A General Call? (Matthew 11:25-30; 5, 6 RE 6)

Christ invites his audience who hears his word to come to him.  We are promised blessing if we are not offended by Christ.  This sounds strange because why would we be offended by Christ?  Nevertheless we are promised that as we respond to the gospel in faith we will take the yoke of Christ upon us.  His teaching will progressively become more and more of who we are.  Clearly, Christ is assuring us that as we take hold of Christ by faith, as we come under his control more and more we will enjoy his blessings.  How can Christ give such a call without contradicting what we heard regarding God’s election before the foundations of the world? 

Christ’s Universal Payment? (1 John 2:2)

John writes to the church with the assurance that Christ's payment satisfies the sins of the world. This sounds like the whole world is saved. This cannot be the case because right in Genesis 3:15 God promises that there are going to be two lines of people in the human race. There are those who are identified with Christ and those who are not identified with Christ. Christ's payment for the whole world must mean that Christ came to secure an international people.

Why the Heinous Cross (Gal 3:12,14 COD Head 2 Arts. 1, 2 RE 2)

The Lord told Adam that the day he eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he will surely die. The Lord cannot just overlook his justice in order to show his mercy. Christ has to die on the cross for the Lord's justice to be satisfied. It is in Christ's death on the cross that his mercy is manifested. How does Paul use the Mosaic arrangement to give us a deeper understanding of Christ's cross?

At Peace in the Lord (1 Timothy 2:1-7)

Paul exhorts christians to live a peaceful and quiet life.  Why would Paul say such a thing?  It would seem more beneficial to be more concerned about intervening.  How are we to live this way?  How do we know that this exhortation is not the same thing as Paul saying we are merely lazy?  How do we live a meaningful life in the Lord as life in a peaceful and quiet way?