You can see a clip of Michael Horton’s Christless Christianity DVD on YouTube.

HT: Kevin Efflandt

Carl Trueman joins the regular panel on Christ the Center to interview Greg Beale about his new book The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism.  The book is a response to Peter Enns’ Inspiration and Incarnation which has become a controversial subject at Westminster Theological Seminary.  The interview touches on Dr. Beale’s criticisms of Enns and sets the stage for what we hope to be several future discussions on Christ the Center.

Here is the link to an article by O. Palmer Robertson on the New Testament Testimony Concerning Civil Disobedience. You have to purchase a Galaxie account to read the whole article, so I would recommend that you do so (for all the great articles availbale there) or access it at a seminary that has a subscription.

Here are some biblical-theological article by T. Desmond Alexander:

Royal Expectations in Genesis to Kings: Their importance for Biblical Theology

Abraham Reassessed Theologically: The Abraham Narrative and the New Testament Understanding of Justification by Faith

Editors Note: I do not necessarily agree with all the views represented in these articles. I would recommend that our readers read O. palmer Robertson’s Gen. 15:6: New Covenant Expositions of an Old Covenant Text to compare with Dr. Alexander’s Article on Abraham.

Introduction

In 1953, Cecil De Boer, the editor of Calvin Seminary’s Calvin Forum published a series of articles criticizing the “new apologetic” of Cornelius Van Til.¹ Jesse De Boer,² the sharpest of Van Til’s critics in these issues, wrote a three-part series published from August to November criticizing Van Til’s use of categories borrowed from idealist philosophy. De Boer³ felt it was impossible to borrow these categories without compromising Reformed orthodoxy. The collective response in the Calvin Forum, led by Jesse De Boer’s articles, has become infamous in Van Tilian circles. The character and tone, coupled with superficial critiques, have placed the August-September 1953 Calvin Forum as the forefather of a series of mischaracterizations of Van Til’s apologetic system. (more…)

Here are some lectures, by Dr. T. David Gordon, on Reformed Worship in an electronic age. I remember that Dr. Pipa recommended an unpublished article by Dr. Gordon on the subject of Reformed Worship during our Reformed Worship course at GPTS. This is something that needs to be considered carefully, especially by church planters.

Greg Reynolds also has some interesting thoughts on the dynamics of the work of the church in a media age. You can listen to his lectures here .

Christ the Center interviewed Dr. Reynolds on preaching in an electronic age. You can listen to that interview here .

Along the same lines, here is the lecture that Dr. Reynolds gave at the 2007 GPTS Spring Theology Conference. The title of the talk was “Print and Pixels: How They Mediate Our Worldview.”

Thanks to R. Scott Clark for pointing out several Meredith G. Kline audio links . The following MP3 audio links are available online:

Kingdom Prologue
Old Testament Exegesis
Old Testament Prophets

There are not many Kline audio files available, so download these before its too late.

CCEF has just published a podcast episode of Ed Welch talking about fear and counseling in the church.  This is an interesting talk and Ed touches on several important issues.

A while ago I posted a list of some favorite biblical theological works, long since out of print and forgotten. Now, in the kind providence of God many of these works have been made available online. Below is a list of some of my favorites and where you can find them:

John Muirhead, The Foederal Transactions Between God and His Church, 1782. Download here .

Charles Colcock Jones, The History of the Church of God During the Period of Revelation, 1861. Download here .

Thomas Peck, Notes on Ecclesiology , 1892 (From the library of B.B. Warfield). Download here .

Stuart Robinson, Discourses of Redemption , 1866. Download here .

Jonathan Edwards, A History of the Work of Redemption , 1786. Download here .

You should download the PDF version of each of these works and use them often!

Is there a vacuum between science and reality? How is the object of God’s self-revelation introduced into the human consciousness? Herman’s answer to that question is depends on how you look at it .

Confronting the certainty of revelation and its scientific expression are three modernist schools of thought; rationalism, and empiricism, and realism. The mind and matter problem in rationalism unsuccessfully leads to an idealism contradictory to life and experience. “It does not,” argues Bavinck, “explain how and why every human automatically and spontaneously gets to ascribing objectivity and independent reality to the things preserved.” At the end of the day rationalism in all its forms and its given starting point cannot produce being.

