Why does it seem like the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer? Solomon noticed this exact vanity in Ecclesiastes—even watching notoriously difficult people get celebrated and romanticized at their funerals. Diving into this text, we explore why God’s delayed judgment can make evil seem unchecked, and how the cross beautifully flips this dynamic so that we, as lawbreakers, can receive the blessings of the righteous.

Main Reading: Ecclesiastes 8:1-9 We pick back up in Ecclesiastes chapter 8, and the main subjects that Qohelet— the preacher—will be harping on are wisdom, wickedness, war, and the wind. v. 1 — “Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed.” You might not hear it immediately, but Solomon is speaking in terms we use often today. In the first line he’s basically admitting that bei

Romans 5 makes a bold claim: just as Adam’s sin brought condemnation to all, Christ’s righteousness brings justification and life for all. This article explores universal objective justification, showing how Jesus’ finished work applies to the whole world—while still being received by faith. Featuring insights from Chad Bird and Steven Hein.

Is Gentle and Lowly worth reading? This review breaks down Dane Ortlund’s powerful message about the true heart of Jesus.

Solomon’s diagnosis in Ecclesiastes 7 is clear: "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins." From the sting of gossip to the complexity of human relationships, this study dives into why we struggle with "schemes" and how the sinless life of Jesus offers us hope and intercession.

There are books you read when life is tidy, and then there are books you read when everything is slipping through your fingers. Bradley Gray’s Finding God in the Darkness belongs firmly in the second category. Gray doesn't offer a divine PowerPoint presentation or a 5-step plan to "fix" your pain. Instead, he dismantles the exhausting lie that we have to decode our suffering to survive it. Tracing our ache from the ruins of Genesis 3 to the silence of Job, Gray reminds us th

Main Reading: Ecclesiastes 7:14-19 v. 14 — “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.” In the last section of verses, The Preacher advised us to avoid having selective memories about the past—don’t romanticize what it used to be like…or else you will foolishly ask: “how come things aren’t as good as they used to be?” And, now, The Preacher s

Did Jesus die only for the elect, or for everyone? Hebrews 2:9 says Christ “tasted death for everyone,” and that statement creates a major challenge for Limited Atonement. When read alongside Leviticus, the Day of Atonement, and the Old Testament’s global horizon, Hebrews presents a larger view of the cross than many assume.

Can I just say it? This section of Ecclesiastes seems disconnected and jumbled together. Some might even call it contradictory with other parts of the book. But, I think, that might actually be the point…the preacher speaks in a way that frustrates the foolish but will cause the wise to seek understanding. So, let’s be the kind of people who want to get to the bottom of this book of biblical wisdom and start figuring this thing out. v. 1 — “A good name is better than precious

In 1 Timothy 2, Paul ties the cross to prayer, urging believers to pray for all people because God desires all to be saved and Christ gave Himself as a ransom for all. This article explores what that means for prayer, evangelism, and the scope of Christ’s atonement—especially in light of the claim that Jesus died only for the elect.

Main Reading: Ecclesiastes 6:1-12 v. 1-2 — “There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil” Remember when chapter 5 ended with that warm, tender, fuzzy phrase about being “occupied with joy”? Well, I hope you weren’t expecting tha

Conversations about Calvinism online often seem like cage matches. There’s an unspoken rule that if you disagree with someone, you probably despise them too. But that’s not where I’m at, nor is it where I want to be. My distaste for someone’s distortion of Scripture does not mean I dislike who they are or everything they say. Just because someone believes in a Calvinistic form of predestination, “once saved, always saved,” or limited atonement, that doesn’t mean I hate them.

Main Reading: Ecclesiastes 5:8-20 v. 8-9 — “If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.” In this life, which can so often feel meaningless, you can’t count on much…Almost nothing is guaranteed. But nothing is off the table e

What does 1 John 2:2 mean? This verse says Christ is the propitiation not only for our sins but for the sins of the whole world. A closer look at one of the most debated passages in the limited atonement discussion.

Main Reading: Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 So far, in Ecclesiastes, we’ve been to the courtroom—where justice ought to be… We’ve been to the marketplace—where honest work should take place…and now we’re going to the temple—where people are supposed to gather and worship God. But Solomon, the Preacher & narrator, sees that true worship is rare and hypocrisy is the norm . Many people come and go in and out of the temple, “praising God,” praying, sacrificing, and making vows, but man

Main Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:7-16 In Ecclesiastes, we’ve been analyzing the sad state of affairs of life under the Sun. But the author does not want to inspire you to envy or hate those around you because of these difficulties. In this section, he’ll actually show you why the frustrations and worries of this world should encourage you to work with and for your neighbors; serving and helping them as you navigate life. He’ll show you how and why human beings are not meant to be

Main Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:1-6 Well, if there’s one thing you learn by skimming through Ecclesiastes, it’s that—if you want to—you can see the bad in everything…and that’s partially because everything is bad. All is vanity…meaningless…purposeless. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the things you’d expect to have meaning often have a bad one! Last time, Solomon’s big statement was: “in the place of justice, there was wickedness!” This time around, he sees a few more travesti

Main Reading: Galatians 2:17-21 If you know me, you know I have a lot of Bibles. But I only own one Bible-carrying case....It was a gift from my girlfriend, and it came personalized with my name and favorite Bible verse on it. In this article, we’ll cover that verse which sits atop the cover of my grey NET cloth over board bible; Galatians 2:20. I hope that, maybe, this fun fact will fuel your interest…Maybe, now, you’ll want to see why I would choose that verse over the t

Main Reading: Galatians 2:15-16 “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” In the last article, I focused on this little word: “justification.” It’s primarily a legal word. A verdict. A declaration

Main Reading: Galatians 2:15-16 If you walked up to 10 people and asked them “are you going to Heaven and why?” what do you think most of them would say?“I’ve tried to be a decent person.” “I go to church.” “I’m better than some people, and I hope that’s enough.” Thankfully, the Bible doesn’t leave that question up in the air…And that’s exactly what we’ll be talking about in this passage. v. 15-16 “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a p