In part 3 we began looking at a document, from 1978, which proposed a two-stage doctrine of justification. It recognized that there is some risk, some difficulty, in speaking of a present justification and a future justification. Nevertheless, the document contends that . . . Continue reading →
…they gloried in the mere knowledge of it: to obviate this mistake, he declares that the hearing of the law or any knowledge of it is of no such consequence, that any one should on that account lay claim to righteousness, but . . . Continue reading →
In part 2 we considered Romans 2:13 in its own context (Romans 1:18–3:20) and the impulse to distinguish between an initial stage of justification sola gratia, sola fide, on the basis of Christ’s righteousness imputed, and a final stage of justification in . . . Continue reading →
In part 1 we began looking at a neglected aspect of the current controversy over justification and sanctification. What has been neglected is a 1978 proposal that, at the judgment, “faithful disciples” will be justified before God through their faithfulness. The current controversy . . . Continue reading →
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 of . . . Continue reading →
In 1529, one of Luther’s principal opponents, Johannes Eck (1486–1541) published the first edition his Enchiridion Against Luther and Other Enemies of the Church a refutation of the Protestant errors. Under the heading, “De fide et operibus” he proposed thesis that “faith . . . Continue reading →
The standard by which saints and sinners are judged will evidently be the revealed will of God. This is not the same for all. Some have been privileged above others, and this naturally adds to their responsibility, Matt 11:21–24; Rom. 2:12–16. This . . . Continue reading →
XVII. Further, if it is asked here whether the sins of the pious equally as well as of the wicked will be revealed, we answer that the negative seems more probable to us. (1) On account of the judge, who since he . . . Continue reading →
During this season, which many Christians call “Holy Week,” I am perversely drawn to Saturday. Perhaps it is because the Saturday between “Good” Friday and Resurrection Day is, for others a sort of relief. For them it is a day off from . . . Continue reading →
John Hagee, the controversial leader of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio (anointed by none other than W. A. Criswell) has announced that the series of lunar eclipses (tetrads) that began about 2:00 AM today, which will be repeated in October 2014, April . . . Continue reading →
1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. 2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. 3. Abolition of all right of inheritance. 4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. 5. . . . Continue reading →
in communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but each can become accomplished in any branch he wished, society regulates the general production and thus makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to . . . Continue reading →
It is a common canard among Dispensationalists that Reformed theology must teach that the church “replaces” Israel. They call this “Replacement Theology.” That must is what is known as an a priori, something that someone “knows” before they’ve actually looked at the . . . Continue reading →
THE SECTS. We therefore condemn all who deny a real resurrection of the flesh (II Tim. 2:18), or who with John of Jerusalem, against whom Jerome wrote, do not have a correct view of the glorification of bodies. We also condemn those . . . Continue reading →
The fawning, spineless adoration of Israel and of all things Jewish is decidedly sub-Christian; it runs against the grain of biblical revelation; it lacks the courage of its most fundamental convictions; it disenfranchises the Palestinians by assuming that the negation of their . . . Continue reading →
One of the more disturbing aspects of the Federal Vision program is its doctrine of final justification. Let’s be clear here: Protestants have no such thing. We do not not equivocate (use the same word in two senses at the same time) . . . Continue reading →
Recently I had a question asking whether “covenant theology” is so-called “replacement theology.” Those dispensational critics of Reformed covenant theology who accuse it of teaching that the New Covenant church has “replaced” Israel do not understand historic Reformed covenant theology. They are imputing . . . Continue reading →
More than 30 years ago, when I first came into contact with Reformed theology, piety, and practice (the Reformed confession broadly defined), I also came into contact with a movement within the Reformed world known as “Christian Reconstructionism” and its child “theonomy.” . . . Continue reading →
Kim Riddlebarger’s excellent book, A Case for Amillennialism is now available for Kindle. I just got my copy (to go along with the print version on my shelf). You never know when you might need to make reference via mobile device. Here’s . . . Continue reading →
Bill asks, [C]ould you give me a quick answer to who the two witnesses are in Rev 11:3, and the identity of the two olive trees and two lamp stands in verse 4? Dear Bill, I understand the Revelation to have been . . . Continue reading →