I have edited this post from it’s original form. I want to be exceedingly careful in what I say about subjects in which I have a formed opinion, but that need to be refined through more study. I hope that this quote from Calvin on Romans 2:13 will suffice as an explanation of my defense of Rick Phillip’s interpretation of it here. Commenting on Romans 2:13, Calvin wrote:
For the hearers of the law, etc. This anticipates an objection which the Jews might have adduced. As they had heard that …

We’ve created a public group on FriendFeed to allow for real-time discussion of the happenings at Reformed Forum.  This is a nice, lightweight way to run a discussion group.  We tried more traditional forums, but they didn’t seem to pan out.  FriendFeed is a great service that lets you connect your Twitter account, blogs and other RSS feeds into one place.  It’s a lot like Twitter, but has several additional features.  Join our public Reformed Forum group and post a question or discussion topic.
http://friendfeed.com/reformedforum

There is an interesting structure to the book of Galatians. Paul is, of course, writing this letter because of the threat of the Judaizers who came in to spy out the liberty of the Christians. The Judaizers were saying that one needed Christ and law-keeping (as represented by circumcision) to be accepted by God. The apostle Paul, as you well know, would not tolerate this perversion of the Gospel for even one minute. Therefore, in his defense of the Gospel and it implications he draws several contrasts. They are as …

Here .

Christ the Center will be live Thursday 5/28 at 9AM Eastern. Join us at Reformed Forum and login to ustream.tv or FriendFeed to chat.

I love this!

Here is the audio from the 2009 Next Conference :

The Preeminence of Christ (Joshua Harris)
Christ’s Incarnation (D.A. Carson)
Christ’s Life (Kevin DeYoung)
Christ’s Death (C.J. Mahaney)
Christ’s Resurrection (Sinclair Ferguson)
Christ’s Return (Sinclair Ferguson)

HT: Justin Taylor

Christology is not a dense jungle of theories. Think of it instead as a densely populated region of ideas and traditions. One quarter is made up of Gnostics; another quarter is modernist and so on. Navigating the data takes time and energy and after a day’s work one may wonder if they accomplished anything, or whether it matters. It does. This is the area of dogmatics, Bavinck would say, one needs to know where not to be after dark.

Rick Phillips has a very helpful article, over at Reformation 21, in which he gives careful attention to the major passages that are often appealed to in order to support the “so-called” doctrine of “future justification according to works.” This is an extremely important discussion, as it deals with matters of Christians truth and assurance. Even if you are not familiar with the debate surrounding the New Perspective(s) on Paul, I think this will be a very beneficial article for you. You can read the whole thing here.
R. Scott Clark …

Noted Christian philosophical theologian Jay Wesley Richards has written an interesting and popular level book defending capitalism from a Christian perspective.  Richards, who has been connected with the Discovery Institute in Seattle (and so is connected with the intelligent design movement) and written such books as The Untamed God, now is connected with the Heritage Foundation.  The new book is entitled Money, Greed, and God:  Why Capitalism is the Solution and Not the Problem.  In this book, Richards addresses eight myths related to capitalism.  This is a useful defense of …

Banner of Truth has recently published an interesting volume by Strasbourg reformer Martin Bucer entitled Concerning the True Care of Souls. You can obtain the book here , here , and here .  You may remember that Bucer was a mentor to John Calvin, especially during Calvin’s exile to Strasbourg between his two stays in Geneva.  Peter Beale provides a readable translation and the late David F. Wright has written a very informative historical introduction.  Bucer discusses Christ’s rule of his church and the various offices within the church.  …

Dr. Greg Beale recently delivered a thoughtful lecture on inerrancy and John’s Apocalypse which can be heard here.  Just in case you wondered whether the doctrine of inerrancy was superimposed on the text or whether it arises from a close and careful reading of the text, this lecture should help to answer your questions.  Let’s just say that key to the discussion is the nature of the God who reveals himself.  Is he faithful and true?  The answer should be obvious…yes!

I’ve been surveying Heidegger in order to get a better handle on the contemporary Roman Catholic scene and came across this interesting section by Michael Inwood in his Heidegger: A Very Short Introduction.  As one who shaves his head out of genetic defiance, this struck me with a “special” significance.
I may become bald, through no choice of my own and with no possibility of regrowing my hair.  Most human beings have a certain bodily, biological structure which differs markedly from that of other creatures and they have only limited possibilities …

Over at Historia Salutis, the Rev. Jim Cassidy has a very nice explanation of two of our Lord’s miracles recorded in Mark 6. The divine nature of Christ is exhibited in His mighty works as the Good Shepherd, the God of Israel spoken of in Psalm 23 and elsewhere in the OT. You can read it here .

