The Multifaceted Gospel

There has been quite a debate in recent years over the definition of the word ‘gospel.’ Now, right there many of my readers (if I may be so bold as to presume multiple) are ready to write this off as another instance where scholars waste time and ink arguing about things we already know.  After [...]

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They Shall Know Us By Our… Sacraments?

I have a great appreciation for Carl Trueman.  For those who don’t know, Trueman is a theologian and historian who teaches at Westminster Theological Seminary.  He also blogs regularly at Reformation21.  He is one of the wittiest and most insightful writers out there, one from whom I’ve learned much. Part of what I like about [...]

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Are We Actually Saved from Our Sins?

It’s been roughly a month now, but my mind keeps wandering back to a post I read by R C Sproul Jr. called “Five Evangelical Myths or Half Truths.”  In it, as you can imagine, Sproul writes about 5 sayings commonly heard in the evangelical world that either aren’t true at all, or aren’t completely [...]

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Death: Gift? Punishment? Both?

I read the following quote in Jim Hamilton’s book God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment (a book I’m reviewing and have enjoyed thoroughly) during his discussion on the sentence of death in Genesis 3 (p78), and it got me thinking. Adam, at the moment of his sin, brings death into the world.  Death is alienation [...]

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Biblical Theology in the Church

The biblical theologian who writes in the service of the church does so to elucidate the biblical worldview, not merely so that it can be studied but so that it can be adopted. James Hamilton, God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment, page 45.

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Dumbrell on Kingdom, Covenant & the New Creation

Within a covenant structure, the Old Testament held out a programme of ideals for a perfected people of God.  But the Old age did not reach that goal.  Now [sic] did the New.  Neither has our own.  The kingship of God sought expression through a whole web of relationships which successive covenants both pointed towards and [...]

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Knowing God: God’s Wisdom and Ours

What?  Did you think we forgot about this series? J I Packer carries the theme of wisdom from Chapter 9 into Chapter 10 of his classic book, Knowing God.  Whereas Chapter 9 dealt more with God’s wisdom, Chapter 10 dives into how God grants wisdom to His people and what that wisdom looks like.  In [...]

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Keener and Marshall- for Free!

In continuing effort to recommend quality resources that are available for cheap, I’m letting you know about two great resources available online for free.  And free is, as you know, the cheapest of cheap. Craig Keener and The Pneuma Foundation have made available Keener’s notes for a class on Biblical Interpretation (link for zip file [...]

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Complicated Ground

Stephen Prothero, a professor at Boston University’s department of religion, has written a short opinion article in response to a New York Times piece written by the Dalai Lama.  I think it is worth a read, though it may be a slight overreaction.  After reading the Dalai Lama’s article, it seems to me that Prothero [...]

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Knowing God: God Only Wise

Wisdom can be a slippery word to define these days.  I suspect that most Americans would equate wisdom with intelligence or sagacity.  More practically, wisdom might be defined as the ability to make “good” choices.  Most of the time when I say that I made a “wise” choice, this is all I really mean:  It [...]

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