It is a small thing—so small that it might go unnoticed—but as in Exercitation VI, in Exercitation XIX where Owen considered the “State and Ordinances of the Church Before the Giving of the Law,” he consistently spoke of the “Jewish church.”1 To . . . Continue reading →
One of the recurring questions I get is about the meaning of body in 1 Corinthians 11:28. The question is whether “discerning the body” in Paul’s narrative refers to “being cognizant of the congregation” or to discerning Christ’s physical, actual body and blood, . . . Continue reading →
“Most of the current controversy regarding the gospel hinges on the definitions of a few key words, including repentance, faith, discipleship, and Lord.”186 So writes John MacArthur in his chapter on repentance.187 He notes that our Lord’s preaching of the Kingdom of . . . Continue reading →
In his exercitation on “the oneness of the church” Owen argued seven points. Each and all of them were in the service of what Reformed theology calls the unity of the covenant of grace. For Owen and the mainstream of Reformed orthodoxy, . . . Continue reading →
Las iglesias de la Reforma tienen algunos lemas maravillosos llenos de verdades importantes. Sin embargo, a veces, estos lemas pueden ser tergiversados, malinterpretados y malentendidos. Con la posible excepción de sola Scriptura (solo la Escritura), ninguno de estos lemas ha sido distorsionado con más . . . Continue reading →
Joel asks, “Is it possible for a person to want/desire to know Christ as his/her Savior and not be among the elect?” HC 21. What is true faith? True faith is not only a certain knowledge whereby I hold for truth all . . . Continue reading →
It is the habit of some of our Particular Baptist friends to imply, suggest, or even to say plainly that the great English Reformed theologian John Owen (1616–1683) was practically Baptist in his covenant theology.1 He is arguably one of the greatest theologians . . . Continue reading →
K isimli bir okuyucumuz bana yazarak şu soruyu sordu: “Eğer Tanrı’nın Sözü kadınların öğretmesini ve yetki kullanmasını yasaklıyorsa, devlet neden aynı ilkeyi izlemesin?” Bu güzel ve ilginç bir soru. Elçi’nin 1 Timoteos 2:11-13’te kadın-erkek ilişkilerine dair öğretisini 613 emir (mitzvoth) yerine yaratılışa . . . Continue reading →
Great crowds, international fame, best-selling books, intense media attention, sniping critics, and simmering concerns among orthodox pastors all swirling around the arrival and work of a great and famous traveling preacher—these phenomena are well-known to us today, but they also marked the . . . Continue reading →
Continuing on article XIV: More important, however, than the Statement’s confusion about general equity is what the authors want to do with it, and what assumptions they bring when applying the moral law to civil life in 2023. The Statement says the . . . Continue reading →
En la época moderna, especialmente en el siglo XX, muchos reformados se sintieron incómodos con el lenguaje reformado tradicional relativo a la «ley natural». Como alguien que empezó a entrar en el mundo reformado alrededor de 1980, la mayoría de los reformados . . . Continue reading →
Only someone in an isolation chamber could imagine that this world is not fallen. Even the most fact-resistant naturalist (who cannot begin to explain why there is something rather than nothing) concedes that the evolutionary process in which he places so much . . . Continue reading →
Sometime back, Howard wrote to ask, “How and when did Arminianism become the predominate view?” That is a good question. First, we should distinguish between Jacob Arminius (James Harmenszoon, 1560–1609) and the Arminians (or the Remonstrants). Relative to the conclusions Arminian/Remonstrant theology later . . . Continue reading →
The theocratic impulse is truly ancient. All the pagan nations of the Ancient Near East had state religions. The Israelites, Egyptians, and Canaanites all had state religions, as did the Greeks and the Romans. The latter were particularly vicious in enforcing the . . . Continue reading →
Throughout this series, however it might seem to devoted fans of John MacArthur, I have endeavored to be honest and fair—both of which require me to acknowledge, as I have before, that chapters 14 and 15 are quite edifying. The beginning of . . . Continue reading →
Un cititor al blogului, pe nume David, ne-a contactat recent cu o întrebare pe care i-a adresat-o cineva: „Ce cred părinții bisericii dinaintea lui Augustin despre liberul arbitru? Mi s-a spus că toți părinții bisericii dinainte de Augustin au susținut o poziție . . . Continue reading →
There is a popular view of church history that tells a story in which there was a pure, believing church during the apostolic age and then, for all intents and purposes, there was not a church (except for the Waldensians who alone . . . Continue reading →
Previously, we looked at the office of Ruling Elder (RE) in P&R churches. Today, we continue that conversation. Truing The Spokes When a bloc of REs, however, becomes less a counter-weight to progressive tendencies and more an anchor to prevent Reformation according . . . Continue reading →
In his epistle (3:1) to the Trallians (c. AD 114), written to one of the congregations that visited him on the way to Rome to be martyred, Ignatius, the senior pastor (ἐπίσκοπος) of Antioch mentioned three offices in the church: Similarly, let . . . Continue reading →