…there is nothing more inane than the claim to be “on the right side of history” —Peter Berger
May 2016 Archive
Audio: Luther On The Theologian Of The Cross
Last Sunday I had the pleasure of speaking to the adult class at Christ United Reformed Church in Santee, CA. I was filling in for my friend and colleague, Dr Ryan Glomsrud, a ruling elder at CURC. He has been teaching a . . . Continue reading →
Turretin: The Covenant Of Grace Is The Center And Bond Of All Relgion
The nature and use of the law (which goes before the covenant of grace) having been unfolded, we must now treat of the covenant itself. Since it is of the greatest importance in theology (being as it were the center and bond . . . Continue reading →
S-T-O-P Means Stop
Introduction In 25 years of ministry one of the most profound changes I’ve seen is the growing inability and/or unwillingness of Americans to read texts according to the intent of the author. One of the major reasons for this change was the . . . Continue reading →
Strangers And Aliens (17b): As It Was In The Days Of Noah (1 Peter 3:18–22)
They were saved (διεσώθησαν) “through the waters” (δι᾿ ὕδατος). What Peter says is that it was in the midst of the circumstance of the flood or from the flood that Noah and his congregation were saved. Peter is not saying that the water was an instrument of their salvation. He has already said that the ark was the instrument or means of their salvation. If you have ever been whitewater rafting or found yourself in rough waters in a canoe, you understand. The rapid waters do not save anyone. No one was saved by the rising flood waters in Hurricane Katrina. They were saved in the midst of them by clinging to a rooftop or by a brave member of the Coast Guard (known affectionately as “Coasties”) dangling from a helicopter. Continue reading →
Protestant Basics: The Theologian Of The Cross Versus The Theologian Of Glory
19. One is not worthy to be called a theologian (theologus) who looks upon the “invisible things of God” [invisibilia Dei; Rom. 1:20] as though they were clearly “perceptible in those things which have actually happened” [1 Cor 1:21–25] 20. But who . . . Continue reading →
How Pastors And Elders Can Help Each Other
Recently I had a question from a Presbyterian Ruling Elder (RE) asking about how REs should relate to Pastors (or Teaching Elder). The specific question how REs should relate to TEs in ecclesiastical assemblies. E.g., REs are often at something of a . . . Continue reading →
Now In Hardcover: S. M. Baugh On Ephesians
D. A. Carson says about this commentary, “Baugh’s comments are invariably measured, judicious, the product of informed and careful scholarship, lightly worn. Mercifully, the excellent scholarship comes in readable prose, making this a thoroughly interesting and stimulating work. This is now unquestionably . . . Continue reading →
The Rule Of Faith And The Rule Of Worship
The rule of faith (regula fidei), indeed, is altogether one, alone immoveable and irreformable; the rule, to wit, of believing in one only God omnipotent, the Creator of the universe, and His Son Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified under . . . Continue reading →
Owen: It is Difficult To Get Christians To Think About The Rule Of Worship
Obs. IV. That our utmost care and diligence in the consideration of the mind of God are required in all that we do about his worship.—There is nothing wherein men for the most part are more careless. Some suppose it belongs unto . . . Continue reading →
The DOJ Wants To Deny The Heteronormative Cake And Eat It Too
In an age in which sexist stereotypes are forbidden, what does Gupta think that it means to “live, work and study as men”? Obviously, the Obama administration would never embrace the heteronormative prejudice that part of living as a man might include . . . Continue reading →
John Owen On Evading The Rule Of Worship
The sum, in general, of what this author opposeth with so much clamour is, That divine revelation is the sole rule of divine religious worship; an assertion that, in its latitude of expression, hath been acknowledged in and by all nations and . . . Continue reading →
Grammar Guerrilla: Begging Versus Raising The Question
Almost without fail today, whether on a media news program, in print, or in causal discussion, when one hears or reads the phrase “begs the question” (or some variant) it is used to mean, raises the question. On its face this might seem an odd thing since raises is hardly an obscure or antiquated verb. Continue reading →
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
You’re all romantics. Not in the Charlotte Bronte sense but in that when you read biblical stories you imagine yourselves as Daniel not the gamekeeper. You’re Lawrence ruling the desert while astride a majestic white charge not a faceless Arab extra on . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus: The Law Is The Rule Of Worship
Another use of the moral law is, that it may be a rule of divine worship and of a Christian life. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” “I will put my law in their . . . Continue reading →
No Compromise Radio On Law, Gospel, And Imperatives
Mike Abendroth, a fellow Cornhusker, recently spent some time discussing this HB post from last February on how to relate the law/gospel distinction and biblical imperatives. Mike is pastor of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boyleston, MA. Here is the episode.
Canons Of Dort Day 2016: Growing Beyond The TULIP
One of the benefits of the interest in Reformed theology among broader evangelicals is a new openness, in some quarters, to moving beyond bullet points and slogans. Perhaps no points are more famous and less understood than TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, . . . Continue reading →
The Truth About Theological Liberalism
A God without wrath brought men without sinto a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross. —H. Richard Niebuhr, The Kingdom of God in America (1937), 193.
Perkins On The Rule Of Worship
The second point, is the rule of the worship: and that is, That nothing may go under the name of the worship of God, which he has not ordained in his own word, and commanded to us as his own worship. For . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: The Rule Of Worship Necessitated The Reformation
Now, even at this very time, when we are seeking and searching to find out the misdeeds on account of which God punishes us, and in what we have offended, you allege against us, that we have changed the divine service, and . . . Continue reading →