Look at the Book

Grace is God’s favor toward us, his power for us, and his gifts to us. What kind of response does this stunning display of God’s goodness call for?

Paul’s supernatural gratitude came from his wholehearted love for God and his work among the Corinthian church. How can we become thankful like him?

Why should Christians wait confidently to the end? Because not only has God equipped us with many gifts, but he will preserve us in his faithfulness.

Because God calls all Christians, all Christians call on God. Our one Lord and one confession unite us with all believers across time and space.

When we became Christians, what happened to us? By calling us from darkness to light, God gave us an everlasting reason to boast in Jesus Christ.

Before launching into his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes this local church as sanctified. What does that mean, for them and for us?

How did a church come to exist in the carnal, immoral, idolatrous city of Corinth, and why did Paul love it enough to write it a letter?

Sometimes we can hear a name so often that we forget what it was originally meant to communicate. What does Paul mean by “Christ”?

When Paul writes to the Corinthians, he writes as a man who once persecuted the church, who then encountered Christ, and who now writes the words of God.

When Philemon walks away from Paul’s letter, what kind of response does Paul want to see — mere compliance or a heart full of faith in God’s promises?

What do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke have to do with Philemon and his runaway slave? Paul shows Philemon what gospel-shaped friendships look like.

Alongside all the other ways Paul encourages Philemon to love, he also adds greetings from Epaphras, a man Philemon would have deeply respected.

In seeking a welcome for the runaway slave, Onesimus, Paul banks on his history with Philemon, and risks his own resources, modeling radical Christian love.

Reading God’s providence rightly takes great faith in the power and wisdom of God, and communicating it kindly takes great humility. Paul displays both.

While the New Testament never explicitly abolishes slavery, it is full of teachings and commands that revolutionized the master-slave relationship.

Paul wanted Philemon to welcome Onesimus back — but did it matter how? Paul’s radical reasoning has big implications for Onesimus’s status as a slave.

Although Paul refuses to command Philemon, he strengthens his appeal with seven personal reasons why his dear friend should receive Onesimus like a brother.

Jesus commanded us to love one another, but Paul seems to imply that commanding diminishes love. So, which does love prefer — commands or appeals?

Paul knows what he wants Philemon to do, but he chooses not to command it. Why? He wants something deeper than rote obedience: genuine love.

Paul could have commanded Philemon, with all the force of an apostle, to treat his runaway slave with love. So, why does Paul prefer to appeal to Philemon’s faith?

How does Christian love touch and refresh all our relationships? Springing up from personal delight in Jesus, love overflows to do good to others for his sake.

Why does Paul think of Philemon as the sort of man who would welcome back a runaway slave? Because he has heard of Philemon’s refreshing faith.

When Paul wrote to Philemon on a personal matter, he intended the entire church — including us — to receive grace and peace through his words.

Paul is an apostle of Jesus Christ, with all the authority that commission entails. But as he writes to Philemon, he approaches as a friend.

Why did Paul write his letter to Philemon? A delicate matter between a master and his slave becomes teaching that nourishes the worldwide church.

A strong message rings through Paul’s letter to Titus like the toll of a great bell: Let Christians devote themselves to good works in the grace of God.

When good doctrine produces good works, the church flourishes — but dissent and controversies cause division. That worthlessness needs to be stopped.

God’s message of salvation is utterly trustworthy. But what should his promises produce in those who have received them by faith?

By justifying us through Christ’s blood, God has made us heirs of eternal life. But what is that life, and why does it matter?

When we think of God’s grace in salvation, how does justification by faith lead to our adoption as children of God and the gift of eternal life?

When the Bible tells us to be renewed, how is that supposed to happen? The Holy Spirit works in us to make us taste and enjoy God’s great love for us.

Does regeneration come from washing, or does washing come from regeneration? When God gives us new life, he also makes us clean by his power.

Why do our good works in Christ please God when even our best works outside Christ added to our guilt? John Piper explores the insufficiency of works to save.

Mercy, regeneration, justification, grace, inheritance, hope, eternal life — salvation is full of wonders for us to study and enjoy.

For Christians, the word “saved” is so common that we might easily overlook its sobering implications. From what danger did God rescue us?

The God who devised the plan of salvation through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection must be a certain kind of God. Come and see his kindness.

God’s mercy shines all the brighter against the darkness of our sinful past, when our rebellious desires drove us into every kind of malice and envy.

A Christian’s meekness comes not from a certain disposition but from the Holy Spirit — the same Spirit who sometimes moves us to rebuke.

Because of the redemption Christ has accomplished, we are free to submit without fear to human rulers as we pursue the good works God has given us.

The church needs pastors through whom the word of God overflows in everyday speech, including in words of exhortation and authoritative rebuke.

When Christ gave himself for our sake, what did he accomplish? His redeeming work breaks the power of sin and purifies us so that we belong to him.

Jesus’s second coming is supposed to be our greatest hope. But what is it about that hope that should make us wait so eagerly?

How do we know the difference between a godly desire and a worldly desire? A godly desire will only grow sweeter as our desire for God grows.

The training regimen of grace goes deeper than moral imperatives — “Do this” and “Do that.” God’s grace trains us to start and end at the cross of Christ.

Where does grace start, and where does it go? Before all ages, God planned to save us by his grace and to make us holy through that same power.

In the most vulnerable places in society, God has called believers who will make his salvation beautiful through their submission, diligence, and joy.

What could be more important for young men than self-control? Paul finishes his instructions to various generations with a word to young men and Titus.

What does love for the word of God look like for women in various stages of life? By God’s design, older women can guide younger women in Christ’s ways.

Sound doctrine — God’s revelation in Christ — has the power to guard us from silliness and immaturity and frivolity, and to make us healthy in every way.

Any good deed could be an act of hypocrisy if it denies the promises of God. So, what kind of heart makes good deeds actually good?