If idealism cannot make the leap into reality, empiricism denies the immaterial world and leaves us with sheer materialism. Bavinck is noticeably more spirited here in his analysis. Empiricism does not account for immaterial concepts, or those truths not experienced by human beings such as logic and mathematics; and these things have dramatic impact on the material world. Further, in a qualified way, it is entirely unreasonable to demand that the scientist leave her feelings, emotions (passions) at the door before conducting research. These two roads, rationalism and idealism, are flawed just enough to hinder certainty and lead to inaccurate descriptions of life.

So what’s the solution? Bavinck says realism : the starting point for epistemology should be “ordinary daily experience.” For one, philosophy does not create the cognitive faculty; it simply finds it and attempts to explain it. The intellect is acted upon from the sensible world, and once the potential of the intellect (tabula rasa ) is active it immediately starts working according to its own ability (facultas ). What does Bavinck’s realism pay out? It brings us back to the principium essendi . God does not pack innate ideas into us at birth (Plato) or let us pry into idea of his very being (Malebranche), but instead displays his works of creation to the human mind. And there you have it: the groundwork to discuss general revelation. For Bavinck, and for all the sciences, this is not enough; we need the Logos that shines in the world to illuminate our consciousness and lead us from dogma to doxology.

The apex – the high point – the summit of both Christ’s active obedience (law-keeping) and passive obedience (suffering for sinners) happened on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus Christ never suffered more than when He was crushed by the eternal wrath of the Father and forsaken by Him in whose presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. And at the same time, Jesus was actively giving His most perfect climactic obedience to the law: He never loved His Father with all His heart, mind, soul, and strength more than when He was on that cross (“. . . but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” John 14:31) , and He never loved His neighbor as Himself more than when He suffered for sinners on that cross (“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ”). The cross is everything!

And all those who have repented of their sins and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ – they are united with Christ in this very death He obediently suffered on the cross:

Romans 6:4-5 : We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death [into the apex of His passive and active obedience] , in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his [the apex of His passive and active obedience] , we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his [He did the law and therefore He lives in resurrection life, so that we might live in Him!] .

Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ.

So by grace through faith in Jesus, I have participated in the culmination of Christ’s active and passive obedience because I have been crucified with Him where this culmination of His active and passive obedience took place. The cross is everything!

Galatians 6:14 :  But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . .

Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain
Free to all, a healing stream
Flows from Calvary’s mountain.
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever;
[And] my [ransomed] soul shall find
Rest beyond the river. (Fanny Crosby)

In addition to the Bavinck posts I’ve recently been posting short quotes from William Cowper’s (Bishop of Galloway) commentary Patmos (1623) over at my blog. Cowper’s exposition is very devotional, pastoral, and great for sound bites. Check it out.

Rev. 6:9 “The Altar”

[Christ] must be the altar, because the altar sanctifies the sacrifice. Heb. 9:14, “For he offered himself by his eternal Spirit.”

Here is a link to an article by the late Rev. William Still on speaking the truth in love. You will find the article published on page 27. Simply scroll down .

R. Scott Clark has reposted a piece on what it means to be “reformed.”  He addresses the popular minimalistic definition of “reformed” as “Calvinist” or “adheres to the doctrines of grace.”  I agree with Clark who says

The Reformed faith is a contiguous, organic whole. It is a coherent thing. Our theology, piety, and practice are inter-related. We approach God (piety) as we do, by the due use of the ordinary means, because of our theology. We practice the faith by observing the regulative principle of worship and by observing the Christian Sabbath as we do because of our theology and piety.

Though I still use the word “reformed” in reference to credo-baptists who hold to the doctrines of grace, I prefer to say they are reformed in their soteriology to be more accurate.  Granted, there are variations in doctrine and practice among the reformed – the Dutch and Scottish traditions being examples – but the essence of being “reformed” is much larger than soteriology.

Here Sinclair Ferguson explains why we must first have Jesus as a Savior before we can have Him as an example.

Justin Taylor has posted a link with some very helpful background on Roe vs. Wade. I was particularly surprised by the facts! You can read it here.

