering up of bulls and goats could never truly and finally take away the guilt of my sin. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the long list of detailed and often bizarre regulations and laws that ...Read More ➔
Does God want you Happy?
2By: Sam Storms
Does God want you Happy?
By: Sam Storms
Jonathan Edwards was convinced that the goodness and generosity and grace of God shine forth with greatest brilliance in his commands to you and me. That’s right, in his commands. In his sermon entitled “Christian Happiness” (304), he explains: “What could the most merciful being have done more for our encouragement? All that he desires of us is that we would not be miserable, that we would not follow those courses which of themselves would end...Read More ➔
Did Job suffer because he sinned?
2By: Sam Storms
Did Job suffer because he sinned?
By: Sam Storms
Frederick K. C. Price, a popular author and spokesman for the Word of Faith / Prosperity gospel, insists that Job suffered because he sinned. It was Job, says Price, not God, who lowered the hedge around himself (1:10). "As long as Job walked in faith, the wall – the hedge – was up. But when he started walking in unbelief and doubt the hedge was pulled down. Job pulled it down." But there simply is no basis in the text for concluding that Job suffered becaus...Read More ➔
Delighting in Scripture
2By: Sam Storms
Delighting in Scripture
By: Sam Storms
As you read what Jonathan Edwards said about Scripture, ask yourself if it reflects your own point of view: “I had then, and at other times, the greatest delight in the holy scriptures, of any book whatsoever. Oftentimes in reading it, every word seemed to touch my heart. I felt a harmony between something in my heart, and those sweet and powerful words. I seemed often to see so much light exhibited by every sentence, and such a refreshing food communicated, tha...Read More ➔
"I's" - Grammatical Gripes (1)
4By: Sam Storms
"I's" - Grammatical Gripes (1)
By: Sam Storms
I love words. I love them because through them I find truth, and in truth is joy and freedom and blessing. I love how words sound. I love how they look. I love sentences. Sentences, properly constructed and aesthetically written, change lives. That is is one of the reasons why I’m so disheartened by the gradual disintegration of grammar in our day. I don’t know whom to blame. I suppose we should start with parents who fail to teach their children in the form...Read More ➔
Giving is from God
By: Sam Storms
Giving is from God
By: Sam Storms
The biblical fact of the matter is that, ultimately speaking, God has no need of us. I know this cuts deeply into our sense of self-importance, but look closely at what the apostle Paul said to the Athenian philosophers: "He is not served by human hands as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:25). In another text Paul extols God precisely because "all things are from him and through him and to him" (Rom. 11...Read More ➔
DOMA and the Rock
1By: Sam Storms
DOMA and the Rock
By: Sam Storms
[Today at www.desiringgod.org Rosaria Butterfield writes the following insightful and challenging article.] DOMA and the Rock July 11, 2013 | by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield In 1996, when Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), I grieved with my people. I was an atheist then, and lived in a monogamous lesbian relationship, working as a tenure-track professor specializing in English literature and Queer Theory. Now, some 17 years later, in the summer ...Read More ➔
God's Greatest Joy
1By: Sam Storms
God's Greatest Joy
By: Sam Storms
Late one night, Linus, the Peanuts cartoon character, is preparing himself for bed. He appears to be deep in thought as he moves his hands in differing positions. Lucy, his sister, enters the room only to find Linus on his knees, praying. “I think I’ve made a new theological discovery,” declares Linus. “What is it?” asks Lucy. “If you hold your hands upside down, you get the opposite of what you pray for!” Before we too quick...Read More ➔
"An Ineffable Pitch of Pleasure and Joy"
By: Sam Storms
"An Ineffable Pitch of Pleasure and Joy"
By: Sam Storms
Meditate deeply on Jonathan Edwards’ comments concerning God’s design in our redemption: “It was a great design of God to advance all the elect to an exceeding pitch of glory, such as eye has not seen. He intended to bring them to perfect excellency and beauty in his image and in holiness which is the proper beauty of spiritual beings, and to advance ‘em to a glorious degree of honor and also to an ineffable pitch of pleasure and joy.” In ...Read More ➔
Am I a "Heretic" for Endorsing Capital Punishment? (2)
1By: Sam Storms
Am I a "Heretic" for Endorsing Capital Punishment? (2)
By: Sam Storms
