Theological term
Special Revelation
76 sermons · All terms
Acts 4:24-31
Acts 4:24–31 records the corporate prayer of the Jerusalem church after Peter and John were threatened by the Sanhedrin for preaching Christ. The passage is examined in four movements: the congregation's unity in one accord, their confidence in God as sovereign creator, sovereign revelator, and sovereign governor, their specific requests for divine justice and boldness in proclamation, and God's immediate answer in the shaking of the place, the filling of the Spirit, and the resultant boldness. The sermon draws out that a high and uncompromised doctrine of divine sovereignty — God's decree extending even to the crucifixion and to all opposition against his church — is the very ground of Christian courage in the face of persecution, not a source of passivity.
The Excellence, the Wonder, and the Glory
Hebrews 1:1–4 presents the glory of Jesus Christ as the culmination and surpassing excellence of all divine revelation, redemption, and reign. This sermon works through the opening verses of Hebrews under three headings: the excellence of Christ's revelation over the partial and preparatory word of the prophets, the wonder of his redemption accomplished by one who is simultaneously the radiance of the Father's glory and the sovereign upholder of the universe, and the glory of his present reign at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Believers are called to rejoice in the removal of the guilt of sin through Christ's exclusive and perfectly executed atoning work, while those outside Christ are warned that to neglect so great a salvation leaves no escape.
The Necessity for Biblical Preaching
God has appointed the preaching of the Word as His ordinary instrument for calling sinners to faith and nourishing the saints — a reality the apostles grounded in the nature of the gospel itself and the logic of Romans 10. This sermon works through three passages (Romans 10:14–17, 1 Corinthians 1:18–23, and 2 Timothy 4:1–8) to establish that preaching pleases God, confounds the natural man, and remains the irreplaceable mandate of the church regardless of cultural pressure. Drawing on confessional witnesses from the Didache and Westminster Larger Catechism to the Second Helvetic Confession, the sermon calls both preachers and hearers to recover a holy expectation of what God does through the faithful exposition of Scripture.
The Gospel and the Supper
What is the gospel, strictly defined? Drawing from 1 Corinthians 15:1–11, this sermon argues that the gospel is not a feeling, a transformed life, or a self-help programme, but the historical record of Christ's death for sin, burial, and bodily resurrection, revealed through Scripture and received by faith alone. Four observations structure the exposition: the gospel is rooted in history, revealed by God through special revelation, centred on the work of Christ, and received by faith — not merit or performance. The sermon closes with direct application to the Lord's Supper, urging believers to understand the ordinance not as a reward for spiritual performance but as a means of grace appointed by Christ to nourish, confirm, and strengthen faith in the very gospel it proclaims.
John 1:12-13
What is saving faith, and how does it relate to knowledge, truth, and the new birth? Expounding John 1:12–13, this study argues that saving faith is not a leap into uncertainty, a vague encounter with a divine person, or something greater than opinion but less than knowledge — it is genuine knowledge of revealed truth, specifically the propositional truths of Holy Scripture concerning Jesus Christ. The study establishes four foundational principles: regeneration must precede faith, truth is the instrumental cause and object of faith, Jesus Christ is the central content of that truth, and faith ordinarily comes through the preaching of the word.
The Place of Preaching in Biblical Revival
What role does preaching occupy in God's ordinary means of grace, and why does biblical revival depend upon it? This sermon works through 1 Corinthians 1:18–2:5, Romans 10:14–17, and 2 Timothy 4:1–6 to argue that God has been sovereignly pleased to appoint the foolishness of preaching as the primary instrument by which He saves sinners and revives His people. Three observations from 1 Corinthians 1 anchor the exposition: preaching pleases God, preaching does not please men, and yet preachers preach nevertheless. The closing application warns against despising ordinary, faithful ministry in favour of extraordinary revival, and calls the unconverted to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The People, The Prayer, The Response
Acts 4:23–31 records the response of the early Jerusalem church to persecution: rather than fleeing or retaliating, the believers gathered, prayed, and received divine empowerment to proclaim the gospel with boldness. The sermon expounds three features of that account — the character of the people (steadfast, prayerful, and united around the gospel), the theology embedded in their prayer (addressing God as Creator, Revelator, and Sovereign, and applying Psalm 2 to Christ), and God's answering response in the shaking of the place, the filling of the Spirit, and bold proclamation. Corporate prayer shaped by God's character and promises — not by circumstances — is the pattern the early church models for every subsequent generation of believers.
Idolatry and Its Effects, Part 1
Romans 1:18–32 presents the universal guilt of mankind not merely as a catalogue of vices but as the inevitable fruit of idolatry — the willful exchange of the glory of the incorruptible God for creaturely substitutes. The sermon traces four observations: the revelation of God's wrath against all ungodliness, the descent into idolatry, the unrighteous practices that flow from it, and the judicial giving-over of sinners by God himself. General revelation leaves every person without excuse, while only the special revelation of the gospel — the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith — supplies the redemption that natural knowledge cannot.
