Topic
Apologetics
374 sermons · All topics
Genesis 1:1-2
Genesis 1:1–2 demands that the people of God hold tenaciously to the doctrine of creation, because what is affirmed or denied there reverberates through the whole of Scripture and Christian ethics. This study surveys the doctrine of creation through the lens of 1689 LBCF chapter 4, paragraph 1, examining the time, author, purpose, and scope of God's creative act, before turning to the precise structure of Genesis 1:1–2 and the arguments for six-day creation. The session closes with two applications: maintaining the aseity and immutability of God, and preserving the Creator-creature distinction against any notion that God is merely the most excellent member of a chain of being.
The Doubter Turned Confessor
Thomas's refusal to believe the disciples' eyewitness testimony of the risen Christ is one of the most emphatic denials of the resurrection in the New Testament — not mere doubt, but obstinate, threefold rejection of Scripture, Christ's own words, and apostolic witness. When Jesus appears and meets Thomas's exact conditions, Thomas confesses 'My Lord and my God,' bookending John's Gospel with the same declaration of Christ's deity found in its opening verse. The sermon expounds John 20:24–31 in two movements: the post-resurrection appearance to Thomas and the stated purpose of John's Gospel — that all who read it might believe and have life in Christ's name. Hearers are urged to stop placing conditions on God, to confess with Thomas that Jesus is Lord and God, and to avail themselves of the church's theological resources to grow beyond a superficial grasp of cardinal doctrines such as the Trinity.
The Liberality of God and the Believer's Security
Romans 8:31–39 confronts the believer with a single overwhelming argument: because the Father did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for all the elect, He will most certainly freely give them everything else they need. The sermon works through three movements — the declaration of God's liberality in the gift of His Son, the implication that every lesser need is thereby guaranteed, and the application to the believer's unassailable security against accusation, condemnation, and separation. Drawing on the language of propitiation, penal substitution, and the Ordo Salutis, the exposition insists that the believer's confidence rests not on personal virtue or perseverance but on the justifying grace of God and the interceding, unchanging love of Christ.
The Defense of the Faith
Jude 3 issues a universal call—addressed not to clergy alone but to every believer, the 'beloved'—to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. The sermon works through three movements: the exhortation itself and its five implications, the reason for that exhortation in the apostates of verse 4, and the practical preparedness of the contender outlined in verses 20 and 21. Doctrinal fidelity is not optional maintenance for specialists; it is the privilege and duty of every member of the covenant community, sustained by Scripture reading, prayer, and a constant looking to Christ. The sermon closes with a direct call to the unconverted to flee to the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone forgiveness of sins and the imputation of his righteousness are received by faith alone.
The Denial of the Resurrection
Matthew 28:11–15 records not only the resurrection of Christ but the immediate counter-offensive mounted by the chief priests and elders to suppress the fact of the empty tomb. Against the backdrop of the Great Commission in verses 16–20, these verses expose a counter-mission: a bribed, fabricated narrative designed to replace the truth of the resurrection with the stolen-body theory. The sermon examines the soldiers' report to the chief priests, the wickedness and implausibility of the lie they were paid to spread, and the theological reasons — including divine judicial hardening — that such a falsehood gained traction in first-century Judea. The application presses every believer to be armed to defend the resurrection and to rest the whole of their justification on faith in the risen Christ alone.
Of the Civil Magistrate (2LCF24)
The civil magistrate exists by divine appointment, not by social contract or popular consent, and this confession-study exposition of 2LCF Chapter 24 establishes the theological ground for that claim from Romans 13, 1 Peter 2, Proverbs 8, and Genesis 9. Three questions are addressed in sequence: the divine origin of civil government, the lawfulness of Christian participation in public office, and the Christian's duty of submission to governing authorities. The power of the sword — including capital punishment and just war — is shown to belong to the magistrate's God-given office, rooted in the Noahic covenant and confirmed in the New Testament. Christians are called to submit to all lawful civil commands, to refuse only what requires disobedience to God, and to pray persistently for those in authority.
