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Archive for October, 2025

Another First

Posted in Climbing, Nature, Outdoors, tagged , , , , , on October 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I had never been to Hidden Valley climbing area north of Abingdon, Virginia. Not knowing what I was getting into, I bought a climbing guide and researched the climbs that I wanted to attempt. The line of cliffs running near the top of the ridge has a rich climbing history. There are moderate climbs, but many are stout. It is so good to have climbing partners who will give it a try. We climbed a 5.8+, two 5.7’s, and a 5.10a. As I gain my confidence back after several years off, I may try some a bit harder, but safety for me and my partners is key. It has solid sandstone with many varying feature for interesting and challenging climbing. It was such a beautiful day and the drive was shorter than the others we have gone to. I plan to go back and explore more of this area. We had a very good time.

Check out the party at “Hidden Valley Revel.”

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Priest and King

Posted in Baptist Catechism, Faith, General, God Thoughts, Gospel, Person of Jesus, theology, Work of Jesus on October 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

In the last entry we considered that the offices of prophet, priest, and king are the means and authority by which our Redeemer Christ accomplished our grand rescue. Jesus is the only one in Scripture who fulfilled all three offices. Some, like David who was both prophet and king, fulfilled two offices, but only Christ fulfilled three.

Now we consider the offices of priest and king (1).

Who can imagine a priest who crawls up onto the altar? That is what Jesus did, becoming the sacrifice as well as the mediator and intercessor before the Father, and a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (2).

As sovereign king, He has power to bring about all that He has purchased for us. “For You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9) Thus, He rules over His church as Head (3), indeed “over all rule and authority” (4), and will at last rule visibly over all the earth and then forever (5).

Question 29: How does Christ perform the office of a priest?
Answer: Christ performs the office of a priest by once offering himself as a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and to reconcile us to God; and by making continual intercession for us before God.

1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 2: 17; 7:25; 9:28; Ephesians 5:2; Romans 8:34.

Question 30: How does Christ perform the office of a king?
Answer: Christ performs the office of a king, in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.

Psalm 110:1-2; Matthew 2:6; Luke 1:32-33; 1 Corinthians 15:25.

  1. For an introduction and consideration of Christ as prophet, click on “Kinsman-Redeemer“.
  2. Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 5:6, 6:20, 7:17.
  3. Colossians 1:18
  4. Colossians 2:10
  5. Daniel 7:14, Revelation 20:4, Daniel 2:44

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Who Are We?

Posted in Faith, General, God Thoughts, The Church, tagged , , , , , on October 24, 2025| 2 Comments »

Before I gave brief commentary on and reading of the catechism questions before my church, I would greet my brothers and sisters in Christ with “Good morning, _________,” the blank being different monikers for believers. After a few times, I realized that I would need 59 different phrases for them if I was to continue with new greetings every time. My desire was to encourage the believers in how much God cares for them and is able to do so. As I considered it, I doubted that I would come up with that many biblically accurate greetings. I ended up thinking of more than 60. The congregation would call back with “Greetings” or “Good morning” in response to my greeting. Following is the list I made in the my journal and drew from for the catechism. You will notice that some are holiday oriented and that they all allude to a Scriptural passage.

Greetings……..

Church of the Living God, Assembly of the Saints, Beloved of the Lord, Followers of the True God, Believers in the Triune God, Favored of the Father, Justified of Jesus, Sanctified of the Spirit, Glorified of God1, Servants of the Most High, Pillar and Support of the Truth, Household of God, Sheep of His Pasture, Wisemen and Women of God, The Jachin2 of God, Citizens of God’s Kingdom, Saints who are in the Earth3, Godly Ones of the Holy One, Indwelt of the Holy Spirit, Empowered of the Spirit, Abiding Branches of the True Vine, Children of the Heavenly Father, The Elect, The Equipped for the Work of the Service, The True Israel of God, Warriors of Our Sovereign Lord, Purchased of Christ, Righteous Ones of God, Apple of His Eye, Servants of the Almighty, Thankful People of the Abundant Provider, Bond-servants of the Good Master, Followers of the One Wo Walked on Water4, Disciples of the Good Teacher, The Sheep wo hear His Voice, Flock of the Good Shepherd, Those Enlightened by the Light of the World, Pursuers of the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Christians, Harvest of the Son of Man5, Branches of the True Vine, People of His Pleasure6, Bride of Christ, Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, Saints by His Calling, Soldiers of His Kingdom, Beneficiaries of the Mediator of a Better Covenant, Lights of the world of the Light of Men, Fellow Soldiers of the Cross7, Celebrants of His First Advent, Citizens of Heaven, True Circumcision who worship in the Spirit8, Redeemed from the Slave Market of Sin, Redeemed from the Domain of Darkness, Redeemed of the Lord, Called of God in Christ Jesus, Co-heirs of the Resurrected One, Faith-Resting Ones of the Father, The Boaz9 of God, Living Stones of His Temple, Friends of Christ.

