Jesus, instructing his disciples on the basics of prayer, uses the imperative and tells them to “Pray in this manner!” (Matt. 6:9), going on to then give what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. This has been taken to mean—and rightly so—that . . . Continue reading →
Dispensationalism
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 11
One of the unfortunate aspects of the intra-Dispensational argument—that is, the Lordship Salvation controversy—is that both sides appealed to the Reformation, but neither side represented the Reformation theology, piety, and practice. Dispensationalism is a nineteenth-century phenomenon. Its roots are in the holiness . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 10
The overarching theme of this series has been that the Lordship Salvation doctrine confuses the law and the gospel.95 Nowhere is that confusion more evident than in his handling of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16–22: And behold, a man came . . . Continue reading →
On The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism
Hummel’s treatment of dispensationalism’s role in the politicization and formation of a distinct and commercially successful American evangelical subculture, along with its impact upon American culture and politics in general is a familiar but well-told story. Hummel contends that the rise of . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 9
Because it seems that advocates of the Dispensational Lordship doctrine suspect anyone who critiques them of latent antinomianism, let me say here that I agree entirely with MacArthur when he writes, “and any ‘salvation’ that does not alter a lifestyle of sin . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 8
In a controversy, the temptation is to become competitive and to try to defeat one’s opponent, rather than to seek the truth. Controversy is an opportunity for the mortification (putting to death) of sin and vivification (the making alive of the new . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 7
In chapter three, MacArthur turns to Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in John 3. Since I have been primarily critical of his methods and conclusions, let me begin with some areas of agreement. When he writes, “the central theme of the Old Testament . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 6
There are real, substantive differences between the way MacArthur writes in The Gospel According to Jesus and the way those of us in the confessional Reformation traditions speak about good works and salvation. This does not mean that MacArthur does not say . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 5
As we engage the book proper, it is useful to remember that GAJ is organized in five parts: 1) Today’s Gospel: Good News or Bad?; 2) Jesus Heralds His Gospel; 3) Jesus Illustrates His Gospel; 4) Jesus Explains His Gospel; 5) Jesus . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 4
In his introduction, MacArthur asks what is perhaps the central question in this debate: “What is the gospel?”36 He says that it is not merely an academic question (and all God’s people say, Amen!). He is exactly right when he writes, “And . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 3
In his preface to the anniversary edition of GAJ (2008), MacArthur tells the story of how this volume came to be—emerging from a series of 226 sermons in the Gospel of Matthew, over the span of seven and one-half years.31 For what . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 2
Before we dive into the preface of GAJ, we should shore up two points from the first installment: 1) The Modernity of Dispensationalism; and 2) The fundamental nature of the distinction between law and gospel. Dispensationalism: A Modern Paradigm Dispensationalism is a Modern . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 1
The controversy over the so-called Lordship Salvation doctrine has its proximate roots in a series of sermons through the gospel of Matthew preached by John MacArthur from about 1978 to 1985.1 He published the first edition of The Gospel According to Jesus . . . Continue reading →
Waltke Lays The Axe To The Root Of Dispensationalism
On the other hand, dispensationalists commit a fundamental hermeneutical blunder when they simplistically base their views, on an ill-defined notion of “the normal, plain” meaning of Scripture, and even worse, against its own fundamental principle, disallow the analogy-of-faith principle that could correct . . . Continue reading →
Waltke On The “Fundamental Error” Of Dispensational Eschatology
With regard to eschatology, dispensationalists commit the fundamental error of leaving the Reformed principle that unclear texts must be interpreted in the light of clear ones, and, instead, they interpret the clear texts of the New Testament epistles in light of the . . . Continue reading →
What Dispensationalism Misses About The Temple
This is a serious interpretive problem for those dispensationalists who argue, in effect, that redemptive history takes a U-turn in the millennial age, as the reality which is found in Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Temple imagery in his own body, supposedly returns to the types and shadows of the Old Testament. Continue reading →
Machen Contra Dispensationalism
But what ought to be clearly observed is that Covenant of Works or Covenant of Life did not offer “salvation.” The word “salvation” implies something from which one is saved. Adam was not lost when that Covenant of Life was given him. . . . Continue reading →
New Resource Page: On Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism describes a way of reading the Bible and a system of theology the nearest roots of which are in the 19th century. There have been premillennial (traditionally known as “chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: From Ryrie To Reformed
There are about 60 million evangelicals in North America. A good percentage of them are part of a nineteenth-century movement known as Dispensationalism, which was founded by the English clergyman John Nelson Darby (1800–82), who was ordained in the Church of Ireland . . . Continue reading →
The Israel Of God
At the center of the debate is the question of “the Israel of God” (Gal 6.16). Of course, this is not a new question. During our Lord’s earthly ministry and after his resurrection and before his ascension, the disciples asked him repeatedly, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1.6). Continue reading →