The Empty Tomb and the Risen Lord
The empty tomb of Matthew 28:1–10 is not merely an absence but a proclamation: Christ was raised bodily from the dead by the Father, vindicating His atoning work and confirming every prophetic word He spoke. The sermon works through the discovery of the empty tomb by the women and the appearance of the risen Lord, attending carefully to the apologetic weight of the narrative details — the guards' terror, the invitation to examine the tomb, the folded graveclothes, and the physical feet of Jesus grasped in worship. The message closes with 1 Corinthians 15, pressing the stakes of the resurrection: without it, faith is futile and sin remains unatoned; because Christ is risen, justification, sanctification, and glorification are secured for all His brethren.
2 Kings 17:27-41
The closing verses of 2 Kings 17 expose three interrelated failures in Israel's religion: a purely pragmatic desire to use God for personal relief, a syncretic manufacture of worship that blends Yahweh with self-made idols, and a defiant rejection of the exclusive covenant demands God laid upon Israel at Sinai. The passage's ironic declaration that the resettled nations 'feared the Lord' is not a commendation but a literary device the author immediately demolishes — true fear of God is incompatible with idolatry. These ancient patterns are alive in contemporary church culture wherever God is treated as a problem-solver, wherever worship is shaped by consumer preference, and wherever the regulative principle of worship is abandoned for pragmatic or syncretic innovation.
The Burial of Jesus
Matthew 27:57–66 records the burial of Jesus Christ — a passage easily overlooked between the crucifixion and resurrection accounts, yet one that carries significant theological, apologetic, and pastoral weight. The burial confirms that Jesus truly died, marks the completion of his humiliation as the second Adam, and establishes the historical ground on which the resurrection stands as an undeniable public event. The section also presents a stark contrast between the courageous devotion of Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the faithful women, and the cynical scheming of the chief priests and Pharisees — whose very precautions to prevent a 'fake' resurrection unwittingly served to make the genuine resurrection that much more incontrovertible. The tomb of Christ removes the fear of the grave for his people and grounds their certain hope in the resurrection of the dead.
The Sixth Commandment
The sixth commandment, 'You shall not murder' (Deuteronomy 5:17), rests upon the foundation of the imago Dei — the conviction that every human being, from the pre-born to the elderly, bears the image of the Creator, and that to assault an image-bearer is to assault God himself. The sermon distinguishes murder from lawful killing, arguing from Genesis 9, Exodus 22, and Romans 13 that capital punishment, self-defense, and just war are not violations of the commandment but are grounded in the same principle that makes murder heinous: the sanctity of human life. Modern applications — abortion, euthanasia, and the neglect of capital punishment — are examined in light of both Old and New Testament texts, and the sermon closes by directing those who have participated in these sins to the pardoning grace of Christ.
Warning of Antichrist
What does the term 'antichrist' in 1 John 2:18–23 actually mean, and why is the popular question 'Who is the Antichrist?' the wrong question to ask? This exposition argues that John is not pointing to a single future eschatological figure but to a multitude of false teachers who deny that Jesus is the Christ and that He came in the flesh — teachers who have already appeared in every generation of the last hour, the entire era between Christ's two Advents. The remedy against antichrist is not prophetic speculation but deep, Spirit-illumined knowledge of the true Christ: His identity as the eternal Son, His unity with the Father, and the Trinitarian relations that ground saving faith. The sermon closes with a direct call to confess Christ, study His person rigorously, and stand ready for His return.
Free Grace Baptist Church - November 26, 2017 AM
Acts 3:11–15 presents the Apostle Peter's proclamation of Jesus Christ to a crowd of Israelites gathered at Solomon's Porch, astonished at the healing of a man lame from birth. The sermon examines three movements in Peter's address: the occasion for preaching Christ (the healing and the crowd's amazement), the correcting prologue (Peter redirecting attention from the miracle and its instruments to the God of the miracle), and the preaching of Christ itself, which identifies the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the one who glorified his servant Jesus — the fulfillment of Isaiah's servant prophecies — and incriminates the audience for crucifying the Holy One and the Just in favor of a murderer. The vindication of Christ in his bodily resurrection is the cornerstone of apostolic proclamation: 'whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses' grounds the veracity of the gospel and the confidence of every believer.
