Rev. Andrew D. Taylor's Blog

What Is Theology? Ryrie breaks down theology according to its etymology to show that, “The word ‘theology,’ from θεός ( theos ), meaning God and λογός ( logos ) meaning rational expression, means the rational interpretation of religious faith.” 1  Therefore, theology, in a broad sense, is anything dealing with a system of religious belief. This definition would include everyone’s belief systems, even that of an atheist. However for our purposes, theology has a much more narrow definition. Theology is anything that is said about God and His work from Scripture. Reasons for this will be explained as we study the Bibliology section.

This Sermon was preached from John 7:53-8:11 Many probably noticed that I skipped this passage this morning. This is because this section of Scripture requires some special attention with a longer than usual preface. Therefore, I thought it would be best to reserve this discussion for the evening service.  John 7:53-8:11 is not part of the original text. John the apostle did not write this little narrative. In order to explain this, I have to introduce you to what is known as textual criticism. Textual criticism is not looking at the Bible to decide if we like it or not but it is a science that examines handwritten copies of the Bible to determine the words the author originally wrote. Remember, the original words that were written were inspired (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). No where in Scripture does it say that God re-inspires the copies nor does He move the scribes. He providentially preserves His Word (Ps. 12:6-7). We do this because we do not have the original ma...

This sermon was preached from John 8:12-30. John 8:12 comes on the heels of 7:52. The setting is same as it was for the previous chapter. Therefore, Jesus is still speaking to the Pharisees during the last day of the feast of tabernacles. He is still confronting the same people as He was in the previous chapter. A lot of the themes that will be seen in this section should feel familiar to us. Back in John 5:18-47 there repetitions of the words judge, judgment, and witness. The Jews were seeking to kill Jesus. The scene played out very much like a court room. The Pharisees and Sadducees were trying to determine if they should have Jesus executed for committing claims of blasphemy. This chapter will play out in much the same way. Let us not forget either why this gospel was written, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31). This discourse is recorded to help reinforce ...

This sermon was preached from John 7:31-52 on October 5, 2014 for the evening service.

This sermon was preached from John 7:1-30 on October 5, 2014 for the morning service.

This sermon was preached from John 6:60-71 for evening service on September 28, 2014. Remember, Jesus just finished a long discourse where He made one of the famous “I am,” statements. This one being, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35, 48). He taught the crowd that followed Him from the day before that they needed to believe in Him as the Messiah that would give unto them eternal life. This would happen through His death, burial and resurrection as means for salvation.  The Disciples’ Reaction (6:60-66) 60. The author includes a reaction to the discourse this time. Yet, the reaction comes from the disciples as opposed to those who were following Jesus. Jesus’ teaching that they must consume His this bread, that is, His flesh which He will offer up for the life of the world, then they will receive eternal life, is hard for the disciples to accept. They were not expecting a Messiah that would about such things. Jesus is teaching about Him needing to suffer a death and then...

This sermon is preached from John 6:22-59 for the morning service of September 28, 2014. In order to understand this passage one must remember the events that happened just the previous day. Jesus tried to get some rest and relaxation with His disciples in a deserted area outside of Bethsaida on the sea of Galilee. However, the Galileans spotted Jesus and a crowd that had 5,000 men grew. Later in the day, Jesus performed a miracle by feeding the entire crowd so that they were full by only using five barley loaves and two small fishes. When the crowd saw that Jesus was able to provide food they wanted to make Jesus king. This in turn caused Jesus to send away the disciples into a boat and then He went away privately for a while. The disciples have a sleepless night trying to get the sea of Galilee due to a wind blowing the opposite direction. Jesus walks on the water and meets them in the middle of the sea. Search for Jesus (6:22-25) A portion of the crowd must have stayed in the a...

This sermon is preached from John 6:1-21.

This sermon is preached from John 5:31-47. Last Sunday morning we covered verses John 5:1-18. The scene was that Jesus had just healed a lame man. However, the healing happened on the sabbath day. It caused quite a stir amongst the rulers of the Jews that someone was working on the sabbath day (John 5:10). Jesus does not take the time to argue with the Jews. Instead, He tells them that He is God and is therefore permitted to work on the sabbath (John 5:17). Jesus, in a sense, lit a bomb by making this claim. This caused the Jews to only kill Him even more (John 5:18).  In the evening service we saw how Jesus then goes on to explain even further that He is equal to and is God. He did this by explaining the relationship between God the Father and God the Son. Jesus claimed that He and the Father are the same in Their will and actions (John 5:19-20, 30). Jesus claimed that He and the Father are equal in power (John 5:21, 25-26). Jesus claimed that He and the Father are equal in ...

This sermon was preached from John 5:19-30 to Tidioute Baptist Church for the evening service. John is going to continue with his emphasis on showing Jesus as God, the second Person of the Trinity. “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (20:31). The last two parts of that verse will be covered in this section.  Do not forget either how I mentioned that the prologue introduced multiple themes that will be fully explained in John’s Gospel. I believe this section really explains “καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος / and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1b). There is very special kind of relationship that is being described between the first and second Persons of the Trinity in this section. Not only are they full agreement with each other, they are one in the same.  Last time we looked at the text, we saw the Jews wanting to kill Jesus bec...

This sermon was preached from John 5:1-18 to Tidioute Baptist Church for the morning service. This passage of Scripture is in keeping with the verse that we have called to be the theme for this Gospel, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (20:31). This whole narrative/chapter is meant to show specifically the Deity of Jesus Christ. Healing the Lame (5:1-9a) Verse 1. There is no indication as to which feast that is being celebrated here in this passage. We do know that according to Old Testament law, there were three feasts that occurred every year that required the males to be present at the temple. These feasts were the Feast of Unleavened Bread/Passover, Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles/Booths (Deut. 16:16). Therefore, Jesus must have visited Jerusalem more times than are accounted for in the Gospels. Most speculate this was feast was to celebrate the Passover...