Clarifying Scripture’s Perspicuity: A Look at the Old Testament
As John Frame expresses, “When God speaks, he at the same time assures us that he is speaking.”
In Deuteronomy 6:6–7, God spoke to Israel and said: “these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you... Continue Reading
My Times are in Your Hand
Trust is what we do because we know the person who is in control.
David was living through times that were full of anguish and tears. And yet he is able to say these times were in God’s hand. Not the Devil’s hand, or the hand of his enemies, or the hand of fate. They were under the Lord’s control, they were in his keeping. And he trusted the... Continue Reading
Hope Springs Eternal
Christians know the hope that there is purpose behind all of it, an overruling providence that sustains in the darkness and points toward the light.
I remember some years ago when my sixteen year-old neighbor spent a summer trying to learn how to ride a skateboard. He persisted through embarrassing falls and hostile temperature. And why? I fancy it was because it seem a cool thing to do (and perhaps the girls would love him for it). By the same... Continue Reading
The Bible Doesn’t Say Jesus Walked Through Locked Doors
The body with which Jesus entered the tomb was the same body with which He rose three days later.
Christians have built up an entire folk theology around the alleged discontinuity between Jesus’ body pre and post-resurrection. But the teaching of Scripture and Christian history places clear boundaries on our speculations. Jesus rose with a real human body. He still has it. Flesh and blood may not inherit the kingdom of God, but flesh... Continue Reading
The ABC’S of Reformed Apologetics
If Christians are to bring the Gospel to the world they should do so through a Reformed apologetical method.
This is what Van Til sought to do in his own day in his responses to modern philosophy.2 It is only through a truly reformed, presuppositional apologetic that we may adequately challenge the wisdom of the world. What exactly, then, are the central theological tenets of a reformed apologetic? During the later part of... Continue Reading
Poor Interpretation Lets Us “Believe” the Bible While Denying What It Actually Says
In order to delight and meditate on the law of the Lord, we must understand correctly what Scripture actually says.
You can believe in the inspiration and even inerrancy of God’s Word, but because your subjective interpretation doesn’t center on the author’s (and Author’s) intention, but on what seems right to you and the secular or church culture, the Bible isn’t really your authority. You don’t let it correct your thinking but walk away with... Continue Reading
Human Dignity, Justice and the Death Penalty
We should maintain that God's truth in inviolable, and let it form our understanding of justice.
With regard to justice, there is a whole conceptual change indicated in Pope Francis’ position. A traditional conception of justice regarding murder or similarly heinous crimes is that death is a just penalty, and to give a lesser penalty is mercy. This is no slight to mercy, for God is both just and merciful, and mercy is to... Continue Reading
The One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church
Christians have a remarkable ability to skew what the Bible’s teaches about the church.
When churches recover this ancient vision for the church in all its fullness and glory, they will not only discover more of the beauty and joy of being part of the body of Christ, we will become more effective in our efforts to reach the world with the gospel entrusted to us. Christians have... Continue Reading
How Much Should I Study Doctrine?
How could I hope to have a fully functioning faith if I never nailed down the finer points of Christology and pneumatology?
You’re not a pastor or a theologian—you’re just an earnest Christian who doesn’t have the luxury of spending your days buried in Berkhof either. You know that doctrine matters, but it’s difficult to know how much time to devote to it among the demands of everyday life. You’re not agile with cross-references, you don’t know... Continue Reading
Gracious Confidence Is More Appealing Than Angst and Doubt
Why not express our delight in our Savior’s teaching instead of our despair over how hard his commands may seem?
I get it. It’s tough to present the beauty of Christianity in a culture in which the plausibility structures are set against you, in a pluralist society that sees all evangelism as intolerant, in an age that sees one’s self-expression (especially sexually) as fundamental to identity. Yes, it’s tough. We can all feel that pressure.... Continue Reading