The Most Important Question
Psalm 119:9 asks what is in fact the most important question any person can face: how can a sinner cleanse his way before a holy God? The sermon establishes total depravity as the unavoidable presupposition of the question — every person, from infancy, stands in need of cleansing — before setting forth the Word of God as God's own appointed answer, which furnishes both justification through the imputed righteousness of Christ received by faith alone and ongoing sanctification by the Spirit through that same Word. Drawing on the psalmist's own eightfold example in verses 9–16, the sermon calls hearers to obedience, whole-hearted seeking, Scripture memorization, dependence on divine instruction, witness, joy, meditation, and holy determination — all while ending where the psalm ends: casting oneself as a straying sheep upon the seeking, saving grace of God in Christ.
The Place of Preaching in the Church
What is the place of preaching in God's design for the salvation and maturation of his people? Drawing on 1 Corinthians 1:21–23 and a broad sweep of biblical and confessional texts, this sermon argues that preaching is not merely one spiritual activity among many but the divinely ordained, Spirit-attended means by which God calls the elect and strengthens the faith of believers. The Word of God — and specifically its proclamation — is traced from Romans 1 and Psalm 19 through 2 Timothy 4, showing that faith comes by hearing, and that God is pleased with preaching even when men resist it. Hearers are urged to prize attendance upon the preached Word, to pray for biblically qualified preachers, and — if unconverted — to believe the gospel now proclaimed to them.
The Church in Light of Her Reigning King
Acts 4:23–31 records the early church's response to persecution: not a plea for escape, but a theologically grounded prayer for boldness. Working through this passage, the sermon traces four features of the church under pressure — her unity, her confession of God as Creator, Revealer, and Sovereign Orchestrator, her petition for gospel courage, and the divine blessing that follows. The sermon draws on Psalm 2 as the interpretive key, showing that the rage of the nations against Christ and his people is met by the laughter of the enthroned King, and that Christians in every age are called to rest on God's absolute sovereignty and pray for boldness to proclaim Christ crucified and risen.
The Gospel in the Graveyard
Mark 5:1–20 presents a man utterly beyond human remedy — demon-possessed, dwelling among tombs, breaking every chain — as a vivid picture of the sinner in his natural condition before grace. The sermon works through four movements: the sovereign, condescending Christ who seeks out individuals; the absolute bondage that characterises fallen humanity; the peace with God that Christ alone effects through the blood of His cross; and the commission to proclaim His excellencies wherever one is planted. The application presses both believer and unbeliever to see themselves in the demoniac, to glory in the depth of the pit from which they were drawn, and to tell others of the compassionate Christ who saves to the uttermost.
Of Pigheadedness, Babylonians, and Covenant Enforcement
Jeremiah 6 presents Yahweh's announcement of the Babylonian invasion of Judah as an act of righteous covenant enforcement — not political misfortune, but the outworking of the curses sworn in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 against a people who had broken covenant. The sermon traces Judah's obstinate refusal to be instructed: their ears were uncircumcised, they suppressed the truth in unrighteousness, and their false prophets declared peace where there was none. Against this backdrop of divine justice and human pigheadedness, the sermon points to the necessity of sovereign grace and the new covenant promise of a Lord of righteousness who would come to accomplish what Judah could not — the redemption of guilty sinners through substitutionary sacrifice.
The Superiority of Christ Over the Prophets
Hebrews 1:1–3 opens with a compressed Christological argument: God who spoke through the prophets of the old covenant has now spoken definitively and finally through His Son, and this Son is superior to every prophet in seven demonstrable ways. The sermon works through those seven evidences of Christ's supremacy — heir of all things, Creator, brightness of God's glory, express image of the Father's person, sovereign administrator, Savior, and exalted King — grounding each in the text and in supporting Scripture. Along the way it treats the unity of Scripture across the covenants, the cessation of new revelation, and the nature of the 'last days' as the present messianic era. The practical summons is to rest salvation entirely on Christ's finished work and to adore Him in His threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.
Observations on the Gospel
What is the gospel, and what does it demand of its hearers? Expounding 1 Corinthians 15:1–11, this sermon traces six defining observations about the gospel of Jesus Christ: it is rooted in history, revealed by God in Scripture, Christ-centered, received by faith alone, essential to salvation, and powerful for the worst of sinners. The Lord's Supper frames the meditation, reminding believers that the bread and wine point not to human merit but entirely to Christ's accomplished work. Hearers are called to examine whether they possess a saving interest in Christ and to trust him alone for justification.
Observations from Saul's Conversion
Acts 9 records the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the church's fiercest persecutor, who became its most prolific apostolic voice. This sermon draws four observations from that account: the sovereign and victorious grace that alone explains any sinner's conversion; the inexorable strength of general and special revelation that presses against all who suppress the truth; the identity of the ultimate recipient of persecution as the risen Christ himself; and the proper, grace-saturated response believers owe to sinners who are saved. The controlling application is that no sinner lies beyond the reach of God's conquering grace, and that knowledge should fuel both intercessory prayer for the unconverted and a generous, Ananias-like welcome for those newly brought to faith.