A few correspondents have contacted me to ask about the continuing controversy over the doctrine of republication. It seems as if it might be useful to try to put this discussion in some context. In its most basic form, the doctrine of . . . Continue reading →
This episode of Office Hours tackles Hebrews 7:11–7:17. Who was Melchizedek and why is Hebrews so interested in him? What does the connection between Melchizedek say about Jesus and the nature of his priesthood? Why didn’t the Levitical priesthood bring perfection? How was . . . Continue reading →
The Mosaic law itself did not originate the notion of personal obedience de novo, since it recapitulated a more fundamental creational principle of righteousness through obedience to the Creator’s covenant stipulations. Further, the Mosaic law did not introduce a new way of . . . Continue reading →
When we read about Israelite unbelief prior to crossing the Red Sea we are tempted to think, “Tsk, tsk. Shame on them for their unbelief. Didn’t they know that the Lord would part the waters, lead them through on dry ground, and . . . Continue reading →
One of the most difficult questions in describing the history of redemption is to give a clear, concise, account of the differences between the old and new covenants. When I say “old covenant” I’m not referring to everything that happened before the . . . Continue reading →
For the [Mosiac] covenant was a legal covenant solemnly agreed, by which the people were obligated to present, by their own strength, perfect obedience to the Law (Matthew 22). Since the Law is the eternal rule of righteousness in the divine mind . . . Continue reading →
Wendy writes, I remain confused as to why God in being ‘more generous’ has actually also made it ‘more ambiguous’. Wheras under the Old Covenant the command (and its benefits) were explicit, under the New they must be deduced by inference…. I . . . Continue reading →
It will now be asked, what manner of covenant was that at Mount Sinai, which is called the worst covenant? What kind of covenant was it? Sol. In general, it was a covenant of works, as to be fulfilled by Jesus Christ, . . . Continue reading →
XLVIII. Secondly, we more especially remark, that when the law was given from Mount Sinai or Horeb there was a repetition of the covenant of works. For those tremendous signs of thunders and lightnings, of an earthquake, a thick smoke and black . . . Continue reading →
In March I had the privilege of contributing to the 9 Marks blog. The point of my post there (and here) was not to argue the specifics of the paedobaptist (infant baptizing) case but, nevertheless, in response to that contribution a correspondent . . . Continue reading →
I believe that people who reject infant baptism, for example,—I think they’re wrong—but I believe they’re zealous about it because they want to practice the sacraments the way they believe God intended them to be practiced. And they believe it would be . . . Continue reading →
Back in 2002 I gave a chapel talk on Exodus 4:24–26. It’s a difficult but not an impossible text. “At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint . . . Continue reading →
Μὴ οὖν τις ὑμᾶς κρινέτω ἐν βρώσει καὶ ἐν πόσει ἢ ἐν μέρει ἑορτῆς ἢ νεομηνίας ἢ σαββάτων· 17 ἅ ἐστιν σκιὰ τῶν μελλόντων, τὸ δὲ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ (Col 2:16–17) Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of . . . Continue reading →
Moses is one of the most important figures in the history of salvation. Scripture refers to an entire epoch of redemptive history as “Moses.” Through him the Lord redeemed his people from Egypt, through the Red Sea, on dry ground. Through him . . . Continue reading →
Introduction Since the early to mid-19th century, American evangelical Christianity has been largely dominated by a set of assumptions about the nature of redemptive history and the progress of revelation that may be called Baptistic. Not everyone who holds these assumptions or . . . Continue reading →
In the last episode, in this episode and in the next, we’re looking at what Scripture says about the new covenant. We’ve looked at what Jeremiah 31:31-34 actually says, how Paul interprets it, and now we want to turn our attention to . . . Continue reading →
This is a significant question for many evangelical Christians, particularly for those influenced by Dispensationalism. E.g., Charles Ryrie, a self-described “classic” Dispensationalist,1 wrote: …Even though a dispensation ends, certain commands may be re-incorporated into a later era. Nine of the Ten Commandments . . . Continue reading →
And herein is a solemn prefiguration of the implanting of believers of all nations into the covenant and faith of Abraham; for this name he received upon the solemn establishment of the covenant with him, as the apostle explains the place, Rom. . . . Continue reading →
Obs. III. Divine institutions cease not without an express divine abrogation.—Where they are once granted and erected by the authority of God, they can never cease without an express act of the same authority taking them away. So was it with the . . . Continue reading →
I get this question frequently but it is not the right question. Continue reading