The Two Popes, Rahner, and Divine Immutability
Even while maintaining immutability in the essence of God, some theologians have recently sought to locate change in the divine persons.
God exists, yet he does not change. He is immutable in his essence as well as in each of the three persons. Certainly, creation changes in relation to God, and we may speak about that change in certain ways (e.g. we once were children of wrath but now are under grace), yet God remains unchanged.... Continue Reading
The Spiritual Ontology of the Church
What we are in Christ defines what we are in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the communion of saints.
The Bible’s simple but unequivocal response to the idea that the church is nothing more than a spiritual version of the Rotary Club, Boys Scouts or any other voluntary organisation is captured in Paul’s words to the Corinthians. “You are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (1 Cor. 12:27). For the apostle... Continue Reading
Is There a Place for Priscilla in Our Churches?
Should women teach theology to men?
I do understand the concerns with upholding the qualifications for ordained leadership, but in our zeal to defend qualified male ordination in our churches, we need to be careful not to restrict women beyond what Scripture teaches. All men and women in the church have gifts and talents that should be used to bless the... Continue Reading
No, Complementarianism Is Not Inherently Misogynistic
Just as complementarian leadership is nothing like how egalitarians portray it, so too complementarian submission isn’t what it has been made out to be.
Just as Jesus’s submission to his Father’s didn’t diminish Him, so too our own submission—whether as a wife to her husband (Eph 5:22) or a congregation to our spiritual leaders (Heb. 13:17)—isn’t about inferiority. It is, instead, an opportunity to imitate Christ! Complementarianism is the belief that God made male and female different and... Continue Reading
A Letter to the Weary Pastor
Sometimes we expect things from ministry that God alone is meant to provide.
Often our ministries will not grow and mature as quickly as we might like, but remember that God’s hand is upon it, pushing it forward at his pace. His slow pace is deliberate. Why? Because God wants us to slow down, to pause, ponder, savor, and celebrate all that he is doing in the world... Continue Reading
The Restless Experientialists
J.I. Packer speaking of two different kinds of Christians we find in the church today.
Restless experientialists are a familiar breed, so much so that observers are sometimes tempted to define evangelicalism in terms of them. Their outlook is one of casual haphazardness and fretful impatience, of grasping after novelties, entertainments, and ‘highs,’ and of valuing strong feelings above deep thoughts. They have little taste for solid study, humble self-examination,... Continue Reading
Peter Martyr And The Second Commandment
The Second Commandment and the use of visual representations.
Peter Martyr was more open than some today to allowing visible representations of Jesus in His humanity. At the same time, he was more restrictive than some today about visual representations of deity. He wrote that visual representations of deity are forbidden because they cannot meet the impossible standard of depicting the indepictable essence of... Continue Reading
Ten Truths about a Liar
It is important we establish a few implications that help us to discern the person and activity of Satan.
There was a time when Satan was not. In contrast, there was never a ‘time’ when the Son of God was not (i.e., The Son is eternal). Satan is created and contingent just as humans are (Col 1:16-17). In Job 1:6, the Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” to which he responded, “From... Continue Reading
Isaiah’s Teaching of Justification by Faith
Witnesses are called, evidence is presented, charges are filed and rebel-lawbreakers indicted.
There still seems to be some debate about whether or not covenant lawsuit is the proper category into which we should place passages where the LORD contends with His people Israel and Judah. Perhaps part of the problem is that we are accustomed to think about justification in terms of the judicial system of Graeco-Roman... Continue Reading
The Word of God Is Not Bound
When you look at Jesus and what he did for us, you begin to realize that it’s an honor to share in his sufferings.
Paul’s words in Philippians 3:10 are astounding. When we suffer for Jesus, we share in Jesus’ sufferings and then experience the power of the resurrection. Sharing in Jesus’ sufferings and resurrection? What a privilege! Paul sits in prison. Prison was familiar to Paul, and conditions varied from the relative comfort of house arrest to much harsher... Continue Reading