The Late-Modern Oppression Olympics In Biblical Perspective

by on May 13, 2019

If you are, as I am, bewildered at the sight of biological males competing in female athletic events (e.g., track, wrestling, and weight lifting) or by the sight of wealthy, privileged Yale undergrads screaming at faculty members (for writing a memo asking for toleration for diversity in Halloween costumes), or by the prospect of a leading scholar and physician of gender dysphoria being banned from social media platforms for daring to suggest that minors should be required to wait until age 21 before undergoing permanent sex-reassignment surgery), or by rhetoric that implies that the social and economic conditions of ethnic minorities in the USA is virtually unchanged since the 1860s, there are two words that provide at least a partial explanation: subjectivism and oppression. Continue reading →

Canons Of Dort (30): God’s Gracious Assurance Of Perseverance

by on May 11, 2019 | 1 Comment

The single most frequent way to corrupt the doctrine of perseverance has been to turn it into a covenant of works. This happens regularly outside the Reformed churches. E.g., the Romanists teach that, in baptism, sins are graciously washed away, initial justification . . . Continue reading →

Canons Of Dort (29): The Reality Of Sin And Grace In The Christian Life

by on May 7, 2019 | 1 Comment

One of the great and persisting differences between the Reformed and Remonstrant (Arminian) confessions is the difference between the Reformed realism about the Christian life as distinct from the latent Remonstrant perfectionism, i.e., the Pelagianizing doctrine of entire, sinless perfection short of . . . Continue reading →

Office Hours On The Canons Of Dort With Herman Selderhuis

by on May 6, 2019 | 1 Comment
Office Hours Video

2018–19 is the 400th anniversary of the Synod of Dort. We have been observing this anniversary this year, which is the 10th season of Office Hours. Many people know about the so-called Five Points of Calvinism but fewer people know that those . . . Continue reading →

Canons Of Dort (28): Our Sovereign God Administers His Gospel Freely And Humans Are Responsible For Free Choices

by on May 2, 2019 | 2 Comments

As the confessional Protestant churches understood the Scriptures, the only universal revelation to all persons in all times is the natural revelation of God and of his moral law. This natural law was insufficient to save anyone but it was sufficient to . . . Continue reading →

Canons Of Dort (27): The Reformed Distinguish Law And Gospel

by on April 29, 2019 | 1 Comment

When we think of the Synod of Dort and their rulings (canons) against the Remonstrants (Arminians) we tend to think about the doctrine of sin or the doctrines of unconditional grace, election, and the like but there were structural, subterranean issues at . . . Continue reading →

The Reformation Of Vocation

by on April 27, 2019

In the period between the early post-apostolic church (e.g., the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD) and the Reformation (beginning in the early 16th century AD) the church came to develop some unbiblical and therefore unhelpful and unhealthy ways of relating creation and . . . Continue reading →

Canons Of Dort (26): Perseverance Is Good News For Sinners

by on April 25, 2019 | 1 Comment

Under this head of doctrine we have considered the errors that Synod rejected—the Remonstrants turned the perseverance into a covenant of works—so now we turn to what Synod confessed positively about how Christ graciously preserves his people through their pilgrimage in this . . . Continue reading →

Choose Your Metaphors Carefully: The Church Is A Pasture Not A Business

by on April 17, 2019 | 2 Comments

35 years ago, when I began seminary, the “church growth” movement was hitting its stride. In a course taught by an adjunct professor with a Harvard MBA we were taught how be efficient just the way successful CEOs are. Later, in the . . . Continue reading →

Romans Series: The Power of God For Salvation (21)

by on April 12, 2019

Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →