Although Old Testament anticipation (whether in prophetic words or in “types,” those “incarnated prophecies” embedded in Israel’s concrete historical experience) and New Testament fulfillment are bound together by strands of similarity, the move from promise to fulfillment, from “shadow” to “reality” (in . . . Continue reading →
Scripture
Dennis Johnson On Scripture As A Tapestry
Without ignoring the obvious fact that the Bible contains many stories, spanning thousands of years, with many participants, …the individual stories [are] threads woven into the pattern of a single tapestry: the Big Story of the Creator-King whose inscrutable wisdom, justice, and . . . Continue reading →
The First Thing A Christian Must Know
You do not have to hang around Reformed teachers and pastors very long before hearing about “guilt, grace, and gratitude.” We like it because it is a handy summary for the structure of the Christian religion. And it is a way to . . . Continue reading →
Textual Criticism Does Not Challenge The Authenticity of Scripture
It is important for now however to note that the Reformed orthodox did not see variant readings as impacting the purity of Scripture. Indeed, the Bible commentary that was so associated with the Westminster Assembly that it became known as the Westminster Annotations (1645-57) . . . Continue reading →
Discovering the Benefits of Memorizing Scripture: The Book of Romans
“C’mon, Mom. Let’s do it.” When a daughter suggests memorizing a chapter of the Bible together, what can you say? So we memorized the eighth chapter of Romans this past spring. And I have to say, it was exhilarating! My spirit soared . . . Continue reading →
“Did God Leave Me When I Enrolled In Seminary?”
A former student of mine many years ago at Westminster Seminary California once mentioned that he was feeling concerned about his devotional life since beginning seminary—a thought many first-semester seminary students have. He said that before attending seminary, he had an active . . . Continue reading →
Thomas Müntzer’s Doctrine Of Scripture And Revelation
Müntzer stretched Karlstadt’s distinction between the Spirit and the flesh still further by discarding baptism altogether and by setting aside the Scriptures as in themselves constituting no more than a dead letter. ‘Bible, Babel, bubble!’ was his slogan. A. Skevington Wood, “The . . . Continue reading →
Warfield: What the Perspicuity Of Scripture Does And Does Not Do
The third property of Scripture adduced, is its perspicuity (section 7): and here again the Confession is no less precise and guarded than clear and decided in its assertions. The perspicuity of Scripture is sharply affirmed, in the sense that the saving . . . Continue reading →
Inerrancy Is The Historic Christian View Of Scripture
One of the questions that came up during the Q & A at the conference (audio forthcoming) this past weekend in Bakersfield was something to the effect that, given the research done in the 1970s and 80s on the inerrancy of Scripture, why . . . Continue reading →
God Is Truth And Speaks Only Truth
1. God, who is Himself Truth and speaks truth only, has inspired Holy Scripture in order thereby to reveal Himself to lost mankind through Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord, Redeemer and Judge. Holy Scripture is God’s witness to Himself. 2. Holy . . . Continue reading →
Implicit Faith In Holy Scripture
Therefore, as regards the primary points or articles of faith, man is bound to believe them, just as he is bound to have faith; but as to other points of faith, man is not bound to believe them explicitly, but only implicitly, . . . Continue reading →
What Is True Faith? (6) Grounded In God’s Inerrant Word
Last time we saw that faith is a gift. The Evangelical Theological Society met in Baltimore this week. They discussed the inerrancy of Scripture. My former colleague and now frequent critic, John Frame, gave the plenary address defending the inerrancy of Scripture. . . . Continue reading →