When it comes to Christmas it gets, as they say, complicated for confessional Presbyterian and Reformed Christians. On the one hand, we heartily affirm the Scriptures and the ecumenical creeds on the incarnation of our Lord. We confess that Mary was the . . . Continue reading →
The Jews distinguished between the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. What they called “the Law,” is called by biblical scholars the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Dr. Michael Morales is Professor of . . . Continue reading →
One of the first things I learned when I became an evangelical Christian in 1976, the year America elected a self-proclaimed “Born Again” Christian (Jimmy Carter), was that every Christian should expect to hear a “still small voice” from God. I learned . . . Continue reading →
The distinction between while and though is neglected but should be recovered. The writer who observes it is clearer and more useful to his reader. Most often today, even in edited publications (e.g., newspapers, magazines, and books) one sees them used interchangeably . . . Continue reading →
It must be commanded by God. No creature has the right, or power to institute the worship of God. But good works (we speak of moral good) and the worship of God are the same. Moral good differs widely from natural good, . . . Continue reading →
Most adults probably know by now that the story of the first Colonial Thanksgiving was a little more complex than that learned as a child. To catch up see Robert Tracy McKenzie, The First Thanksgiving: What the Real Story Tells Us About . . . Continue reading →
And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all (Acts 4:31). Perhaps since the rise of the late-medieval mystics, who desired nothing so much as to be absorbed . . . Continue reading →
“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare . . . Continue reading →
When Scripture uses the verb “to justify” (δικαιόω) as it does in Romans 3:20, “wherefore out of the works of the law will no flesh be justified before he, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin,” it means to say, . . . Continue reading →
It is always a joy to talk to Mike Abendroth (No Compromise Radio). He loves the gospel and appreciates the Reformed faith. He and his brother Pat (Omaha Bible Church) are part of a broader movement toward recovering Reformed theology, piety, and . . . Continue reading →
In 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul wrote, “And we ought to give thanks to God for you brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you (to be) the first fruits1 unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and in faith of the . . . Continue reading →
Video courtesy the Lynden United Reformed Church (Lynden, WA) where Bob Godfrey and I spoke earlier this month for their Reformation Conference: Luther Nailed It.
“Produce fruit worthy of repentance” ( “ποιήσατε οὖν καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας”) these were the words of John the Baptizer to the many Pharisees and Sadducees “coming unto (the) baptism” (Matt 3:7). John was the last of the Old Testament prophets. He . . . Continue reading →
When the Westminster Divines completed the Confession of Faith in 1647 there was no chapter dedicated to the person and work of the Holy Spirit. According to some modern critics of the Confession, that absence betrays a troubling disinterest in the third . . . Continue reading →
The most ancient Christian practice of worship was to sing the Psalms. Our Lord sang the Psalms of ascent with his disciples (Matt 26:30). The Apostles sang Psalms (1 Cor 14:26, “ἕκαστος ψαλμὸν ἔχει“). The early Christian church sang Psalms in public . . . Continue reading →
From time to time I get the question, “Why do you blog?” This is my attempt at an answer. § The first time I remember seeing the word “weblog” was in 1995 or 1996. At the time it was widely regarded as . . . Continue reading →
Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the . . . Continue reading →
“[T]his double justification doctrine (initial justification by faith alone, followed by a second justification according to works in the eschatological judgment) is re-emerging as a “consensus position” among today’s leading evangelical and Reformed biblical theologians. Rich Lusk, “The Reformed Doctrine of Justification . . . Continue reading →
John Piper, Foreword to Daniel Fuller, Law and Gospel: Contrast or Continuum? (1980) (HT: Pat Abendroth)
As I mentioned in an earlier post in Romans 2:13 Paul writes, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified” (ESV).1 The chapter begins with matter . . . Continue reading →
