A Site for the Teaching Ministry of Nick Batzig
As a means of grace, baptism becomes effectual in the lives of the elect by the sovereign regeneration of the Holy Spirit. This may occur in the life of an individual “whether of age or infants.” However, that regeneration is wrought in the lives of the elect by the free and unmerited work of the Spirit of God on the hearts of the elect. If an individual was baptized as an infant in the name of the triune God, but he or she did not come to saving faith and repentance until an adult, it would be right to say that their “baptism became effectual upon their repentance”––not because of repentance and faith, but because of the gracious work of the Spirit of God applying the work of Christ crucified and risen to their souls....
It should sadden us to learn that the church of our day has neglected one of the greatest treasures God has given her to worship Him--namely, the Psalter. The living God has breathed out an entire book of truth for us to sing back to Him whenever we gather together in corporate worship. Perhaps such a neglect has occurred on account of antiquated translations, difficult accompanying tunes or simply because of a lack of familiarity with the Old Testament people, places, events and symbols. Regardless, the church is certainly no better for having passed over the numerous inspired songs in the Psalter....
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. ...
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. ...
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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 ...
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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...
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Sadly, many professing believers approach the gifts of the Spirit by overvaluing the idea of the miraculous spiritual gifts (e.g., tongues, prophecy, healing) and undervalue the common spiritual gifts (e.g., salvation and sanctifying fruit). Holding faulty views of the miraculous spiritual gifts is usually due to a failure to grasp the redemptive-historical purpose of the ...
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When each of the Old Covenant signs (i.e., the rainbow, Sabbath, circumcision, and the Passover) are viewed in light of the fulfillment of all that they typified, we come to understand a great deal about the work of Christ...
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As we enter a new year with new personal goals and desires, the Lord wants His people to commit to Christian living among the members of the body. We must resist the urge to look to practices and programs in the local church to live out the Christian life or do the work of ministry for us. Our God has given us the enormous privilege and responsibility of diligently living ...
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An interesting series of biblical-theological allusions to light and darkness emerge in the Gospel of John. In the first 14 verses of chapter 1, the apostle John takes his readers from the preexistence of Christ through the creation of the world by Christ to the incarnation of Christ. Between declaring that "all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was m...
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The reason why Mary sang a song of humility is because she was focusing on what God was doing to provide the Savior she needed. Mary had been waiting on God to fulfill the promises that He had made throughout the Old Testament era. Mary doesn't speak of herself or her privileges because Mary was focused on her need for redemption. ...
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We rightly wonder of the coming of the eternal Son of God into the world in true human form while wrongly neglecting to wonder at the accompanying role of the Spirit of God in the ministry of the Redeemer....
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In many of life’s circumstances, we struggle to understand how we will come to attain the promises of God, forgetting that their fulfillment is entirely based on the person and work of Christ. Jesus has secured an everlasting joy, an inheritance of hope for His people through His death and resurrection. Though we do not now see all that he has for us, we wait for him wit...
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