Many of these titles I thought of as I did my daily Scripture reading. I know that many of these have overlaps. Most have both a name for the church or saints with a name for God, so that the connection is brought to mind. I feel as though there must be more. Add any you may think of in the comments. It would be helpful if you provide a Scripture reference as I should have with all that listed, not just a few. I hope that it encourages you and points you toward God’s love, watch care, and grace.

  1. Romans 8:30
  2. ”established” I Kings 7:21
  3. Psalm 16:13
  4. Provided by a brother who got excited about me coming up with new greetings each week
  5. Matthew 13
  6. Psalm 149:4
  7. Philippians 2:25
  8. Philippians 3:3
  9. “strength”, I Kings 7:21

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Kinsman-Redeemer

Posted in Assurance, Baptist Catechism, Faith, General, God Thoughts, Person of Jesus, Salvation, Work of Jesus, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 19, 2025| 1 Comment »

The Hebrew word for Redeemer is used once in the book of Ruth to refer to Boaz, who redeemed the widow Ruth. Then also, Isaiah refers to “your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,” using the word Redeemer 13 times. A similar Hebrew term is used used twice in Ruth, kinsman or intimate friend. These are terms that show that someone like us who cares for us, rescues us. The idea is one who buys back another from slavery, debtor’s prison, or the destitution of widowhood. This concept originates in Leviticus 25:25 where God says, “If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold.” The book of Ruth gives the example that specifically has the kinsman-redeemer, Boaz, marrying Ruth which is a picture of Christ and His Church. Then Isaiah fills our the description of Messiah as strong, able, willing, loving, diligent, and patient to carry out the rescue of His people. Jeremiah proclaims strongly, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well; and all who took them captive have held them fast, they have refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is His name; He will vigorously plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.”” (50:33-34)

Jesus best fulfills the dual role of kinsman-redeemer, having taken on flesh to become one of us and having died in our place to pay our sin debt, rescuing us from the wrath of God and the domain of darkness. By nature God, He had the power and purity to take the sin of everyone who believes. By nature man, He had the standing in the heavenly court to die in our place.

But wat do the offices or duties of prophet, priest, and king have to do with being a redeemer? The offices are the means and authority by which the Redeemer accomplishes this grand rescue. Consider the office of prophet. We think of a prophet as one who can reveal the future. Jesus certainly did that predicting His own future: death, resurrection, the destruction of Jerusalem, and His second coming. But in a wider sense, He reveals God, most notably in redemption through God’s justice and mercy in the plan of salvation.

Next time we will talk about Jesus as Priest and King.

Question 27: What offices does Christ perform as our Redeemer?
Answer: Christ, as our Redeemer, performs the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in his condition of humiliation and exaltation. Acts 3:22; Hebrews 5:6; Psalm 2:6.

Question 28: How does Christ perform the office of a prophet?
Answer: Christ performs the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation. John 1:18; 14:26; 15:15.

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2-in-1

Posted in Connotations, Doctrine, Faith, General, Gospel, Grace, Person of Jesus, Salvation, theology, Work of Jesus, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Consider the mystery of Christ’s nature. Theologians refer to the hypostatic union of His divine and human nature. Hypostatic is a fancy word composed of “hypo”, underneath, and “stasis”, position. It means what is underneath all else, essential, or foundational, and by extension, unchanging.

I remind you that a catechism is an abbreviation of the a confession, just as a confession is an abbreviation and condensation of the essential truths of the Scriptures. In chapter 8.2 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession it says, “that two whole, perfect and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person.” How mysterious and wonderful it is that eternal, divine nature eternally takes on a second human nature, now equally essential to the divine. By this act, Jesus has exalted redeemed mankind far above all other created things, angels included. He cares about us more than we can imagine.

In this description of Christ’s human nature, the writer of the catechism included the following explanation: “Christ, the Son of God became man by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul.” This explanation was added to refute heresy that claimed Christ only appeared to have a body (1). “A true body” is not ethereal or substance of a spirit; it is flesh and bone. “A reasonable soul” means He had normal reasoning abilities of the mental, emotional capacity of His being.
So, being Spirit conceived and virgin born are not mere niceties for telling the story of Christ’s arrival. They are essential doctrines for our salvation. By reason of Spirit conception, He is divine without having Adam’s sin nature passed down through an earthly father. His divine nature enabled Him to bear the wrath of God on our behalf. By reason of His virgin birth, again the lack of sin nature, but also gave Him the judicial right to pay the penalty for our sins in our place.
Our security rests in the very double nature of our Savior. The grace of our loving Lord is all sufficient because He was and is all sufficient for the task of saving and sustaining all those He bought and brought to Himself. Praise be to the God-man, Jesus the Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Question 26: How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?

Answer: Christ, the Son of God became man by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and was born of her, yet without sin.

Hebrew 2:14, 4:14, 7:26; Matthew 26:38; Luke 2:52; John 1:14, 12:27; Luke 1:31,35; Colossians 2:9

  1. This heresy is called Docetism which many Gnostics held to.

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