Updated Video

Guy Prentiss Waters has a new book review over at Reformation 21. Waters considers the historical and theological background for the David Aune edited, Rereading Paul Together: Protestant and Catholic Perspectives on Justification. As is true of almost everything that Waters writes, this review provides a very accurate and informative analysis of the modern discussions over justification. You can find this book review here.

I also want to recommend Dr. Waters’ article in the newly released, The Law is Not of Faith. His contribution to this book (“Romans 10:5 and the Covenant of Works) was a talk he delivered at the 2007 ETS National Meeting.

One day Joseph, who was walking along one of these hot, dirty African roads, met someone who shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. Then and there he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. The power of the Spirit began transforming his life; he was filled with such excitement and joy that the first thing he wanted to do was return to his own village and share that same Good News with the members of his local tribe. Joseph began going from door-to-door, telling everyone he met about the Cross of Jesus and the salvation it offered, expecting to see their faces light up the way his had. To his amazement the villagers not only didn’t care, they became violent. The men of the village seized him and held him to the ground while the women beat him with strands of barbed wire. He was dragged from the village and left to die alone in the bush.

Joseph somehow managed to crawl to a waterhole, and there, after days of passing in and out of consciousness, found the strength to get up. He wondered about the hostile reception he had received from people he had known all his life. He decided he must have left something out or told the story of Jesus incorrectly. After rehearsing the message he had first heard, he decided to go back and share his faith once more.

Joseph limped into the circle of huts and began to proclaim Jesus. “He died for you, so that you might find forgiveness and come to know the living God,” he pleaded. Again he was grabbed by the men of the village and held while the women beat him reopening wounds that had just begun to heal. Once more they dragged him unconscious from the village and left him to die.

To have survived the first beating was truly remarkable. To live through the second was a miracle. Again, days later, Joseph awoke in the wilderness, bruised, scarred—and determined to go back. He returned to the small village and this time, they attacked him before he had a chance to open his mouth. As they flogged him for the third and probably the last time, he again spoke to them of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Before he passed out, the last thing he saw was that the women who were beating him began to weep.

This time he awoke in his own bed. The ones who had so severely beaten him were now trying to save his life and nurse him back to health. The entire village had come to Christ.

(From: Michael Card, “Wounded in the House of Friends,” Virtue (March/April 1991): 28-29, 69.)

In light of this story, can anyone explain to me what it means to not cast your pearls before swine?

All I can say is, “Wow.” It appears that Tullian Tchividjian, Billy Graham’s grandson and pastor of New City Church (EPC), has been asked to accept a call to be the Senior Minister of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (PCA). The call depends on the merger of the two churches. You can read about it here.

HT:Green Baggins

It is my pleasure to inform our readers that the Rev. John V. Fesko, currently pastor of Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Woodstock, GA and adjunct professor of systematic theology at the Atlanta campus of Reformed Theological Seminary, has been appointed the new Vice President for Academic Affairs (Academic Dean) at Westminster Seminary in California and he will also serve as associate professor of ST.  Deo volente, Dr. Fesko will take up his new duties on 1 July 2009.

Please keep the Fesko family in your prayers.

We will be asking Dr. Richard Gaffin this very question on a future episode of Christ the Center. Many understand this question to mean “Am I saved by good works?” All orthodox Christians answer an emphatic “No” to that question. Yet some still understand sanctification to be a fruit of the gospel rather than the gospel itself. Those holding this view often describe justification as the gospel. Still others view sanctification as one facet of a larger gospel message including all the benefits believers have in Jesus Christ (justification, adoption, sanctification and glorification). The answer to question 75 of the Westminster Larger Catechism describes sanctification.

Sanctification is a work of God’s grace, whereby they whom God hath, before the foundation of the world, chosen to be holy, are in time, through the powerful operation of his Spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto them, renewed in their whole man after the image of God; having the seeds of repentance unto life, and all other saving graces, put into their hearts, and those graces so stirred up, increased, and strengthened, as that they more and more die unto sin, and rise unto newness of life.

How do you understand sanctification and its relationship to the gospel message? What are your thoughts?  Comment here or join the discussion at the RF Forums.

