A Site for the Teaching Ministry of Nick Batzig
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. ...
The flesh of Jesus torn apart under the judgment of God on the cross is the portal back to paradise....
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. ...
Scripture speaks of the salvation of believers in three tenses. Christians have been saved, they are being saved, and they will be saved. In redemption accomplished, Christ truly and really saved His people when He died and rose again. In the application of redemption, believers are being saved as Christ intercedes for them, sustaining them through their pilgrimage and ena...
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The Westminster Confession of Faith was a cooperative document–the product of men with a variety of theological beliefs coming together to articulate a unified statement of the Christian faith. This makes the Westminster Confession of Faith one of the most theologically mature and uniquely important documents in church history....
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One of the many wonderful things about theWestminster Shorter Catechismis that it includes several extremely importanttheological pairs (i.e.joint categories) in the opening questions that help us robustly systematize the biblical truth concerning our relationship to God, God's work in the world, the nature and effects of man's sin and the saving work of the Rede...
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The coming of the Son of God into this fallen world for the salvation of His people occurred in the most counterintuitive way possible. If Jesus came after the expectations and desires of sinful men and women, He would have come in a display of pomp and power that leant itself to human wisdom and pride. Instead, He came in weakness, poverty, obscurity, and ignominy. When, ...
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When we think of the priestly ministry of Christ–from His incarnation to His substitutionary atoning death on the cross–we should do so with an eye to what the Scriptures teach about the priestly act of the Father 'giving up' the Son for the salvation of His people. The Son is the priest who offers Himself without spot to God, and the Father is the priest in giving His...
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Those who have been swept up with various forms of theonomy (or Christian Nationalism) should reflect deeply on the redemptive-historical role of the Old Covenant civil law as well as on how the Apostles spiritually applied it to the New Covenant church. To move beyond these things is to impose an artificial, underdeveloped, and over realized worldview on the Scriptures ra...
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We must ever remember that this is not our home. Our ultimate hope can never be in a Christianized America. Our ultimate hope lies in the fact that we confess that "here we have no lasting city" (Heb. 13:14) but are "looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (Heb. 11:10). ...
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As we reflect on the preaching ministry of Calvin, and the way in which the Lord used it to fuel Reformation across Europe, we should remember that the Reformation was primarily fueled by a return to the faithful expository preaching of God's word. We honor the Reformers best not by living in the annals of church history to simply marvel at all that the Lord accomplished t...
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Remembering what we once were when we were dead in sins and what God did to mercifully draw us to Himself through the saving work of Christ is vital if we are to make advancement in our spiritual growth in grace. The Christian life is often fueled most of all not by learning new things (although there are always more important truths for us to learn in God's word) but by r...
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Secularism is a religion. Make no mistake about it. Though many seek to advance it as a neutralizing alternative to a religiously structured society, it is, in its own right, a religion. A secular worldview is not content until it has permeated every fabric of society–civics, ethics, media, and education. Just as the Christian worldview is meant to permeate all human act...
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