(1) Rev. 3.17 has been connected with Laodicea’s unaided recovery from the earthquake of Nero’s reign (Ramsay, SC, p. 428)/ The eivdence here might be variously read, but I argue the strong probability that the reference is to a later stage of . . . Continue reading →
New Testament Studies
Becoming Barnabas: The Example Of Encouragement (Part 5): Encouragement In Conflict
Pursuing any vocation costs something. To be a lawyer or physician, you invest years in school to learn the trade. Being a parent costs continually setting yourself aside for what someone else needs from you. Being a spouse costs giving up flexibility . . . Continue reading →
Becoming Barnabas: The Example Of Encouragement (Part 4): The Encourager Behind The Scenes
When you think of your house, what is the first part that comes to mind? You probably envision the things you can more readily see. You think about the siding and how pretty your home looks from the outside. Or you think . . . Continue reading →
Fighting for Gospel Truth and Freedom: An Exposition of Galatians 2:1–10 (Part 2)
Paul is continuing with his apologetic apostolic autobiography—to defend the gospel against the Judaizers. What happened when Paul went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas? What should we, with the Galatians, learn from Paul’s story? Thanks be to God, first, the truth of . . . Continue reading →
Fighting for Gospel Truth and Freedom: An Exposition of Galatians 2:1–10 (Part 1)
People often say, “Freedom is not free. You have to fight for it.” This is true in the realm of individual liberty. And it is true all the more in the realm of the gospel, because if you believe the gospel of . . . Continue reading →
Not Man’s Gospel: An Exposition of Galatians 1:11–24 (Part 2)
Paul is recounting how the false teachers from Jerusalem—the Judaizers— challenged his apostolic credentials. They also believed that Jesus is the Messiah, that he died for sinners and rose from the dead. But they rejected Paul’s “faith alone” gospel, that we are . . . Continue reading →
Not Man’s Gospel: An Exposition of Galatians 1:11–24 (Part 1)
Presbyterians adhering to the Westminster Standards do not follow the church calendar as a matter of conviction. We do not observe various man-appointed holy days. We observe fifty-two God-appointed holy days per year—the Lord’s Day. Many American evangelicals will observe not only . . . Continue reading →
Astonishing Gospel Apostasy: An Exposition Of Galatians 1:6–10 (Part 2)
It is absolutely astonishing for anyone to desert the gospel of grace and peace for another so-called gospel. That is why we see next the double damnation of “other gospel” preachers in verses 8–9: But even if we or an angel from . . . Continue reading →
Astonishing Gospel Apostasy: An Exposition Of Galatians 1:6–10 (Part 1)
“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” This timeless bit of parental advice is usually given to children prone to complain about everything and everyone—all the time. There are many adults who could still benefit from . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast: Superfriends Saturday: Are the Length of Creation Days and the Age of the Earth in Genesis 1 Markers of Orthodoxy?
In this episode of the Heidelcast, the Superfriends talk about creation days. Continue reading →
Becoming Barnabas: The Example Of Encouragement (Part 3): Words Can Go The Distance
I remember standing in a parking lot as my dad panicked that gas prices approached one dollar per gallon. The panic that my dad and many other consumers experienced led to another fallout that remains with us today, the concern for mileage. . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast: Superfriends Saturday: Paul’s Response to the Judaizers in Galatians: Circumcision, the Law, and Our Justification
In this episode of the Heidelcast, the Superfriends talk about Paul’s Response to the Judaizers in Galatians. Continue reading →
A Letter To Recovering Pharisees: An Exposition Of Galatians (Part 2)
As we continue in our exposition of Galatians 1:1–5, we are reminded of the key issues driving this epistle: Do Gentiles need to become Jews in order to be justified? Or is Christ all sufficient as our righteousness? Thankfully, we have the . . . Continue reading →
Becoming Barnabas: The Example Of Encouragement (Part 2): What’s In A Name?
Think of your most trusted confidant and ask yourself why you welcome his input. What causes you to trust his advice and be open to whatever he might say? What about that person makes you feel like even his hard feedback will . . . Continue reading →
Unlocking Matthew’s Genealogy
Matthew opens his Gospel with a genealogy whose arithmetic has long been regarded as problematic. After tracing the line of promise from Abraham to Jesus (Matt. 1:2–16), Matthew divides the genealogy’s history into three sets of fourteen generations, totaling forty-two (Matt. 1:17). . . . Continue reading →
Becoming Barnabas: The Example Of Encouragement (Part 1): Introduction
The Acts of the Apostles contains some truly epic accounts of what Jesus continued to do and to teach as he worked from heaven through his appointed church officers (Act 1:1). We easily focus on Peter, who preached the first Christian sermon, . . . Continue reading →
A Letter To Recovering Pharisees: An Exposition Of Galatians (Part 1)
Martin Luther called Paul’s letter to the Galatians his “Katie Von Bora,” the name of his dear wife. In God’s grace, Luther had a wonderful marriage; as a former monk, he had never expected to be married.1 So Luther meant that this . . . Continue reading →
Two Peoples of God?
Dispensationalism has fallen on hard times. What was the dominant eschatological view of twentieth-century Evangelicals, dispensationalism today is overshadowed by the resurgence of postmillennial eschatology and the ever-stalwart amillennial position. This article offers a brief critique of dispensationalism. My remarks about dispensationalism . . . Continue reading →
Misrepresenting God Or Bearing False Witness Against God?
Did Paul Allude To The Ninth Commandment In 1 Corinthians 15:15? Christ (and his apostles) lived a millennium and a half before the invention of the printing press; as individuals, they did not own Bibles (or any other books). Most would have . . . Continue reading →
Words and Things December 2023—Acts 20:28
Our story begins in the dining room where Dr. and Mrs. Clark recently hosted my wife and I during our recent visit to Westminster Seminary California for a short teaching stint. Since we never want to pass up an opportunity to be . . . Continue reading →