We’ve been attempting to hit some of the highpoints of Bavinck’s Prolegomena. His basic presupposition is that the knowledge of God comes through his own disclosure (special revelation) and is contained in Scripture. The discovery of this knowledge is not reserved for a handful of scholars scattered throughout history, but instead is the work of the whole church, as the redeemed people of God, for all time.

Revelation is knowledge, and as such it has a cause and a source. God is the ultimate source of our knowledge of him (principium essendi ). The general sense in which we learn God’s self-consciousness is through his self-communication presented by the word in scripture (principium cognoscendi externum ). The third principle foundation is the internal work of the Holy Spirit (principium cognoscendi internum ) “the illumination of human beings by God’s Spirit.” For Bavinck, these three distinctions are rooted in the being of God, and the method of revelation moves forward on this Trinitarian model.

Well, is it as easy as it sounds? That depends. To defend his view, Bavinck first takes the reader through a literary history of dogmatics. When modern dogmatics began to look for the ‘purest’ source possible for authentic doctrine some (Harnack) put forward that Christian theology was too corrupted by Greek thinking, and confined doctrinal purity to the New Testament era. If that were true, argues Bavinck, then the Trinitarian model of Christian knowledge (along with Paul’s interpretation of Christ) would have been abandoned, and the literary history says otherwise; early Christian writers were at pains to avoid Hellenistic influence when formulating such doctrines as the Trinity. In very broad, generous terms, Bavinck shows that the Church has always received her doctrine from scripture, and that many of the early battles with Greek and Roman philosophers took place over scripture credibility. Despite any objections, at the end of the day Bavinck hangs his hat on the peg of certainty: dogmatics is an objective science, “a mighty attempt to appropriate the truth of God revealed in Christ and to fully understand the essence of Christianity.”

Ben Shaw, Professor of Old Testament at GPTS, has started a series of posts, entitled “Notes on the Bible,” over at GPTS Rabbi. This is obviously inspired by Jonathan Edwards’ Notes on Scripture. Dr. Shaw has already worked his way through most of Genesis and part of Matthew. These are exceptionally helpful exegetical, biblical and systematic expositions of various texts. You can find the most recent links below:

Genesis 1-6; and Matthew 1-2
Genesis 6-12; and Matthew 3-4
Genesis 13-18; and Matthew 5
Genesis 19-23; and Matthew 5:43-6:34
Genesis 24-26; and Matthew 7:1-8:15
Genesis 27-35; and Matthew 8:16-10:39
Genesis 36-40; and Matthew 10:40-12:14
Genesis 41-44; and Matthew 12:15-13:9
Genesis 45-48; and Matthew 13:10-52

I cannot believe that there is an electronic copy of this masterpiece available online. C.C. Jones’ History of the Church of God is an amazing work, written by one of the greatest, yet lesser known, Southern Presbyterians of the 19th Century. The genius of this work is found in the way that Jones attempts to blend Systematic and Biblical Theology as he treats the Old Testament Revelation. I hope that all of you will take advantage of having access to this work. It is almost impossible to find a hard copy.

We have posted the most recent Christ the Center interview over at the Reformed Forum. We had the opportunity to catch up with Dr. Vern Poythress in order to discuss his book Redeeming Science. Dr. Poythress is Professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary, and has written numerous books and articles. In this interview Dr. Poythress that science is not simply compatible with Christianity, but that the Triune God of the Bible is required in order for the very possibility of science to exist. Listen to this broad-ranging discussion that touches upon science, mathematics, the creation days, and a Christian approach to education. You can listen to this episode here.

John Piper has a thoughtful article on Barack Obama’s choosing a homosexual minister to invoke God blessing? You can read here .

D.A. Carson on the wrath of God:

“To speak faithfully of the wrath of God, very often what we most urgently need are tears. A few years ago on a radio talk show with a large audience in Chicago, the host asked several guests to discuss whether anyone could be saved apart from Jesus. Three pooh-poohed the idea in graphic terms. The fourth was a Jewish-Christian believer on the faculty of Moody Bible Institute. His ethnic background was known by everyone there, so when it was his turn to speak, the host baited him by asking him if he thought his fellow Jews could be saved apart from Christ. This Christian brother began to weep, and then to sob quietly, uncontrollably. After a minute or two, the host said that he had never heard a more compelling reason to become a Christian. So we teach the wrath of God, for faithfulness to Scripture demands it; and we follow Jesus and learn to weep over the city.”

