A Site for the Teaching Ministry of Nick Batzig
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....
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, by faith, we receive Him as the eternal Son of God, though veiled in the weakness of flesh and set in the context of these counterintuitive circumstances, we have our eyes opened to see the wisdom of God at work....
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 eternally beloved Son as a sacrifice for the sin of His people. Jesus has been 'given for us' by the Father (Isaiah 9:6) so that we might be reconciled to God....
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 rather than to allow Scripture to determine our understanding of the precise relationship between the Old Covenant theocracy and the New Covenant church. ...
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). ...
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 through them; we honor them best by following their example in preaching and propagating God’s word in similar ways as they did....
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 remembering those truths that God has already revealed to us....
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 activity, so secularism seeks to stand in the gap and block a truly consistent application of Christianity to every aspect of life. There is a bewitching element of secularism to which many–even many Christians–are blind. ...
When we begin to understand the important relationship between the law of God and the gospel, we will guard against allowing any perversions of it in our presentation of the biblical teaching about justification and sanctification. We will carefully note the contexts in which these two means of revelation are contrasted in Scripture; and, we will recognize that while the law does not, in anyway whatsoever, play in to our justification before God (except insomuch as Christ kept it for us), we will seek to promote the important place that law plays in the Christian life. Believers, at one and the same time, recognize that they are neither justified nor condemned by the moral law of God and they are zealous to run the course of God's commandments by faith working through love. ...
Scripture teaches that there will be a last day when the infinitely just and holy God will exercise perfect justice--showing a full manifestation of His mercy to those for whom Christ has satisfied divine justice (Eph. 2:7) and pouring out His wrath on unbelieving men and angels (Matt. 7:21...
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I have several friends in ministry who recently unplugged from social media. When a particular flashbulb, social media incident precipitated angst and outrage on "Christian twitter," my friends remained calm and steady. When I asked if they had heard about such and such a occurrence, they nonchalantly shrugged it off. I was envious of the freedom they were evidently experi...
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The justification of the believer is as sure as the resurrection of Christ. In fact, the resurrection of Jesus is the assurance that there is "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." When a believer struggles to be settled about the once-for-all nature of their justification before God, he or she must look on the crucified and risen One by faith. Jesus was just...
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While engaged in the work of church planting in the PCA, I led a men’s theology group every other week for nearly seven years. We worked through the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC), and the Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC)...
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Deep down in our hearts, we all like to convince ourselves that we are more knowledgeable and wiser than we actually are. This is why Scripture raises the warning about being "wise in your own eyes" (Prov. 3:7). Pride manifests itself in a thousand subtle ways in our hearts. Add to this the fact that we live at a time of remarkable societal pride. Society feeds the pride o...
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If, instead of seeking a “seat at the table” or seeking to control “power structures,” we stooped low in order to serve others for God’s glory and their good we would find the true greatness after which we ought to be seeking. The kingdom of God is countercultural, and the way of the kingdom is the way of the cross; it is the way of service to the King and to tho...
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The canonical setting of the book of Job and the relationship it sustains to Genesis 3:15 encourages a Christological understanding of Job's declaration. To strip it of the canonical context would be to empty it of its meaning. Job, like the rest of the Old Testament, is a revelation of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:27). When we understand the redemptive historical connection, we ...
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Many have struggled to understand the book of Job. What is this mysterious book teaching about this righteous sufferer who was afflicted by the devil, discouraged by his wife, and falsely accused by his friends? Why did God sovereignly arrange the circumstances of his being tested and tried? These are questions that have led Christians to embrace the wide array of biblical...
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There was one nation in human history that had perfect laws--Old Covenant theocratic Israel; and yet, generation after generation were just as wicked--or more wicked--than the nations around them. So bad were the injustices in Israel that the prophet Habakkuk cried out, "the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth" (Hab. 1:4). The problem persisted to the exile and ...
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