The Crucifixion of Jesus, Part 5
Matthew 27:51–56 records a cluster of supernatural signs accompanying the death of Christ — the rending of the temple veil, the earthquake, the splitting of rocks, and the resurrection of saints — each of which publicly attests the efficacy of Christ's atoning work. The torn veil simultaneously signals the judgment of God upon apostate Israel and the opening of access to the Father through Christ's blood, marking the covenantal transition from the old order of sacrifice to the new covenant inaugurated at Calvary. The centurion's confession, 'Truly this was the Son of God,' demonstrates that the cross reaches sinners from every tribe and tongue, while the faithful women at a distance stand as witnesses to Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. The sermon calls every hearer to receive the torn veil as God's own invitation to draw near through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Kings 6:24-7:20
The siege and deliverance of Samaria in 2 Kings 6:24–7:20 exposes both the devastating covenantal consequences of Israel's idolatry and the sovereign mercy of Yahweh who refuses to abandon His people. The cannibalism, famine, and political helplessness that afflict Samaria are not arbitrary calamities but the precise covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, visited upon a nation that had abandoned Yahweh for the gods of Canaan. God's deliverance comes not through royal power or military might but through four leprous outcasts, an unnamed servant, and a supernatural terror sent upon the Syrian army — instruments so unlikely that only God can receive the glory. The passage presses its hearers to trust the prophetic Word of God rather than political power, and to proclaim the good news they have received rather than remain silent.
Free Grace Baptist Church - September 13, 2017 Bible Study
Second Kings 6 presents God's sovereign care over both the minute and the massive: a borrowed iron axe head recovered from the Jordan, and an entire Syrian army blinded and marched into captivity at Samaria. The sermon works through three distinct episodes — the floating axe head (vv. 1–7), God's protection of Elisha from Syrian intelligence (vv. 8–17), and the miraculous capture of the Syrian force (vv. 18–23) — to establish that the Lord's providential rule extends without diminution from the trivial losses of a poor prophet to the geopolitical crises of a nation. The controlling application is that verse 16 ('those who are with us are more than those who are with them') is the permanent, unwavering ground of the believer's confidence, whether or not God grants the extraordinary vision of verse 17, and that knowing Scripture deeply is the instrument of the spiritual discernment required to rest in that reality.
2 Kings 5
2 Kings 5 presents the curing and conversion of Naaman, commander of the Syrian army, as a window into the comprehensive sovereignty of God, the free grace of God, and the inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant promises of Israel's God. Working through three sections — the sovereignty of God (vv. 1–8), the healing of Naaman (vv. 9–19), and the greed of Gehazi (vv. 20–27) — the exposition argues that the greater miracle is not Naaman's cleansed skin but his cleansed idolatry, his monotheistic confession of Yahweh as the only God in all the earth. The simplicity, exclusivity, and freeness of God's grace illustrated in Elisha's instruction to wash in the Jordan anticipate the gospel itself, while Gehazi's attempt to monetise the cure warns against every addition to grace.
Of the Law of God (2LCF19)
God's moral law — first written on Adam's heart in the covenant of works, codified in the Ten Commandments at Sinai, and distinguished from the temporary ceremonial and judicial laws of Moses — remains perpetually binding on all humanity because it perfectly expresses the unchangeable holy character of its divine Author. This study works through chapter 19 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, examining the original revelation of the law, its survival after the fall, the threefold distinction of moral, ceremonial, and judicial law, and the abiding obligation of the Decalogue across all covenants. The threefold use of the moral law is treated in sequence: its civil use in restraining sin, its pedagogical use in exposing sin and driving the conscience to Christ, and its normative use in directing the regenerate life of the believer. Believers are called to embrace the moral law not as a covenant of works but in gratitude, enabled by the Spirit through the ordinary means of grace, standing in Christ's righteousness alone before the holy lawgiver.
