A Site for the Teaching Ministry of Nick Batzig
We all have expectations about how others should act––some of them are biblically justified and some are merely the product of our own sinful hearts. Even when our expectations of others find biblical support, we sometimes (probably more often than not) hold them with unrealistic rigor. Those who respond in anger or frustration, when their expectations have not been met, are often the catalyst for deep discontentment and discord in the church....
Scripture everywhere commends the grace of a humble heart and sets out the many benefits that flow from it (e.g., Psalm 18:27; 25:9; 147:6; 149:4; Proverbs 3:34; 11:2; 16:19; 29:23; Matthew 23:12; Luke 1:52; 14:11; 18:14; 1 Peter 3:8; 5:5–6; James 4:6–7, 10). When we consider all that we are by nature and all that we have in Christ by grace, we find that we have every reason to be humble before God and men. As we recognize our exceedingly great sinfulness, the insurpassable glory of God, and the unsearchable riches of Christ, our hearts must necessarily be bowed low. May we make it our daily ambition to acquire and foster a humble heart before God and men....
The Scriptures encourage us to give serious consideration to the inevitability of trials, the divinely appointed remedies of overcoming them, and the outcome of God’s blessing His church after the trials....
The revelation of the glory of God, reflecting off the face of Moses, was an accompanying sign of the divine source of the message that God gave him on the mountain. The emanating glory from the face of the Lord Jesus Christ was not a reflected glory. Jesus is the very revelation of the glory of God in the flesh. The glory reflecting off the face of Moses served as a marker of the authority of God, but the glory shining from the face of Jesus served as a verifying sign of his own divine glory....
We dare not come into the presence of God––as Cain did––self-righteously, half-heartedly, and with the least we can offer to Him. Rather, we are to come in brokenness over our sins, acknowledging that the Lord has provided a better sacrifice for us––namely, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)....
Christ did not come to break a bruised reed. He did not come into this world to quench a smoldering wick (Is. 412:3; Matt. 12L20). Jesus came into this world to redeem a people who are weak, sinful, wayward, unrighteous, and lost. He came to bear us up in his own arms and bring us home to the Father (Luke 15). He is full of compassion and tender-kindness to those he came to redeem. ...
Whenever we are tempted to think that no one understands our sorrows, our fears, our needs, we should reflect on how the Son of God coming into the womb of the virgin Mary teaches us--that from the very beginning of the incarnation––God understands our frailties, weaknesses, and needs. Christmas means we can never say, "No one understands what I am going through." The eternal Son of God knows exactly what you are going through, and takes it upon himself in order to suffer on the cross to take it all upon himself. ...
For believers, meals together in this life (both in worship and in our homes) are preparing us for that day when we will spiritually feast together in the presence of God. The food we consume, the table around which we sit, and the companions with whom we gather have as their end the spiritual communion that we enjoy with one another and with the triune God. ...
Whether one takes the phrase, "the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified," in Hebrews 10:29 to be a reference to Christ himself or to those who, having once professed faith in him and departed from the covenant community makes little difference. The same truth is taught in accord with the analogy of faith. Both are doctrinally sound interpretations. The author of Hebrews, no doubt, had one of these two interpretations in mind. The analogy of faith protects the interpreter from having to know beyond a shadow of a doubt whether this is the intended meaning of a less clear passage of Scripture. ...
Debate in theological matters is necessary in a fallen world. God commands believers to "contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). We are to be zealous for the defense and propagation of the whole counsel of God for His own glory and the building up of His people. Ministers and local church members, in many Reformed churches, take vows to "stu...
Keep Reading We all have expectations about how others should act––some of them are biblically justified and some are merely the product of our own sinful hearts. Even when our expectations of others find biblical support, we sometimes (probably more often than not) hold them with unrealistic rigor. Those who respond in anger or frustration, when their expectations have not been me...
Keep Reading Scripture everywhere commends the grace of a humble heart and sets out the many benefits that flow from it (e.g., Psalm 18:27; 25:9; 147:6; 149:4; Proverbs 3:34; 11:2; 16:19; 29:23; Matthew 23:12; Luke 1:52; 14:11; 18:14; 1 Peter 3:8; 5:5–6; James 4:6–7, 10). When we consider all that we are by nature and all that we have in Christ by grace, we find that we have every ...
Keep Reading The Scriptures encourage us to give serious consideration to the inevitability of trials, the divinely appointed remedies of overcoming them, and the outcome of God’s blessing His church after the trials....
Keep Reading The revelation of the glory of God, reflecting off the face of Moses, was an accompanying sign of the divine source of the message that God gave him on the mountain. The emanating glory from the face of the Lord Jesus Christ was not a reflected glory. Jesus is the very revelation of the glory of God in the flesh. The glory reflecting off the face of Moses served as a marke...
Keep Reading We dare not come into the presence of God––as Cain did––self-righteously, half-heartedly, and with the least we can offer to Him. Rather, we are to come in brokenness over our sins, acknowledging that the Lord has provided a better sacrifice for us––namely, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)....
Keep Reading Christ did not come to break a bruised reed. He did not come into this world to quench a smoldering wick (Is. 412:3; Matt. 12L20). Jesus came into this world to redeem a people who are weak, sinful, wayward, unrighteous, and lost. He came to bear us up in his own arms and bring us home to the Father (Luke 15). He is full of compassion and tender-kindness to those he came t...
Keep Reading Whenever we are tempted to think that no one understands our sorrows, our fears, our needs, we should reflect on how the Son of God coming into the womb of the virgin Mary teaches us--that from the very beginning of the incarnation––God understands our frailties, weaknesses, and needs. Christmas means we can never say, "No one understands what I am going through." The ...
Keep Reading For believers, meals together in this life (both in worship and in our homes) are preparing us for that day when we will spiritually feast together in the presence of God. The food we consume, the table around which we sit, and the companions with whom we gather have as their end the spiritual communion that we enjoy with one another and with the triune God. ...
Keep Reading Whether one takes the phrase, "the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified," in Hebrews 10:29 to be a reference to Christ himself or to those who, having once professed faith in him and departed from the covenant community makes little difference. The same truth is taught in accord with the analogy of faith. Both are doctrinally sound interpretations. The author ...
Keep Reading