12. Since then by the righteous judgment of God we deserve temporal and eternal punishment, how may we escape this punishment and be again received into favor? God wills that His justice be satisfied;1 therefore we must make full satisfaction to the . . . Continue reading →
Christ
15 Books Regarding the Cross
In the recent discussions of the atonement the impression is sometimes created that the penal-substitution doctrine is a mere construct, a figment of the imagination that rests on no biblical foundation. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Nick’s list of resources . . . Continue reading →
The Real Question is Whether There is An Objective Definition of Reformed
Part of Saturday was spent trading tweets with Matthew Milliner, who teaches Art History at Wheaton College. We had a good, genial conversation from two different confessional traditions. I’m not sure but judging by his arguments I inferred that Matthew may identify . . . Continue reading →
Canonization, Saints, and Christ Our Only Mediator
The AP ran a story yesterday on the naming of seven new Roman “saints.” According to the story, “Two of the new saints were Americans: Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint from the U.S., and Mother Marianne Cope, a 19th century . . . Continue reading →
The Treasury Of The Church—”A Satanic Mockery”
Now very many persons see the base tricks, deceits, thefts, and greediness with which the indulgence traffickers have heretofore mocked and beguiled us, and yet they do not see the very fountain of the impiety itself. As a consequence, it behooves us . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Steve Baugh on Hebrews 7:18-28
Steve Baugh, Professor of NT at Westminster Seminary California, joins us for this episode Office Hours that takes a look at Hebrews 7:18–28. Does Hebrews teach that the Ten Commandments are no longer valid for Christians? What does “law” mean here? How did the old . . . Continue reading →
Saturday and the Silence of the Lamb
During this season, which many Christians call “Holy Week,” I am perversely drawn to Saturday. Perhaps it is because the Saturday between “Good” Friday and Resurrection Day is, for others a sort of relief. For them it is a day off from the . . . Continue reading →
He is Not Here, For He Has Risen as He Said
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and . . . Continue reading →
The Serpent Strikes At The Son
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 29: No Other Name (2): Do We Need Salvation?
In part 1 we looked at the problem created by Jesus’ declaration and the Apostolic teaching that the is the only way to the Father. In this part we need to consider another problem: salvation itself. In the Modern(ist) world it is . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 29–30: No Other Name (3): All Or Nothing
Since the garden humans have faced the temptation to listen to an authority claiming to compete with God’s authority. Since the beginning voices have questioned, “has God really said?” Since the beginning voices have raised doubts about whether there is really one . . . Continue reading →
The Next Church-Growth Trend?
The Telegraph (UK) has a story about a flamenco-dancing priest in Spain. According to the story Fr. Pepe is wildly popular and especially with the ladies. They love it when, as part of the mass, he dances the flamenco. It’s no . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 31 And 32: He Is The Savior And We Are The Saved
Introduction I first encountered the Reformed theology, piety, and practice (c. 1980) in St John’s Reformed Church, in Lincoln, Neb. There were a couple of fairly recent seminary graduates, who had both studied at the Reformed Episcopal seminary in Philadelphia in the . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 37: What Do We Mean By “Suffered”?
An internet search for “suffering” turns up an astonishing array of results. Because of the internet we are now aware of global suffering in a way, with an immediacy that no other generation has ever experienced. Despite our increased awareness, history tells . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 38: Why Did Christ Suffer Under Pontius Pilate? (1)
When we read the Gospel accounts we can be tempted to disconnect them from the historical context in which the life of Christ occurred. One of the several functions of this line in the Apostles’ Creed, “suffered under Pontius Pilate” is to . . . Continue reading →
Witsius On The Distinction Between Christ’s Resurrection And His Glorification
X. While Christ remained on the earth, however, his body was not advanced to that full perfection of glory, which it has possessed ever since its exaltation above the heavens. From condescension to the weakness of the disciples, he suffered it to . . . Continue reading →
Witsius: Christ Condignly Merited A Reward By Fulfilling The Covenant Of Works
XXXIII. And the thing speaks for itself, For, as there is a covenant between the Father and the Son; “when thou shalt make his soul (if the soul of the Son shall devote himself) an offering for sin,” Is. 53:10, upon performing . . . Continue reading →
Hodge On Adam, Christ, Conditions, And Merit
The condition of the covenant of grace, so far as adults are concerned, is faith in Christ. That is, in order to partake of the benefits of this covenant we must receive the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God in . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Death In Adam, Life In Christ
On social media it has become common for evangelical Christians to identify themselves as “imputationalist.” This is interesting because the doctrine of imputation, the teaching that our sins of believers are reckoned to Christ and his righteousness is credited to believers, was . . . Continue reading →
The “Opium Of The People” And The Opioid Crisis (2)
The late-modern period is a a time of disillusionment in the West and perhaps nowhere else is that disillusionment more acute than in America where, since at the least the early 20th century, the false promises of Modernity (human perfectibility, the universal . . . Continue reading →