(From: D. A. Carson, “The Wrath of God,” in Engaging the Doctrine of God, ed. Bruce McCormack, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 63.)

May God increase our tears, love, and action for the lost and hurting!

HT: Joseph Randall

I am very pleased to announce that Nick Batzig has sustained his ordination trials and will soon be ordained and installed as an evangelist in the PCA, planting a church in Richmond Hill, GA which is just outside of Savannah. Ephesians 4:8-16 tells us that the ascended Lord Jesus Christ has given gifts to his church, among which are evangelists. We are deeply grateful to our Triune God for saving, sanctifying, gifting, and calling Nick to this specific ministry. Those of us who have been called to the ministry of Word and Sacrament know that we are not capable of fulfilling our calling and so we look to our great God and Savior to enable and sustain us. I will miss Nick’s close fellowship, although we will be brothers in the Lord and in ministry no matter where the Lord chooses to place either of us. Philadelphia’s loss is Richmond Hills’ gain.

Nick, we will be praying for you and your family as you enter into this awesome new ministry. May all that you say and do bring honor and glory to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

My wife pointed this out to me the other day. In the first part of this message John Piper quotes various portions of Scripture that he has memorized in order to encourage others to do the same. I would also point out the fine example he sets for ministers of the Gospel, in the way that he reads with passion. You really must listen.

Vern Poythress has been writing articles at the World Magazine website for some time now. Here are a few you should check out:

Second Coming
Small Wonders: Do You Matter to God?
Its Not Fair: We Need a God Who is Just
Feeling Guilty?
Me, Myself, and My iPhone
He Makes Wind Blow
Day of Small Things

Other Poythress articles can be found here.

In our last few posts we rifled through some of Bavinck ’s Prolegomena . His basic presupposition is that the knowledge of God comes through his own disclosure (special revelation, SR) and is contained in Scripture, which is the guiding light of theology. So, which has the ‘rights’ to govern and explain the content of revelation; philosophy (rationalism) or theology (realism)? We shall see.

In Part III of his Prolegomena , Bavinck discusses the Principia of dogma as a science whose object of study is independent of other disciplines. As a science, dogma is driven by its own content (SR) otherwise it would not be “a science concerning God (scientia de Deo ).” Against Bavinck ’s claim is the [qualified] rationalism (Kant, Schleiermacher ) that presupposes the content of dogmatics is dependent on philosophy to make its truths known; e.g., are dogmatic claims made through empirical or idealistic theories? Bavinck says neither , insisting in strong terms that philosophical investigation cannot explain, or stand at the fore of dogmatics as they question the very possibility of God’s revelation: the very foundation of dogma. If theology were to proceed on this course, it could never arrive at certainty. Supposing dogma gets its foundations from another source, the principle of dogma would depend on something other than God’s special revelation.

Bavinck ’s term “borrowed presuppositions” divides the central issue facing dogmatics: the faith of theology and the rationalism of philosophy. He does not, however, divide faith and reason as strikingly as say, Elohim dividing day from night and calling it a done deal. Instead he asserts up front, as he has so consistently maintained everywhere, that, “there is indeed some room in theology for theoretical reflection on fundamental principles,” so long as theologians do their reflecting within Christianity. The weight of Bavinck ’s point rests on the assumption that rationalistic speculation starts with a principle other than revelation and eventually works towards (or away from) faith. Bavinck does not use the term “borrowed presuppositions” to expressly indicate other worldviews ‘borrowing’ their philosophical framework, signs and signifiers from Christianity, and so far it doesn’t seem as if he is heading in that direction. For one, he’s less concerned about apologetics (cf. Bahnsen/Van Till), and for another he is clearing the study of dogma from the subjective “history of religion” approach that entrenched itself in the modern approach to theology.

