Rev. Andrew D. Taylor's Blog

Preached on March 8, 2026 on Luke 8:16–21.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (1 Timothy 2:15) Very few parishioners concern themselves about matters of theology, which is very unfortunate and discouraging. I have my concerns about how many modern church goers would be able to give a definition of justification by faith. They miss out on the comfort and assurance that theology brings to the Christian mind and faith. They would miss out on the assurance of Double Imputation, or the peace that is given by the Perseverance of the Saints. The worst possibility is that an unstudied Christian may easily fall into error or heresy.  Ligonier (the ministry founded by R. C. Sproul) and Lifeway partner together every year to conduct a survey called “ The State of Theology .” In 2025, it was clearly demonstrated that evangelical America is lacking in its knowledge of theology.  Of those surveyed, 64% agreed with the statement that “Ev...

  from Luke 8:1–15

Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:11–14) We would do well to remember that salvation was never free. Salvation is given freely to believers, but it was secured by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. There is nothing more that is required for salvation than faith alone in Christ. His death on the cross completely satisfied the wrath of God against our sin. We do not need to perform any further works of righteousness in order to secure our salvation. We do not need to do any further penance or borrow from the treasury of merit to expiate our sin. Christ paid for our penalty of sin on the cross in full.  This understanding of Jesus’ sacrifi...

You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. (1 John 3:5) These past few weeks I have been writing about the necessary Christian doctrines concerning the identity of Christ. I have already listed the Scripture proofs demonstrating the deity of Jesus, and last week briefly discussed the humanity of Jesus. Both are true at the same time: Jesus is truly God and truly man, summarized in Chalcedonian Creed and labeled as the hypostatic union.  This week I want to discuss the moral perfection, or sinlessness, of Jesus and explain why it is necessary that Jesus be God, human, and perfect.  Perhaps Jesus’ moral perfection is easily demonstrated when He is tested by Satan in the wilderness (Matt 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13). Jesus never falters even though He is in the worst possible environment (wilderness), with the worst possible conditions (extreme hunger), and is tested with the most enticing temptations (bread and all the world). The aut...

For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. (Colossians 2:9) Last week, I wrote on the deity of Jesus Christ. This is part of a series discussing some theology that is necessary in order to be considered to be a part of the Christian faith. If there be any alteration to these necessary doctrines, then we stray into heresy. If we get the primary doctrines incorrect, the consequences could mean eternal condemnation because you believed in a false god.  While Jesus is truly God, it is also true at the same time that Jesus is truly human. Even from the start of Jesus’ earthly life, there was a unity of deity and humanity. He was born of a woman but through the “power of the Most High” (Luke 1:35). This caused Jesus to lay claim to a Jewish identity and Davidic lineage in His humanity, while still possessing divine power in His deity.  The New Testament gives a lot of evidence that Jesus was truly human and lived the full human experience. In the Gospels we see Jesus' hum...