A Site for the Teaching Ministry of Nick Batzig
Certain practices have become so familiar among Christians that believers can be in danger of thoughtlessly performing them. We are all prone to simply going through the motions in our Christian lives. For instance, how often have we prayed the Lord’s Prayer without reflecting on the petitions that we are presenting to God? How often have we recited the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed without giving due consideration to the truths that we are confessing? We can easily go through the liturgical motions in a worship service without focusing on what we are doing before God. Similarly, it is altogether possible for believers to close their prayer with the words “in Jesus’ name” or “in Christ’s name” or “for Christ’s sake” as a sort of mindless mantra....
As we continue on in our journey to the celestial city, we are called to constantly hear the warnings of God's word so as to help us on our way. These warnings, as severe as they are in fact, are meant to be gracious tools in the hand of the Savior to help us persevere in the faith. ...
In all our deliberations, we must remember that church courts can and will err in this fallen world. There is no perfect justice in this life. Ultimately, there is only one Lawgiver and Judge (James 4:12), who will perfectly execute justice in the divine tribunal on the last day (Deut. 32:35; Rom. 12:17–19). At present, however, the ecclesiastical court is the only court that God has established to render judgments on spiritual matters for the spiritual advantage of the church....
Many professing believers content themselves with a mere cursory knowledge of Scripture, while filling their minds, hearts, and conversations with a knowledge of politics, literature, sports, entertainment, exercise, travel, and food. They are content to know little of Scripture while giving a deep dive into these other areas of interest. This is no phenomenon unique to our day and age....
Depression is one of the dreadful shared human experiences of life in this fallen world. So many things work on each one of us, from within and from without, that we all have times and seasons when we feel ourselves drowning under the weight of the anxieties, pressures, and trials. This ultimately results in a depression of mind and heart. A distinction must be made here between what may be called sinful depression and sinless depression. Sinful depression is usually fueled by responding to circumstances with a anxious heart that is the product of unbelief in the promises of God. Sinless depression is, more properly, the experience of the soul of a believer over the sense of the loss of God's favor or blessed presence (e.g. Psalm 42-43). The Scriptures hold out examples of each form of depression. The first is that which was experiences by Elijah in his response to Jezebel's threats. The second was the soul agony experienced by our Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, as he looked into the cup of God's wrath that he would drink on the cross. . .The sinless soul agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is the solution to our sinful spiritual depression. Jesus' depression had a redeeming value for our souls....
There might not be a passage of Scripture more under-appreciated for its rich theological, ecclesiological, and eschatological focus as that which we find in Hebrews 3:1-6. The writer was wishing to highlight the betterness of Christ to everyone in the Old Testament economy to keep the eyes of those to whom he was writing on Christ. The danger was for them to turn back to the weak and beggarly elements of Judaism, with its focus on external ceremonies and preparatory types. All of these things having passed away, the author firsts compares and contrasts Moses and Christ. Since Moses was the typical redeemer of the Old Covenant, it would make sense for the writing to highlight the relationshipIt is arguable that there might not be a Scriptpure more underappreciated for its rich theological, ecclesiological, and eschatological focus as that which we find in Hebrews 3:1-6. The writer was wishing to highlight the betterness of Christ to everyone in the Old Testament economy to keep the eyes of those to whom he was writing on Christ. The danger was for them to turn back to the weak and beggarly elements of Judaism, with its focus on external ceremonies and preparatory types. All of these things having passed away, the author firsts compares and contrasts Moses and Christ. Since Moses was the typical redeemer of the Old Covenant, it would make sense for the writing to highlight the relationship between the type (i.e., Moses) and the antitype (i.e., Christ). There is a world of theological riches that open to us when we carefully consider this passage. between the type (i.e., Moses) and the antitype (i.e., Christ). There is a world of theological riches that open to us when we carefully consider this text. ...
It takes a great deal of wisdom to approach criticism with biblical maturity. It involves being able to recognize when pride is rising up in our hearts. It discerns between the mixture of truth and error in any given criticism. It keeps in mind the multitude of circumstantial factors involved with any criticism–from the inevitability of criticism to the eternal hope of the believers' vindication before God. While we may have an aversion to criticism, we should rather welcome it as a maturation tool in the hand of our God. May the Lord graciously give us the wisdom we need to receive criticism with maturity. ...