It is so tempting to roll right into Bavinck’s discussion of the problem of evil/origin of sin, with the aim of demonstrating the consistency of his theory and practice. But our next few posts will at least draw a few more thumbnail sketches of Bavinck’s views on general and special revelation, before plunging into the deep problem of darkness.

The latest version of the popular BibleWorks software is now available.  This updated version includes several new features including a new analysis tab, phrase-matching tools and a cross-reference window.  If you already have BibleWorks 7, you can upgrade for less than half the cost of BW8.  Otherwise, wtsbooks.com has the full version.

CCEF’s latest episode of Help & Hope features David Powlison talking about CCEF and the history of biblical counseling.  You can subsribe to the podcast in iTunes or in your preferred reader.

I just finished reading two books not related to my dissertation research. That in itself is interesting. Over the Christmas break in Canada I went and saw the new movie Valkyrie with Tom Cruise. At the very least, Cruise actually looks like the main character in the real story. The movie depicts an all too real tale of heroism and tragedy. The tale of the German resistance to Hitler and Nazism during the Third Reich is amazing and awe-inspiring (sadly ironic is the fact that I just went out to my car and found a swastika etched in the snow on the window which was summarily wiped off). The story is recounted in several books. The account which I have just finished was by a man involved first hand in the resistance. Many Germans worked tirelessly to bring down the Nazi juggernaut and I came away from that book (entitled Valkyrie by Hans Bernd Gersavius) thankful for common grace. Men and women put their lives in jeopardy not once but over several years. The resistance amazingly reached to the highest levels of the German civilian and military government (including SS officers). It is a complex tale of mixed and varied motives. Yes, I am thankful for the Christians who worked for the resistance. But I am glad that those who were not Christian, but because they were made in God’s image and reflected that (albeit imperfectly) in the pitch black night of Nazi Germany, also did the right thing (yes, I actually believe Nazi Germany was a bad thing and that the holocaust really happened). I am so thankful for God’s common grace. We couldn’t live without it.

The other book I finished was Iain Murray’s second volume of his mammoth biography of David Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Especially moving was the recounting of Ml-J’s last days and how he welcomed his home-going. I have been truly blessed as I have worked through this two-volume set. At the end of the day I believe ML-J’s desire has been met: that God be glorified in the telling of the Doctor’s story. ML-J realized that he was a debtor to God’s mercy and grace alone. This was a salient reminder to me. I too am but a debtor to God’s mercy and grace alone. At the end of the day, when I stand before the great God of all, it is not my good deeds or other accomplishments to which I will appeal (there are none!). Not at all! I will stand before the judge of all the universe and claim the perfectly obedient life and sacrifice of my dear Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. I am looking forward to seeing my Lord when he calls me home. But there are other family members to meet and greet (and by family I mean brothers and sisters in the Lord, although I am blessed that many of those are also biological family members). I hope to sit down and talk a little while with David Martyn Lloyd-Jones. And he is only one of so many! Of course we will really be busy casting down crowns before our great and glorious God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As the hymn Amazing Grace has it, “when we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, than when we first begun.”

I am so thankful for God’s superabundant grace: both common and special.

His birth was mean on earth below. But it was celebrated by Hallelujahs by the heavenly host in the air above; He had a poor londging, but a star [brought visitors] to it from distant countries. Never [did] a Prince have such [visitors] so conducted. He had not the magnificent equipage that other kings have, but He was attended with multitudes of patients, seeking, and obtaining healing of soul and body; that was more true greatness than if He had been attended by crowds of Princes. He made the dumb that attended Him to sing His praises, and the lame to leap for joy, the deaf to hear His wonders, and the blind to see His glory. He had no guard of soldiers, nor magnificent retinue of servants, but the Centurion who had both, acknowledged that heath and sickness, life and death, took orders from Him: even the winds and storms, which no earthly power can control, obeyed Him; and death and the grave dare not refuse to deliver up their prey when He demanded it. He did not walk upon tapestry, but when He walked upon the sea the waters supported Him. All parts of creation, excepting sinful men, honored Him as their Creator. He kept no treasure but when He had occasion for money, the sea sent it to Him in the mouth of a fish. He had no barns or cornfields, but when He inclined to make a feast, a few loaves covered a sufficient table for many thousands. None of all the monarchs of the world gave such an entertainment. –By these and many such things, the Redeemer’s glory shone through His meanness, in the several parts of His life.1