The Translation of Elijah
2 Kings 2 presents the translation of Elijah into heaven and the subsequent manifestation of Elisha as his divinely appointed successor. The sermon works through the chapter in two main sections — the ascension of Elijah and the confirmed ministry of Elisha — arguing that every element, including the healing of Jericho's waters and the cursing of the youths at Bethel, serves to authenticate Elisha as the legitimate prophetic voice of Yahweh in Israel. The two she-bears are not a moral embarrassment but the execution of the covenant curse of Leviticus 26, consistent with the same God who sends sweet water to the previously cursed city of Jericho and who ultimately sends His Son to deal in mercy with sinners.
The Hearing before the Sanhedrin, Part 3
Matthew 26:65–68 records the formal charge of blasphemy leveled against Christ by the high priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin's unanimous verdict that he is deserving of death. This sermon, the third in a series on Christ before the Sanhedrin, examines three movements in the text: the high priest's indictment, the Sanhedrin's verdict, and the physical mistreatment of the Son of Man. The central irony running through the passage is that the one charged with blasphemy is the eternal Son of God, while those bringing the charge are themselves blaspheming — misrepresenting and condemning the Holy One of Israel in fulfillment of the very Scriptures they profess to uphold.
2 Kings 2:1-25
2 Kings 2 presents the translation of Elijah and the public authentication of Elisha as his prophetic successor. The chapter divides into two broad movements: Elijah's assumption into heaven by whirlwind (vv. 1–12) and Elisha's manifestation as the new man of God through miracle-working (vv. 13–25). The parallels to Moses and Joshua, the divided Jordan, the healing of Jericho's water, and the covenant curse executed through two bears all establish that Elisha stands in an unbroken line of authorized prophetic ministry — and that God's Word, not any individual instrument, is the true power sustaining His kingdom. The controlling application is that when God removes an Elijah, a Calvin, or a Spurgeon, His Word and His kingdom march on, calling His people to fix their confidence on the strength of God's arm rather than the charisma of His servants.
The Hearing before the Sanhedrin, Part 1
Matthew 26:57–61 places Jesus before the Sanhedrin in what the preacher demonstrates was not an impartial criminal trial but a predetermined hearing whose guilty verdict had been settled before any witnesses were called. The sermon maps the political and ecclesiastical machinery of the Sanhedrin — its composition, its lack of authority to execute, its violations of due process, and its need to construct a charge sufficient to deliver Jesus to Pilate — and addresses the charge that the gospel accounts of these events are colored by anti-Semitism. Against that background, the contrast between the faithful witness of Christ and the fearful, distanced discipleship of Peter issues a direct call to close, unashamed allegiance to the Savior, and an invitation to unbelievers to come to the One who restores even those who deny him.
The Lord's Betrayal in the Garden
Matthew 26:47–50 records the betrayal of Christ in Gethsemane, and this expository sermon works through three dimensions of that event: its significance as the arrival of the cup of God's wrath that Christ had prayed over, the plan behind the betrayal as Judas and the religious leaders converge under God's sovereignty, and the execution of the betrayal through a hypocritical kiss. Woven throughout is the parallel account in John 18, where Christ's absolute declaration of 'I Am' causes the arresting mob to draw back and fall to the ground — a manifestation of divine glory that underscores both his power to resist and his voluntary surrender to the Father's will. The sermon calls hearers to see in Christ's resolve the willingness of the Savior to save sinners, and to flee to him rather than trust in external proximity to Christ or religious position.
The Contest at Carmel
The contest on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18 is not merely a dramatic episode from Israel's monarchic period — it is a confrontation between the living God of Israel and the futility of every false god. Elijah's challenge to a compromised people, 'How long will you falter between two opinions?', exposes the recurring temptation to blend true religion with idolatry, whether in ancient Israel's Baalism or in the subtler syncretism of today. The sermon traces the theological case for why Baal attracted Israelite worship — royal sanction, tradition, relevance to felt needs, and sensual appeal — before showing how God's consuming fire rendered that attraction indefensible. The application presses toward total allegiance: no halting between God and money, God and self, God and any competing lord.