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard someone in the church warn against proof texting. Proof-texting, of course, is that method of defending theological truth by means of appeal to one particular verse of the Bible. I readily admit that often proof-texting is abused and used to draw faulty conclusions. This is most evident in the false teaching of the cults and heretical sects of Christianity–specifically with regard to their doctrine of God, Christ, man and salvation. Within orthodox Christianity, it is seen in the realm of …

When Anna and I were in Glasgow we worshiped at St. George’s Tron.  Edward Lobb, who is an Associate Minister at the Tron and the Director of Cornhill Training Course in Scotland, preached from Malachi the evening we were there. I am convinced it is the one of the best expositions of the book I’ve heard. If you want to understand God’s prophetic word through Malachi, I recommend listening to the messages below. I especially recommend the fifth sermon in the series:
The People Who Have Grown Tired of God
Faith …

The following messages were given by Sinclair Ferguson at the 2004 BASICS Conference:
His Sufficient Word – 2 Tim. 3
His Eternal Election – Ephesians 1
His Transforming Spirit – Romans 8

Alistair Begg has recently made all of the audio from the 2002-2008 BASICS Conferences available free. Among the many good speakers and lectures there are several by Eric Alexander. The following were given at the 2002 BASICS Conference:
Samuel’s Ministry ( 1 Samuel 12)
Thirsting After God (Psalm 63)
Q & A ( Dick Lucas, Eric Alexander, and Derek Prime)
HT: Monergism

I distinctly remember being at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia when Sinclair Ferguson preached this sermon. What struck me most was the way he said that all the promises of God are, to us who believe, “Yes and Amen” in Christ because He said ‘yes’ to the all the promises of God, even to the promise of covenant curses. It was a memorable message. You can listen here.

Here is the link to Park Community Church’s evening of lectures with D.A. Carson and John Piper. The lectures had to do with the role of scholarship in pastoral ministry. If you have time you should listen to theses messages, as well as to the Q & A discussion. You can find the  audio, video, or manuscript of Piper’s message. D.A. Carson’s message is also available in audio, video, and manuscript format. The Q & A can be listened to in audio or video.
HT: Justin Taylor

Here is the link to a very special Christ the Center interview with Eric Alexander. This interview is timely with the release of the website constructed in honor of Rev. Alexander. I think this interview is a nice introduction to the life and ministry of one of the best preachers in our day. I have been most recently listening to his series on Galatians, and am convinced that it is one of the clearest and most edifying expositions of the book.

Here is the most recent article Paul Helm has posted on his blog. It is typical, insightful (and on this occasion, sarcastic) Helm on Christianity and culture.

Please Watch this video and pass it on to friends and family. If you have a blog please post it. This is one of the most important messages that anyone could speak into our culture. Let us pray that the Lord puts an end to this great evil:

I am pleased to inform you that Westminster Theological Seminary has just unveiled a new website dedicated to dealing with issues about the relationship of science to religion raised by Dan Brown’s novel Angels and Demons , a prequel to his bestseller The DaVinci Code .  A website devoted to the DaVinci Code phenomenon is also online and sponsored by the seminary as well.  With the release of the movie Angels and Demons in theaters this Friday, these websites will undoubtedly be useful resources.

For some time now I have been trying to get Tommy Keene, Adjunct Professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, to write exegetical posts for those of us who would like to freshen up on our Greek. Tommy has recently written a post on the exegesis of 1 Corinthians 15:26 (a verse claimed by all millennarians of all stripes)! You can read Tommy’s thoughts here.

A little over a month ago Josh Espinosa and I had the opportunity to sit down with Roland Barnes, Terry Johnson and Carl Robbins to discuss lessons learned from 20-30 years of pastoral ministry. You can listen to the interview here. I would also recommend that you visit the various websites of the churches these men minister in to listen to their sermons. These three ministers have preached consecutively through many books of the Bible during their ministries.

We’ve paused to consider Bavinck’s discussion of eschatology as prologue to the incarnation. Its pretty serious stuff. It takes over the OT function of prophecy and recasts it according to fulfillment then sends it out into the world as the kingdom. How the kingdom looks depends on how one views the incarnation: they are inseparably linked. Through a careful discussion of modernist Christology Bavinck warns us against dividing up the kingdom by separating the historical Christ from the mystical Christ from the Synoptic Christ all the way down to the …

Actually, its better never to be late.   Seriously, I am pleased to note a new commentary on the book of Acts by David Peterson, senior lecturer in the NT at the Moore Theological College in Australia and former principal of Oak Hill College in London.  This mammoth study is the latest addition to the Pillar Commentary series which includes such prestigeous volumes as D. A. Carson’s work on John and Leon Morris’ volume on Romans.  David Peterson has written or edited other helpful volumes such as Engaging with God , …

I am very pleased to note that my good friend, brother in Christ, and colleague in the gospel ministry, Nick Batzig has a very insightful article over at Reformation21 entitled “God’s Obedient Son.”  This is a fine redemptive historical treatment of Christ’s baptism and temptations in the wilderness with an admirable stress on the two Adams.  Top notch stuff.
In the same issue of Reformation21 you can find a very perceptive and thought-provoking article by Carl Trueman on his experience at very “relevant” academic “worship” service, “Look, It’s Rubbish! …

Well, if you haven’t figured out by now, it should soon become abundantly evident that Eric Alexander and Sinclair Ferguson are two living preachers and theologians for whom I have the highest esteem. Robert M. Walker, an elder in Bishopbriggs Free Church of Scotland and committee member of The Scottish Reformed Conference, recently brought these conference audio MP3’s to my attention. The theme of the Conference was ‘Glory.’ You see the titles and download the files below:
ERIC ALEXANDER
The Glory of Christ
SINCLAIR FERGUSON
The Glory of the New Covenant
The Glory of Christian Service