Theological term
Presuppositionalism
3 sermons · All terms
The Confession of Thomas
John 20:24–31 presents Thomas's movement from emphatic unbelief to the confession 'My Lord and my God' — the confession that frames the entire fourth gospel, answering John 1:1 at its close. Thomas's refusal to believe is shown to be not mere doubt but a willful rejection of Old Testament testimony, the word and works of Christ, and apostolic witness — making Christ's gracious condescension to meet him all the more striking. The sermon expounds John's stated purpose in verses 30–31: that the gospel was written to produce saving faith, defined in the confession's terms as accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. Hearers are called to forsake the folly of placing conditions upon God and to confess with Thomas, 'My Lord and my God.'
Acts 17:16-34
Paul's address to the Athenian philosophers in Acts 17:16–34 stands as the biblical model for proclaiming the gospel to a pagan audience that lacks the foundation of Old Testament revelation. The sermon works through the setting, the sermon, and the summary of Paul's speech, showing how he confronts idolatry as genuine moral offense against the Creator, not as an approximate form of true religion, and how he frames the resurrection not as a proposition to be proved but as God's appointed assurance of coming judgment. The three responses Paul receives — mockery, curiosity, and belief — are the same responses faithful gospel proclamation produces in every generation.
The Culmination of God's Plan for the World
Acts 17:30–31 presents the resurrection of Christ not merely as a past historical event but as the divine guarantee of a coming universal judgment. Paul's Areopagus sermon situates God's appointment of Jesus as judge within the framework of creation, providence, and exclusive worship, demonstrating that to deny the creator is to suppress the reality of the judge. The sermon traces five particulars of Paul's address — God as creator, ruler of nations, the only proper object of worship, the appointer of a day of judgment, and the ordainer of Christ as judge — and calls every hearer to flee to Christ alone, who is both savior and coming judge.