“Reformed Theology” is Shorthand for: “Understanding-the-Bible Theology”
A Reformed understanding of the bible explains the human condition.
Historic Reformed theology is a way to understand most of the reasons why we do what we do, because it is an understanding of the bible’s covenantal themes. Reformed theology is Covenant Theology, which is the underlying doctrine of the great exchange. That is the good news of the imputation of our sin to Christ,... Continue Reading
Sanctification Signaling
Religious affectionism is what makes evangelicals (even those who think they are Calvinist) so unreliable in either ecclesiastical or civil matters.
The pursuit of nice often ignores both sides of a disagreement. It opts for the third way without really sorting out what’s right and wrong in the controverted issues. Which means, that love or nice is its own sort of polemical meanness because in taking no side and offering no alternative except to say “love”... Continue Reading
The Work of the Pastor
Richard Baxter unstintingly applied the Biblical work ethic to the pastoral task.
Baxter’s pastoral work ethic is undeniable. His energy is passionate and unrelenting. His enthusiasm is in evidence on every page. Both his rhetoric and his practical counsel are charged with passion for Christ, the doctrines of grace, the purity of the church, the necessity for clerical holiness, the discipling purposes of education, and the high... Continue Reading
The Last Enemy
We need a renewed emphasis on our future resurrection, not as a fine point of theology, but as the hope that helps us when we face our last enemy.
Since we’re all going to die, a good part of the Christian life must be preparing to die. We need to talk about it often. We need to sing songs that anticipate that day and help to prepare us. We often live as if death isn’t our reality. Life is short, and the inevitability of... Continue Reading
The Forgotten Attribute of God
Why Modern Theology Abandoned Aseity and Why We Must Recover It Today
Doctrines like aseity are a better means for affirming modern impulses to avoid philosophical captivity, to offer apologetic relevance, and to stay attuned to sound exegesis than the alternatives offered by modern theology. Aseity remains one basis in the doctrine of God for Christian appreciation of the gratuitousness and victory of God. Aseity refers... Continue Reading
Dorothy Leigh and Her Advice to Her Sons
Her voice is honest, direct, humble, and insightful, facing with clarity and discernment many important issues in light of Scripture and for the glory of God.
Her book, The Mothers Blessing, was written as a letter to her grown children after their father had died. This was an acceptable form of writing for women. What was unexpected was its reception. Printed soon after her death (1616), it became an instant success, so much that 23 editions were published before 1674. ... Continue Reading
A Theology of Equality
Some forms of inequality are not unjust; they are simply the form of creation.
Some equality is good and should be fought for: equality before the law, and equal access to the Gospel. Some equality is impossible and is like chasing rainbows: equality of outcome for all, equal pay for all people, equal education for all aptitudes, equal roles for different sexes, ages, and abilities. When God made... Continue Reading
Correct Doctrine Conforms to Godliness and is a Means of Great Contentment, But False Doctrines do Neither
What we understand as Orthodox Christianity is not very satisfying to the unregenerate.
The false teacher is puffed up with conceit (τετύφωται) and understands (ἐπιστάμενος) nothing (μηδὲν). What a description! The word τετύφωται (tetyphōtai) describes people who are full of pride and insolence. They are ‘drunk’ with pride and their hearts are lifted up not only against man but also against God. That sure explains why their eyes... Continue Reading
‘Most Free’
It is interesting that while much attention has been given to free will at the creaturely level, comparatively little has been devoted to divine freedom.
The Confessionally-minded Reformed theologians of the 17th century understood that the divine action does not, and cannot depend on, or is affected by, anything that is not ultimately in the character and will of God. In other words God’s freedom is freedom from any factor outside of God, who is after ‘most wise, most holy’ and... Continue Reading
Counter-Cultural Aseity
God’s Aseity in the Old Testament
In the beginning only God existed, and he created all things by his very word. The skies, the land, the seas, plants, animals, bugs, fish, and finally humans. All of this, God did in and of himself—the Triune God working within himself to create out of nothing the whole of everything. This picture of the... Continue Reading