At the end of March I will be presenting a paper at the Jonathan Edwards and Scotland Conference at the University of Glasgow. The Jonathan Edwards Center and Glasgow University are hosting what looks like a very stimulating conference. Speakers include David Bebbington, Wilson H. Kimnach, and Michael McClenahan. You can check out the conference schedule here. The title of my paper is “Edwards, McLaurin and the Transatlantic Concert of Prayer.”

Donn Arms has a brilliantly written post about a not-so brilliant plan for pastoral responsibilities. This is something that every pastor should give serious thought to.

The more things change the more they stay the same…

I would take some notice of another thing, observable in the writings of Dr. T. and many of the late opposers of the more peculiar doctrines of Christianity, tending (especially with juvenile and unwary readers) not a little to abate the force, and prevent the due effect, of the clearest scripture-evidences in favor of those important doctrines; and particularly to make void the arguments taken from the writings of the apostle Paul, in which those doctrines are more plainly and fully revealed, than in any other part of the Bible. What I mean, is this: These gentlemen express a high opinion of this apostle, and that very justly, for his eminent genius, his admirable sagacity, strong powers of reasoning, acquired learning, etc. they speak of him as a writer of masterly address, of extensive reach, and deep design, everywhere in his epistles, among in every word he says.

This looks exceedingly specious: it carries a plausible appearance of Christian zeal and attachment to the Holy Scriptures, to bear such a testimony of high veneration for that great apostle, who was not only the principal instrument of propagating Christianity, but with his own hand wrote so considerable a part of the New Testament. And I am far from determining, with respect at least to some of these writers, that they are not sincere in their declarations; or, that all is mere artifice, only to make way for the reception of their own peculiar sentiments. However, it tends greatly to subserve such a purpose; as much as if it were designedly contrived, with the utmost subtlety, for that end. Hereby their incautious readers are prepared the more easily to be drawn into a belief, that they, and others in their way of thinking, have not rightly understood many of those things in this apostle’s writings, which before seemed very plain to them. Thus they are prepared, by a prepossession in favor of these new writers, to entertain a favorable thought of the interpretations put by them upon the words and phrases of this apostle; and to admit in many passages a meaning which before lay entirely out of sight; quite foreign to all that in the view of a common reader seems to be their obvious sense; and most remote from the expositions agreed in by those who used to be esteemed the greatest divines, and best commentators. As to this apostle, being a man of no vulgar understanding, it is nothing strange if his meaning lies very deep; and no wonder then, if the superficial observation of vulgar Christians, or indeed of the herd of common divines, such as the Westminster Assembly, etc. falls vastly short of the apostle’s reach, and frequently does not enter into the true spirit and design of his epistles. They must understand, that the first reformers, and indeed preachers and expositors in general, for fifteen or sixteen hundred years past, were too unlearned and short-sighted, to be capable of penetrating into the sense, or fit to make comments on the writings, of so great a man as this apostle; or else had dwelt in a cave of bigotry and superstition, too gloomy to allow them to use their own understandings with freedom, in reading the Scripture.

But, at the same time, it must be understood, that there is risen up now at length, in this happy age of light and liberty, a set of men, of a more free and generous turn of mind, of a more inquisitive genius, and of better discernment. By such insinuations, they seek advantage to their cause; and thus the most unreasonable and extravagant interpretations of Scripture are palliated and recommended: so that, if the simple reader is not very much on his guard, if he does not clearly see with his own eyes, or has too much indolence, or too little leisure, thoroughly to examine for himself, he is in danger of being imposed on with delusive appearances.