The Early Ministry of Elijah
First Kings 17 introduces the prophet Elijah as God's direct answer to the institutionalized Baalism of Ahab's reign, demonstrating through drought, miraculous provision, and resurrection that Yahweh — not Baal — governs rain, life, and death. The chapter unfolds in three movements: the prediction of drought as a covenantal curse and assault on Baal's domain, the provision of the prophet through ravens and a Gentile widow in Baal's own homeland, and the power of God displayed in raising the widow's son. Jesus himself interprets this narrative in Luke 4 as a type of sovereign election and divine judgment — God withdrawing his word from unbelieving Israel while extending grace to a Gentile outsider. The sermon calls hearers to the same faith the widow of Zarephath displayed: staking everything on the veracity of God's word.
Paul at the Areopagus
Paul's sermon at the Areopagus (Acts 17:22–34) is an unapologetic proclamation of the exclusive lordship, unbounded glory, and all-sufficient independence of the one living and true God over against the multiplicity of Athenian idols. The sermon traces Paul's argument through four movements — the prelude, the proclamation proper, the mercy extended, and the Athenian reception — grounding each in the prophetic witness of the Old Testament. The idols of Athens are shown to be dependent, spatially confined, and utterly without refuge, while Yahweh is immense, uncircumscribable, and the source of all life, breath, and existence. Hearers are pressed to abandon the folly of any idolatry, old or modern, and to believe on the risen Christ before whom all will be judged.
Free Grace Baptist Church - May 28, 2017 AM
Paul's arrival in Athens confronts him with a city given over to idolatry, and his response — a wholesome, Spirit-provoked indignation — serves as the model for Christian engagement with a world that exchanges the glory of the one true God for created things. This exposition of Acts 17:16–21 traces the background of Paul's Gentile mission from his apostolic commission in Acts 26, the two venues of his reasoning (synagogue and marketplace), the identity of his Epicurean and Stoic interlocutors, and the kerygmatic pattern that frames his proclamation. The sermon closes by calling hearers to imitate Paul's disposition — righteous provocation issuing in gospel proclamation and intercessory prayer — and to find in Jesus and the resurrection the only answer to the idolatry of every age.
Paul in Athens
Acts 17:16–21 presents the Apostle Paul's arrival in Athens, where he encounters a city so consumed by idolatry that ancient sources estimated some 30,000 deities. The sermon examines two subjects: the preacher and the people. Paul's spirit is provoked to a wholesome, righteous indignation — not a curmudgeonly repulsion — rooted in zeal for the glory of the one true God, the demands of His law (particularly the first and second commandments), and a knowledge of the deliverance the gospel brings to souls in bondage. His response to that provocation is immediate proclamation of Christ in the synagogues and the marketplace, even before a hostile audience of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers who insult him as a babbler and misunderstand the resurrection as a second deity alongside Jesus.
Paul's "Jesus and the Resurrection"
What does Paul mean when he proclaims 'Jesus and the resurrection,' and why does the denial of bodily resurrection destroy the entire Christian faith? Drawing on 1 Corinthians 15:1–20, this exposition works through four interlocking realities: the gospel is comprehensive for all of Christian life, the events of the gospel are certain on the testimony of Scripture and eyewitnesses, the grace of God is foundational to both the delivery and reception of the gospel, and the resurrection of Christ secures an unconquerable hope for all who believe. The sermon presses toward a pointed application: Christian hope is not wishful thinking but the certain expectation that God's promises in the risen Christ will most surely come to pass.
1 Kings 17
1 Kings 17 introduces Elijah the Tishbite as God's appointed answer to the apostasy of Ahab's Israel, where Baalism had displaced the worship of Yahweh. The chapter unfolds in three movements: the drought announced as covenantal judgment, the miraculous provision of the prophet through unclean ravens and a Gentile widow in the very heartland of Baal worship, and the resurrection of the widow's son as the definitive demonstration of Yahweh's sovereignty over life and death. Throughout, the chapter functions as theological preparation for the confrontation at Carmel in chapter 18, while pointing typologically forward to the ministry of Christ, who similarly extended grace to Gentiles and preached sovereign election to a generation that rejected him.
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.'