Gospels
PREFACE
“The sum of Thy word is truth” (Ps. 119:160).
Whether this is believed or not has been the issue since the Garden of Eden. By God’s grace, I believe it. But that same true word, backed up by bitter experience, shows that we are easily deceived. In no way do I imagine that these notes are free from arrogance, ignorance, vanity, and error, nor do I expect any reader to imagine such a thing. But in spite of all that, I have written them out of a love and gratitude for God’s word of truth, and believe that the insights gained over most of a lifetime may be useful and helpful to some. I have tried to give credit to others where the source is known. Usually the original source is not known, but if there are any truly original thoughts of mine here, I repudiate them. Not even this is original. I recently heard another brother say (tongue in cheek), “All the best stuff is derivative.”
As full disclosure, I was a ruling elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, and am still a church member in that denomination. I believe in the reformed doctrine as described in the Westminster Standards as adopted by that denomination, which is to say in brief that I believe that we are sinners saved only by God’s sovereign grace through his son Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord.
I wish to thank my wife Leonore for her indispensable help in turning pencil scratches into typed pages, and for her many very helpful suggestions. I thank our children for their encouragement, and dedicate these notes to Leonore and to them.
INTRODUCTION
These notes are based on the New American Standard Bible (NASB), Reference Edition of 1977, The Lockman Foundation. Holman Bible Publishers.
These notes were written with an open Bible under the assumption they would be read that way. Otherwise, they will not be of much use. They are primarily simply expanded marginal notes about the meaning of the inspired text that I have made in cryptic fashion over the years, and wish to pass on to my children and others in a more usable form.
Abbreviations used that may not be obvious to some are:
WCF = The Westminster Confession of Faith
WLC = The Westminster Larger Catechism
WSC = The Westminster Shorter Catechism