When I sit back and read the deluge of thoughts and opinions online about what the church ought to be doing, I sense a noticeable lack of focus on the Gospel. In the many twitter rants that recur on a daily basis, there is a discernible deficiency with regard to Scripture and the Gospel. ...
It is the common lot of those God has called into gospel ministry to become discouraged on account of the challenges and trials that come from serving as a pastor. I can almost always sense when a brother is weighed down by the pressures, demands, and discouragements that come with serving as a pastor of a congregation, because I have known them throughout my own pastoral service. The apostle Paul intimated the challenges that pastors face in the church when he added to the external opposition he experienced from the unbelieving world the care that he had for the church. He wrote, "apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches" (2 Cor. 11:28). So what are ministers to do when they feel overwhelmed by the discouragements of ministry?...
We are meant to know that Jesus had to remain silent when he was judged so that we might have our mouths shut before the just tribunal of God. Then, having heard the sentence exacted against the spotless lamb of God, believers might open their mouths in praise to God for all the ways that He has removed their transgressions and the righteous condemnation that stood against us for Christ's sake. The silence of condemnation belonged to Jesus that praise for justification might be ours. ...
Independent Presbyterian Church, in Savannah, GA, will be hosting a conference on the Lord's Supper this Thursday, February 4th and Friday, February 5th. Dr. Hughes Oliphant Olds will give three lectures dealing with Calvin and Knox on the doctrine and administration of the Lord’s Supper as well as presentations from Terry Johnson and Ron Parrish. If you are anywher...
Keep ReadingEric Alexander very wisely notes the foundational and temporary functions of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts: If we are to understand the New Testament's teaching on the Holy Spirit we must concentrate on the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels, and on the systematic exposition in the Epistles—rather than on the narrative in the Book of Acts. A great deal of confus...
Keep ReadingThe apostle Paul was dealing with the problem of division in the church in 1 Corinthians 1. He introduces the idea of Christian unity with the words, "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you?" This conflict sets the stage for everything that Paul goes on to write in the remainder of the chapter. Believers in Corinth were once part of the lost and perishing world, div...
Keep ReadingIn his book, The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis wrote: “We have a tendency to think, but not to act. The more we feel without acting, the less we will ever be able to act, and, in the long run, the less we will be able to feel.†I have often thought and felt a lot of things while listening to sermons or while reading Bible-saturated books or while looking...
Keep ReadingAdolphe Monod's Living for the Hope of Glory has been one of the most influential Christian works I've read. Deeply affected by Monod's story as well as the spiritual mindedness with which his writings are marked, I have returned to his writings time and time again. Most of Monod's writings remain in French, though I recently discovered one that was translated into English...
Keep ReadingIn case you didn’t have the $6000 plus it cost to attend, you can now buy the sermons preached this past summer in 2009 from John Calvin’s pulpit from Ligonier. The Speakers include none other than my buddy Joel Beeke, and many more like; Iain Campbell, Bryan Chapell, Ted Donnelly, Ligon Duncan, Sinclair Ferguson, Robert Godfrey, Martin Holdt, Hywel Jones,...
Keep ReadingLigonier Ministries has done a fine job of gathering some of the best audio critiques of the New Perspectives on Paul. You can find them all here. I especially recommend Sinclair Ferguson's lecture The New Perspective on Paul and Related Issues and Guy Waters' Christ the Center interview on N.T. Wright and the New Perspective on Paul (part 1) and (part 2)....
Keep ReadingAs we move forward in our worship at New Covenant Presbyterian Church, I am planning on starting a sermon series on the Acts of the Apostles. This seems to be fitting with a new church. The book of Acts can be summarized as "the acts of Jesus Christ through His apostles by the Holy Spirit." It is filled with all the excitement and wonder of the dawning of the new age and t...
Keep ReadingIn a blog post entitled "My Biggest Sin," McKay Caston writes: You couldn’t help it, could you? This is gonna be juicy, right? Could be. Okay, let’s get to it. What is my biggest sin? Of course, most of us probably think of the Top 10 list in Exodus. “Thou Shall Not…†But we’ve all broken every one of those. No surprise there. So what...
Keep ReadingDavid Murray has an incredibly helpful post in which he gives 10 short points of instruction on what ministers should avoid in the introduction of a sermon. If you are anything like me, you find the introduction to be one of the most useful elements of the message. It will either draw your hearers in, or turn them off, from the outset. One of my professors at seminary like...
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