Paul knows and affirms to the church at Corinth that the pagan world surrounding them was comprised of the sexually immoral, swindlers, the greedy, revilers, drunkards, and idolaters, but they (and the culture they created) were not his concern. What concerned Paul was not what was happening out there but what was happening in here, in the Corinthian congregation. It was not the gross sexual immorality of the pagans in Corinth that kept him up at night. Continue reading →
“We have met the enemy and he is us.” This is the line Walt Kelly popularized in his Pogo comic strip in 1970 and 1971.1 Kelly appropriated and modified a famous quote from Master Commander Oliver Perry regarding the American defeat of . . . Continue reading →
At Synod Calgary, held June 8–11 by the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA),1 as delegates debated whether or how to adopt a statement that had been adopted by several other sister churches, one pastor rose to say that three families . . . Continue reading →
The attack perpetrated by two teen-agers upon a San Diego mosque, on May 18 of this year, is just the latest in a string of violent acts that include the assault on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (April 25, 2026), the murder . . . Continue reading →
What Is Salvation? In order to understand the biblical teaching we must first ask what is salvation? From what must we be saved? To what is salvation? Scripture is abundantly clear. The thing from which we must be saved is God’s holy . . . Continue reading →
It is being argued in some evangelical quarters that same-sex attraction (SSA) or homosexual attraction is “natural” and that it SSA (sexual desire for someone of the same sex) is not per se sinful. One writer who defends this view quotes John Cheever who said that . . . Continue reading →
For decades John Piper has taught the substance of what he wrote in the preface to Tom Shreiner’s 2015 book, Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification. The claim is that Christians should believe that we “attain heaven” by more than faith, i.e., by . . . Continue reading →
At the end of March Brad Isbell, Wilson Van Hooser and I discussed whether Revivalism can be Reformed. As usual, great fun was had by all. Here’s the video: Here’s the audio-only episode in the Presbycast Libsyn feed. Subscribe to the Presbycast . . . Continue reading →
In 1535 the Reformation was about fourteen years old. The Protestants had gained some legal status within the empire, but the existence of the movement was by no means secure. Internally, it was wracked with dissension over the moral and theological implications . . . Continue reading →
Garrison Keillor used to open his monologues about the fictional town of Lake Woebegon by saying, “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Woebegon” and then go on to explain how it had not actually been quiet. The way the news is . . . Continue reading →
We also see the turn to chance in the growth of gambling in the North America. Once the preserve of Atlantic City and Las Vegas, now casinos are seemingly everywhere. Our governments advertise gambling as a way of raising revenues. Against the . . . Continue reading →
What Are the Relations Between the Covenants? The Lord Jesus has fulfilled the bloody signs and types of circumcision and has replaced them with bloodless signs (Heb 9:11–10:1). Christ’s death was the reality to which the old signs and seals pointed. Now, Christ . . . Continue reading →
A number of supernatural signs accompanied the death of Christ, certifying that, on the cross, something truly momentous was happening. Scripture says: And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the . . . Continue reading →
Is Infant Baptism Protestant? In short, yes. All the Protestant Reformers, including Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, and John Calvin, held to infant baptism. Though these three great Protestants disagreed on many things, they all agreed on the Protestant doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Continue reading →
So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said . . . Continue reading →
It is a great temptation to think that the same God who created and sustains us, who so loved us that he gave his only begotten Son for us (John 3:16), who granted to us new life and true faith, who has . . . Continue reading →
The superscription of this psalm says that it is “A Psalm of David.” There is nothing in the psalm to make us think otherwise, and the circumstances from David’s life described here are familiar to us. Out of jealousy and unbelief, Saul . . . Continue reading →
The faithful service of the ruling elder is most valuable. Paul says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching” (1 Tim 5:17). One of the most important things Paul . . . Continue reading →
Before the Apostles’ Creed was fully formed, the ancient postapostolic church confessed the “rule of faith” (regula fidei). One of the first places we see the rule is in Irenaeus’s Against Heresies, which dates to about AD 180. Book 1 included this . . . Continue reading →
Matt Tuininga, amigo y antiguo alumno, escribió una interesante entrada en Christian in America en la que relata el conflicto entre el consistorio y algunos habitantes de Ginebra sobre cómo los padres debían nombrar a sus hijos.1 Escribe: Durante la época de . . . Continue reading →