But I humbly conceive, that their interpretations — particularly of the apostle Paul’s writings, though in some things ingenious — are in many things extremely absurd, and demonstrably disagreeable, in the highest degree, to his real design, to the language he commonly uses, and to the doctrines currently taught in his epistles. Their criticisms, when examined, appear far more subtle, than solid; and it seems as if nothing can possibly be strong enough, nothing perspicuous enough, in any composure whatever, to stand before such liberties these writers indulge. The plainest and most nervous discourse is analyzed and criticized, till it either dissolves into nothing, or becomes a thing of little significance. The Holy Scripture is subtilized into a mere mist; or made to evaporate into a thin cloud, that easily puts on any shape, and is moved in any direction, with a puff of wind, just as the manager pleases. It is not in the nature and power of language, to afford sufficient defense against such an art, so abused; as, I imagine, a due consideration of some things I have had occasion in the preceding discourse to observe, may abundantly convince us.*

I pray that our great God will preserve us from the kind of handling of the Sacred Word that Edwards identifies and rightly chastizes here.

* This is found in the conclusion of The Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended in The Works of Jonathan Edwards: Vol. 3/Original Sin. Clyde E. Holbrook, ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1970), 434-37.

Editor’s Note: We previously wrote a post in which Edwards dealt with the arguments now espoused by proponents of the “New Perspective on Paul,” which, by the very fact that Edwards deals with them, proves that they are not, in any way, “new.” You can read that post here.

R. Scott Clark has announced that he will be blogging the 2009 Westminster Seminary California Conference on John Calvin. You can subscribe to the feed here.

There will be frequent updates and photos; the coverage begins at 6:00 PM sharpPacific time Friday night, 16 Jan. Clark will be posting links to the live blog at the HB also.

Dr. Clark has informed us that the Conference is just about sold out. This blogging endeavor will help those who cannot go be able to benefit from the talks.

The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation has launched a new website.  I previously published a post on the new podcast.  This revamped site is rich in content and should be extremely helpful for pastors, counselors as well as lay people.

Michael Ives, over at West Port Experiment, is giving away five copies of John Mackay’s Thomas Chalmers: A Short Appreciation. Michael has done a good bit of blogging about Chalmers–specifically in regard to Chalmers’ focus on deaconal mercy ministry. You can find out more about the giveaway here.

Desiring God is also promoting a giveaway until January 9th. This time they are giving away the Scholar’s Library from Logos, a pair of tickets to the Pastor’s Conference, and a Logos John Piper sermon manuscript library. There are several chances to win one or more of these goodies. You can find out more and apply here.

The Ligonier Ministry Blog has posted an article by Sinclair Ferguson on Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions. Ferguson offers an extremely insightful analysis of the Resolutions, emphasizing Edwards’ age, theology and spiritual maturity. You can read the article here.

The Christ the Center guys have begun a new venture. The Reformed Media Review is our attempt at providing audio reviews of new releases. The latest episode is here. In this episode we discuss at some length T. Desmond Alexander’s new book From Eden to the New Jerusalem.

If you haven’t noticed, we have recently added another member to the Feeding on Christ blog. Joel Heflin recently posted an introduction to a brief study we will be doing on Herman Bavinck’s Dogmatics. Joel was born in Portland, OR, and has spent much of his life on the west coast between Orange County and Vancouver BC. Joel’s dad is a Baptist pastor (CBA) and inspired his love for Puritan studies early on. Prior to finishing his undergrad, Joel began working in his field of fine arts in the SoCal area, and later did graduate work at Regent College. Joel worked closely under profs. Hans Boresma, J.I. Packer, and Paul Helm, who supervised his thesis on the Puritan and Socinian controversy over election. He is currently authoring book reviews and articles for several theological journals, and works for a small publishing company editing and typesetting 17th c. Puritan works. He and his young family currently reside in Muskegon, Michigan.

We welcome Joel to the blog and are excited about his contributions!

Derek Thomas preached on the doctrine of Hell at the 2008 GPTS Spring Conference. The theme of the conference was “A Reformed View of the End Times.” You can listen to Dr. Thomas’ message here.

John Webster, Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Aberdeen, has a number of audio lectures online. You can find his series, “Perfection and Presence: God with Us, According to the Christian Confession,” here. These were part of the Kantzer lectures at Trinity Evangelical Theological Society. Dr. Webster also has a lecture on the subject of mercy, given during the Christianity and Ethics Conference at the Garret Evangelical Theological Seminary. You can listen to that here.