In the previous article we briefly examined the relevant biblical texts on the subject of CP. We now turn our attention to the most commonly heard objections to it, together with my response to each. 1. CP is not an effective deterrent to crime Statistical evidence on the issue is inconclusive. Studies have yielded support for both sides of the argument. The question also needs to be answered: What deters all of us who have never committed a capital crime? Could it be ...Read More ➔
"Ravishingly lovely" (Jonathan Edwards on Holiness)
By: Sam Storms
"Ravishingly lovely" (Jonathan Edwards on Holiness)
By: Sam Storms
“I remember the thoughts I used then to have of holiness; and said sometimes to myself, ‘I do certainly know that I love holiness, such as the gospel prescribes.’ It appeared to me that there was nothing in it but what was ravishingly lovely; and highest beauty and amiableness, a divine beauty; far purer than any thing here upon earth; and that every thing else was like mire and defilement, in comparison with it. Holiness, as I then wrote down some of ...Read More ➔
Am I a "Heretic" for Endorsing Capital Punishment? (1)
1By: Sam Storms
Am I a "Heretic" for Endorsing Capital Punishment? (1)
By: Sam Storms
Recently the state of Texas executed its 500th person since capital punishment was restored by the Supreme Court in 1976. [For a brief history of capital punishment and the legal developments in the U.S., see John Jefferson Davis, Christian Ethics, pp. 176-78.] That’s more than all other states combined. Perhaps in response, Roger Olson wrote a blog article on July 3, 2013, entitled, “The Heresy of Capital Punishment” (www.patheos.com/blogs/rogereolson...Read More ➔
Some Thoughts on the Lordship Salvation Controversy
3By: Sam Storms
Some Thoughts on the Lordship Salvation Controversy
By: Sam Storms
What is at stake in the so-called Lordship Salvation Debate? Those who affirm Lordship salvation oppose the idea that one may have saving faith without submitting to the Lordship of Jesus in daily obedience. We are saved by faith alone, but not by the faith which is alone. Saving faith is a working faith. That faith by means of which we are justified is the kind or quality of faith that produces obedience and the fruit of the Spirit. In the absence of obedience, in the...Read More ➔
Like Green Pastures to the Soul
By: Sam Storms
Like Green Pastures to the Soul
By: Sam Storms
“Since I came to this town [i.e. Northampton],” wrote Jonathan Edwards, “I have often had sweet complacency in God, in views of his glorious perfections and the excellency of Jesus Christ. God has appeared to me a glorious and lovely Being, chiefly on account of his holiness. The holiness of God has always appeared to me the most lovely of all his attributes. The doctrines of God's absolute sovereignty, and free grace, in showing mercy to whom he would ...Read More ➔
Obama's Global-Warming Folly
By: Sam Storms
Obama's Global-Warming Folly
By: Sam Storms
There is a fascinating article at National Review Online by Charles Krauthammer, titled, "Obama's Global-Warming Folly". I thought you'd enjoy it. I did. NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE WWW.NATIONALREVIEW.COM JULY 4, 2013 8:00 PM Obama’s Global-Warming Folly No, Mr. President, we don’t need a war on coal. By Charles Krauthammer The economy stagnates. Syria burns. Scandals lap at his feet. China and Russia mock him, even as a “29-year-old hacker&rdqu...Read More ➔
We Can't All Be Panmillennial
By: Sam Storms
We Can't All Be Panmillennial
By: Sam Storms
I was recently interviewed by Matt Smethurst concerning my new book, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative (Christian Focus). The interview was posted today on the website of The Gospel Coalition (www.thegospelcoalition.org). Here it is. We Can't All Be Panmillenial One day, heaven's risen and reigning King will return—suddenly, physically, triumphantly—to the earth he made. He will extend justice to his enemies and mercy to his ex-enemies. All things w...Read More ➔
Did the New Testament Authors Lie? (2)
1By: Sam Storms
Did the New Testament Authors Lie? (2)
By: Sam Storms
We must address the explicit use of the name “Paul” in Ephesians 1:1 and 3:1. How do those who deny Pauline authorship deal with this? Most (such as Ehrman) appeal to the literary device known as pseudonymity. Pseudonymity was a common literary convention in the Jewish and Greco-Roman world, wherein a letter or book would claim to be written by a given author (usually a well-known figure of a previous generation) when in fact it was not. O’Brien, who re...Read More ➔
Did the New Testament Authors Lie? (1)
2By: Sam Storms
Did the New Testament Authors Lie? (1)
By: Sam Storms
Someone recently linked to an article by Bart Ehrman entitled, “Who Wrote the Bible and Why it Matters,” first published on The Huffington Post on March 25, 2011. Ehrman is among those who think that the Apostle Paul, for example, wrote at most seven of the thirteen letters traditionally associated with his ministry. The other six letters are called “pseudepigrapha.” Someone else wrote them under the alias of the apostle. Thus these NT authors &ld...Read More ➔
Does Calvinism Kill Missions?
