No Harbor In My Own Righteousness (Sibbes)
"I will rest in that righteousness which God has wrought by Christ, who is the God-man."
Sibbes is saying that on the one hand, we need to understand our sin and be humble because of it. On the other hand, we need to understand our Savior and realize that in him God sees us as perfect, forgiven, justified. One of the greatest things about being a Christian is knowing that... Continue Reading
The Ordinary Means of Soul Winning
Many Christians simply aren’t aware that God has provided the church with particular means for winning souls.
But in the end, they are only true churches if they are committed to the ordinary marks of the church to the end that souls might be rescued for Christ, that they might become faithful disciples of Christ in all of life, that they might receive the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and... Continue Reading
Rachel Miller Contra Mundum? The 5 Solas and John Piper, Part 1
Piper is arguing that the whole of the so called Five Solas relate only to Justification; in particular, one can only say that we are justified by faith alone.
Sola fide does not have reference to Justification alone, the benefit that answers our guilt; sola fide likewise applies to Regeneration/Sanctification/Glorification, the benefit that answers to our corruption, since faith itself is the instrumental cause of both. Truly these benefits are what constitutes salvation in its fullest sense. If we cannot separate these benefits, and if they are strictly speaking... Continue Reading
Reading the Prophets With The New Testament (1)
The importance of interpreting the Old Testament prophets in light of how the New Testament authors understood them
The Modernists were often guilty of sloppy biblical interpretation (hermeneutics) but the fundamentalist turn to science as the category in which to think about biblical interpretation was also misleading. They appealed to science as the model because they wanted to stress the objectivity of the truth of Scripture and the clarity of Scripture. Some of them, however,... Continue Reading
Ten Brief Lessons on the Ten Commandments
One who does not seek to live by the Ten Commandments does not simply have a problem with the law. He or she has a problem with love, with Jesus, and with his interpretation of the Bible.
The Ten Commandments were given to the redeemed. The Remember that the Ten Commandments were given to Israel after they had been delivered out of Egypt, not before. They were not a code given for Israel to earn there way out of slavery; these commandments were given to them as the redeemed people of God. The Lord reminds... Continue Reading
Saved by Grace!
I know my good works are neither the cause nor the foundation of my salvation.
We hence conclude, that God does not pay us a debt, but performs what he has of himself freely promised, and thus performs it, inasmuch as he pardons us and our works; nay, he looks not so much on our works as on his own grace in our works. It is on this account that... Continue Reading
The Task of Responsible Christian Communication
If σωφρονισμός refers to “the teaching of prudence,” then the ends of Christian teaching must include the cultivation of prudence in the minds of learners.
Last Friday morning I shuddered to see Scott Swain wasting of his brilliance in a tweet thread. I’m sure it was beneficial for the many who saw it, but I wanted more. And I was hoping for a format that wouldn’t disappear in a newsfeed in less than 24 hours. So I asked him if he... Continue Reading
What to Call the So-Called New Calvinists?
It seems high-time to make clear the difference between Neo-Calvinism and Neo-Puritanism again.
For the past five years, there has been a lot of discussion about the rise of a new group of Calvinists. Groups like The Gospel Coalition are encouraging and celebrating how a new generation of believers seem to be embracing Reformed theology. In a recent lecture at the bastion of “Old Calvinism,” Westminster Seminary, John Piper defined the New... Continue Reading
Salvation by Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone
No one in in the evangelical world is teaching salvation by works and certainly not in the Reformed world! Right?
Piper is saying that we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone but that there is also a final salvation separate from justification that includes our works. In this way, he says, we are saved through faith AND works. This is not simply sloppiness or poor wording. This is what he is teaching, and... Continue Reading
Jesus Already Called, But We’re Not Listening
Why is what God has already given us not enough?
It’s such a marvelous thing to read the Old Testament and see what that means for the New Testament. Reading the New Testament most assuredly draws our attention back to the Old Testament and should raise questions about what God was doing. You can spend a lifetime of study of just the Bible and never... Continue Reading