Welcome to the Reformed Bible Study. Last week we saw that the great contests of the Old Testament were never in doubt, and today we take up the harder questions: why Israel sometimes lost, what Christ accomplished when the Spirit led him into the wilderness, and how the final battle of Revelation 20 ends before it begins. Along the way we will learn why the Christian's calling in spiritual warfare is not to charge the enemy but to stand in the victory Christ has already won.

Welcome to the Reformed Bible Study. Question 33 of the Heidelberg Catechism asks why Jesus alone is called God's only begotten Son, since we also are the children of God. As we look at it together, we will weigh a recent challenge to the phrase "only begotten" that bears directly on the deity of Christ. The Catechism answers by contrasting Christ's eternal, natural sonship with our adoption through grace for his sake. In that distinction believers find both firm confidence before the Father and a sure bond with one another as members of one family.

Welcome to the Reformed Bible Study. From the fire on Mt. Carmel back through Eden, the Flood, and the plagues of Egypt, Scripture records contest after contest in which a rival claims power, the LORD accepts the challenge, and the outcome never hangs in doubt. The only question is, Who will join the confession that was made when Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal? They proclaimed, "The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God" (1 Kings 18:39).