The Family Tree of Reformed Biblical Theology
All I can say is, "this book looks amazing!" If only it were written by a Presbyterian! ...
Keep ReadingSadly, many professing believers approach the gifts of the Spirit by overvaluing the idea of the miraculous spiritual gifts (e.g., tongues, prophecy, healing) and undervalue the common spiritual gifts (e.g., salvation and sanctifying fruit). Holding faulty views of the miraculous spiritual gifts is usually due to a failure to grasp the redemptive-historical purpose of the gifts. When we come to understand the biblical teaching about the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit and the ordinary gifts of the Spirit, we will better value the greater and continuing gifts in the life of the church today....
When each of the Old Covenant signs (i.e., the rainbow, Sabbath, circumcision, and the Passover) are viewed in light of the fulfillment of all that they typified, we come to understand a great deal about the work of Christ...
As we enter a new year with new personal goals and desires, the Lord wants His people to commit to Christian living among the members of the body. We must resist the urge to look to practices and programs in the local church to live out the Christian life or do the work of ministry for us. Our God has given us the enormous privilege and responsibility of diligently living out, daily, our Christian lives in Christ. Let’s commit ourselves to the practice of seeking to live the organic Christian life in the context of the local church to which we belong. ...
The reason why Mary sang a song of humility is because she was focusing on what God was doing to provide the Savior she needed. Mary had been waiting on God to fulfill the promises that He had made throughout the Old Testament era. Mary doesn't speak of herself or her privileges because Mary was focused on her need for redemption. ...
We rightly wonder of the coming of the eternal Son of God into the world in true human form while wrongly neglecting to wonder at the accompanying role of the Spirit of God in the ministry of the Redeemer....
In many of life’s circumstances, we struggle to understand how we will come to attain the promises of God, forgetting that their fulfillment is entirely based on the person and work of Christ. Jesus has secured an everlasting joy, an inheritance of hope for His people through His death and resurrection. Though we do not now see all that he has for us, we wait for him with patience. We are to be a people who trust in and wait for Christ in faith....
While recent developments concerning the state of Israel have given us reason to revisit this subject--it would do us good to be settled in our minds about the fact that all who are united to Jesus by faith have been made children of Abraham and heirs of God (Gal. 3:29). Believers are the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem (Phil. 3:20). This is the only Jerusalem that ultimately matters. As John Newton put it, "Solid joys and lasting treasures, none but Zion's children know."...
The restorative Sabbath-day healings foreshadowed the ultimate healing that Christ secured for believers in the resurrection on the last day. The Sabbath healing of the man with the withered hand (Matt. 12:9–14) was tied to Jesus’ gospel invitation: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:28–29, emphasis added). Jesus purchased eschatological Sabbath rest for His people by taking upon Himself the judgment they deserve when He hung under the wrath of God on the cross. Picking up on Psalm 95:7–11, the writer of Hebrews alluded to the abiding hope of entering into eternal rest in glory with Christ, since Jesus entered into His everlasting rest _(Heb. 3:7–4:12)....
Understanding the marks of a true church ought to be of supreme importance to every believer. How can we know if any given church may be rightly considered to be a true church or not? The principles that enable us to answer this question have been systematically developed for us in church history. The Reformation era was a particularly formative movement in the development and articulation of the doctrine of the marks of the church. ...
All I can say is, "this book looks amazing!" If only it were written by a Presbyterian! ...
Keep ReadingFor the last two, maybe three years, I've listened to Montgomery Gentry's song titled, "Long Line of Losers." I always loved it, and still do, however, it was not till about a week ago that something hit me while I sat in the library studying and listening to the song. Something so simple, and yet so glorious in the Gospel that I had over looked in the words of this son...
Keep ReadingWe’ve been sifting through some of the high points of Bavinck’s doctrine of God, offering up small, somewhat uncritical summaries of his thought. In volume two Bavinck has an almost throw-away statement that carries a cautionary tone and is even little haunting: “there is no guarantee of a better job, preferment or worldly gain that comes with the knowl...
Keep ReadingThe most recent sermon audio and video from New Covenant Presbyterian Church is online. The text from this past Sunday morning was Acts 5:12-42 and the title was "Above All Earthly Powers." And, yes, the title was ripped off from a sermon by Phil Ryken, who borrowed the words from Luther's hymn A Mighty Fortress is our God. You can listen to Phil's sermon here. It was prea...
Keep ReadingJohn 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 20:27-28 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and plac...
Keep ReadingHere is a really outstanding post by Tim Keller on how to read and benefit from the Proverbs. What Keller says in this article is absolutely necessary for a right understanding of individual Proverbs. I would only add (as I assume Keller would) that the Proverbs need to be read in their redemptive-historical context, namely, how Christ realizes in Himself and exemplifies t...
Keep ReadingHere is the link to Roy Taylor's presentation of the proposed PCA strategic plan....
Keep ReadingPart four of Christ the Center's series on Christ and Culture is now available online. You can listen here. In this episode Dennison, Hart, Kloosterman and Wilson present their various views on common grace, natural law and eschatology....
Keep ReadingI've met plenty of dog lovers, cat lovers, horse lovers and even reptile lovers, but I have never met a donkey lover. Donkeys are not highly sought after animals. They rate low on the totem pole of animal desirability. They are the Datsun or the Hyundai of animals. You never hear someone saying, "I really want a donkey for Christmas." And yet, it was a donkey that our Lord...
Keep ReadingLast year Jeff Waddington wrote a post in which he had taken a picture of B.B. Warfield's handwritten manuscript of the farewell address that he gave to graduating students from PTS in 1914. Jim O'Brien, in his own peculiarly observant manner, noticed something in the picture that may be more impressive than the handwritten manuscripts. Jim wrote, "What struck me more th...
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