A Site for the Teaching Ministry of Nick Batzig
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. ...
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 gifts. When we come to understand the biblical teaching about the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit and the ordinary gifts of the Spirit, we will better value the greater and continuing gifts in the life of the church today....
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...
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 out, daily, our Christian lives in Christ. Let’s commit ourselves to the practice of seeking to live the organic Christian life in the context of the local church to which we belong. ...
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. ...
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....
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 with patience. We are to be a people who trust in and wait for Christ in faith....
While recent developments concerning the state of Israel have given us reason to revisit this subject--it would do us good to be settled in our minds about the fact that all who are united to Jesus by faith have been made children of Abraham and heirs of God (Gal. 3:29). Believers are the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem (Phil. 3:20). This is the only Jerusalem that ultimately matters. As John Newton put it, "Solid joys and lasting treasures, none but Zion's children know."...
Due to recent discussion on evolution and Darwin's intentions, I want to draw attention to a post that Phil Ryken wrote at Reformation 21 a while back. Ryken points out the significance of the title of Darwin’s magnum opus The Origin of the Species in light of it's subtitle. The subtitle? The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life. Dr. Ryken shows t...
Keep ReadingCommenting on the book of Hosea, Vos wrote: Jehovah strengthened Israel's arms and taught her to walk [7.15]; although the Giver of all nature-blessings, of corn, wine, oil, silver, gold, wool, flax, Jehovah is distinguished from the Baals, in that He has something more and finer to given than these: Â loving-kindness, mercy and faithfulness [2.19]; in reality He gives,...
Keep ReadingIn his sermon on Acts 4:33-5:3, "The Unseen Reality," Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes an interesting point about the honesty with which the historical narratives of Scripture are written. He observed: You find the same honesty with the Old Testament. Of course, the modern critic is so confused that he contradicts himself. On the one hand he tries to tell us that the Bible is a co...
Keep ReadingHere is the video from the Sunday Morning Worship service at New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Richmond Hill, Ga. The Text was Acts 4:23-31 and the title was "Ground Shaking Prayer." We apologize about the quality of the video. The camera was set on cinema mode and makes the video too dark.
James McGoldrick, Professor of Church History at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, has written a helpful article on mankind's need for the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. You can read it here....
Keep ReadingDr. David Murray has a post, over at the Gospel Coalition Blog, in which he considers the numerous ways that pastors (especially gifted, younger ministers) are liable to fall into the trap of ministerial pride. Dr. Murray notes the particular causes, pastoral consequences, and personal cures with regard to ministerial pride. When he comes to consider the causes Murray sugg...
Keep ReadingJames Grant points out that audio from L'Abri is now available online. You can read about it here. You can find the audio here....
Keep ReadingBrian Najapfour, a Ph.D. student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has posted a paper he had written on John Knox's theology of prayer. These studies are rich in history, theology and practical emphasis. John Knox’s Theology of Prayer (outline) John Knox’s Theology of Prayer - Part 1 John Knox’s Theology of Prayer - Part 2 John Knox’s T...
Keep ReadingHere is a very helpful post on Samuel Miller's advise to those who wish to engage in controversial debates. Jim O'Brien has done a great service by writing this post. I was certainly convicted and instructed by it....
Keep ReadingTony Reinke, has a post over at Miscellanies, in which he considers Bruce Waltke's recent statements concerning evolution, in light of what Herman Bavinck had to say about macroevolution and microevolution. Reinke concludes, contra Waltke, that the rejection of macroevolution will not inevitably "marginalize the Church into a cult," rather it will "free the Church to b...
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