By Richard A. Muller Reformed Journal 37 (1987): 16–18. During the past year numerous celebrations were held, testimonials given, and articles written—all for the sake of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Karl Barth and recognizing his contribution to theology . . . Continue reading →
Peter invokes the Exodus deliberately. Throughout the epistle he has been trying to help his original readers in Asia Minor and us to understand where we are in the history of salvation. Perhaps the predominate imagery has come from Noah. We are like those waiting for the ark to be built, waiting for deliverance from the coming deluge of judgment. Here, however, he shifts the imagery to the exodus. We are the Israel of God, united by grace alone, through faith alone, to the risen Christ. We are in Egypt, as it were. We are believers, for whom God has sent the one greater than Moses. We are aliens and strangers in Egypt. We live under a Pharaoh who did not know Joseph (Ex 1:8). Like the Israelites, we are surrounded by pagans who misunderstand us and who sometimes abuse us. That is a hard providence. In order to submit to it and to the the sovereign Lord who ordained it, we must be assured that it is ordained for our good and his glory, even if we cannot see how it is all working out. Surely that was true of the Israelites? How often over the centuries of their captivity must they have wondered why Yahweh had ordained their captivity? Continue reading →
Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of Yahweh. And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats for a sin offering for the kingdom and . . . Continue reading →
A regular and thoughtful reader of the HB writes to ask whether it is proper in Christian prayer to address the Son and the Spirit in prayer as well as the Father. This is a difficult question for a couple of reasons. . . . Continue reading →
Is God most simple and free from all composition? We affirm against Socinus and Vorstius I. The Socinians agitate this controversy with us since they deny that simplicity can be attributed to God according to the Scriptures and think it should be . . . Continue reading →
In the last episode, in this episode and in the next, we’re looking at what Scripture says about the new covenant. We’ve looked at what Jeremiah 31:31-34 actually says, how Paul interprets it, and now we want to turn our attention to . . . Continue reading →
Now Christian theology has always been more or less conscious of this calling. On the whole, its teaching has been that God is “simple,” that is, sublimely free from all composition, and that therefore one cannot make any real [i.e., ontological] distinction . . . Continue reading →
Chortles Weakly, Wresbyterian (hence the image of “Baron von Raschke,” the “wrasslin” hero of my youth), and I spent an hour last night talking about the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Certainty (QIRC) and the Quest for Illegitimate Religious Experience (QIRE) and their . . . Continue reading →
In disputes upon moral or scientific points, ever let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your opponent. So you never shall be at a loss in losing the argument, and gaining a new discovery. —Arthur Martine, Martine’s Hand-book . . . Continue reading →
If skilled professionals (e.g., cops, nurses, and physicians), who deal with such cases routinely, are capable of failing to address the danger in which Nicole Brown Simpson founder herself, how much more difficult might it be for ministers, elders, and deacons to see the symptoms and address the problem? We (ministers, elders, and deacons) need to learn the symptoms and signs of abuse and must become prepared to take concrete steps to help. Continue reading →
Westminster Seminary California was founded more than 30 years ago principally to prepare men for pastoral ministry. The seminary educates students from all across the world to fulfill a variety of callings but they are still committed to that original vision because . . . Continue reading →
In our youth-obsessed culture (with how many advertisements for ostensible “age-reversing” products are we bombarded daily?) it is a good reminder that Christians may not despise the older. It is plain foolishness for younger Christians to ignore the wisdom who have been making the Christian pilgrimage to the heavenly city longer than they. Our older brothers and sisters have experience in the Christian life that younger believers ordinarily do not have. They have been reading the Word longer. They have struggled in prayer, with doubt, and temptation longer than we have. Speaking experientially, they have also known the grace (favor) of God longer than we. Why would we not listen to them and learn from them? Why we would we not submit to them, whether or not they hold special office? Continue reading →
Clips from Old Time Radio, Top-40, Radio, and more Continue reading →
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, . . . Continue reading →
4. Justification by the Instrument of an “Obedient Faith” In the writings of FV authors, however, faith, even in respect to its instrumentality for justification, is defined differently. Norman Shepherd, for example, persistently speaks of the instrument of justification as a “living,” . . . Continue reading →
Does initiation of covenant children into the visible covenant people expire with the new covenant? Is the new covenant absolutely relatively new? Is it new relative to Abraham or new relative to Moses? These are the topics we’re investigating in this episode of the Heidelcast. Continue reading →
The Kingdom of God is a reversal of the order of this world. In this world, the first are first and the last are last. It is cut-throat and Darwinian, red in tooth and claw, but in the Kingdom of God the last are first and the first are last. This is the difference between grace and works. Works gives what is earned but grace gives to those who cannot, who would not, what they did not earn. So, as a consequence, ministry in the kingdom is on a different order, a different paradigm. Jesus is the model of ministry in the kingdom. The Son of Man was the suffering servant who as abused, stricken, and finally murdered for us, in our place, as our substitute. He did not suffer for himself. He did not obey for himself. His obedient suffering was for us, in our place, and all that he did is credited to us who believe and even our believing is a gift from God. Continue reading →
Peale distilled the optimism and self-sufficiency of the American character into a simple creed. The first article of his faith was a warm patriotism. He called the U.S. “the greatest country in the world” and addressed his writing to “everyday people of . . . Continue reading →
From the points which have been so far upheld against middle knowledge it is clear that the whole difficulty in the present controversy reduces to this one point: Could free conditioned things, from eternity indifferent by nature to futurition or nonfuturition, have . . . Continue reading →