1By: Sam Storms
Does Calvinism Kill Missions?
By: Sam Storms
In a guest post at the blog of Kevin DeYoung (July 3, 2013), Jason Helopoulos asks and answers the question: Does Calvinism Kill Missions? It is often asserted that Calvinism creates a barrier to evangelism and missions. The accusation usually comes in the form of questions. How could those who believe the Scriptures teach predestination and election truly have a heart for missions? If God has determined who shall be saved, why would there be any need to engage in evang...Read More ➔
Why Grace is Still Amazing, one more time
1By: Sam Storms
Why Grace is Still Amazing, one more time
By: Sam Storms
We’re now ready to finish by looking at the final four characteristics of grace. (5) Fifth, when it comes to salvation, grace stands opposed to works (Rom. 4:4-5; 11:6). However, when it comes to sanctification, grace is the source of works. This simply means that whereas we are saved by grace and not of works, we are saved by grace unto good works. Good works are the fruit, not the root, of God’s saving grace (see esp. Eph. 2:8-10). It thus comes as no surp...Read More ➔
Jonathan Edwards on Heaven, a World of Love
1By: Sam Storms
Jonathan Edwards on Heaven, a World of Love
By: Sam Storms
“The heaven I desired was a heaven of holiness; to be with God, and to spend my eternity in divine love, and holy communion with Christ. My mind was very much taken up with contemplations on heaven, and the enjoyments there; and living there in perfect holiness, humility and love: And it used at that time to appear a great part of the happiness of heaven, that there the saints could express their love to Christ. It appeared to me a great clog and burden, that what ...Read More ➔
Why Grace is Still Amazing
By: Sam Storms
Why Grace is Still Amazing
By: Sam Storms
We’re now ready to look at some of the distinguishing characteristics of grace. I’m going to mention eight, four in this article and the final four in the next. (1) The first and possibly most fundamental characteristic of divine grace is that it presupposes sin and guilt. If you believe in the inherent goodness of human nature, grace will never register in your soul. It will make no sense. It will be viewed as unnecessary and irrelevant. Grace has meaning ...Read More ➔
Enough is Enough
1By: Sam Storms
Enough is Enough
By: Sam Storms
Posted By Alan Jacobs on June 24, 2013 [My former colleague at Wheaton College, Alan Jacobs, has written a brief but interesting post on the purported universal influence of technology. Anything Alan writes is worth reading, so enjoy.] Jonathan Freedland writes [1], “The American intellectual Leon Wieseltier recently told of his fears for reading. ‘Reading is a cognitive, mental, emotional action, and today it is under pressure from all this speed of the i...Read More ➔
Grace: Crucified Between Two Thieves
1By: Sam Storms
Grace: Crucified Between Two Thieves
By: Sam Storms
Acts 20:24 is surely one of the most powerful and breath-taking texts in all of Scripture. There the Apostle Paul makes this stunning declaration: “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” What is it about “grace” that would lead this man to say such a thing? Do we today understand grace i...Read More ➔
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