Should We Stop Using the Expression “Reformed Faith”?
We should speak of a Christian faith, theology, and confession, from a Reformed, Orthodox, or Lutheran perspective
There is a “Reformed faith” insofar as that shorthand expression refers to a particular theology, piety, and practice. Insofar as, however, that theology, piety, and practice is catholic (universal) it is not particular to the Reformed churches. So the question is really how to signal the one, i.e., that which unites us with the church... Continue Reading
Intinction: An Historical, Exegetical, and Systematic Theological Examination
Intinction affects one of the three marks of the church: the correct administration of the sacraments
If the PCA standards are so crystal clear, why are we having this intinction debate? Why are some churches practicing intinction? The proposed amendment to the PCA Book of Church Order would serve to clarify the theological symbolism of the sacrificial character of Christ’s death, which is what our distinct sacramental actions of eating and... Continue Reading
Neo-Calvinism and Distinctive Christian Living: A Response to Darryl Hart’s Quibble
I believe that the same moral law that binds Christians is written on the hearts of nonbelievers as natural law
The fact remains that even in the works that Christians do that look just like the best works of the most morally admirable nonbelievers, the context for the former distinguishes them from the latter. Last week at Old Life Darryl Hart graciously ventured his agreement with my basic statement of the two kingdoms doctrine... Continue Reading
What to Do When Your Child Is Nothing Like You
The gospel answer to the challenges posed by family differences.
It’s impossible for a person to completely abandon her original culture in order to enter a new one. (Nor is it theologically consistent with the work of Christ, who didn’t abandon his deity in order to become man.) As much as parents would like to identify with our children, we can’t change everything about who... Continue Reading
Hope for Prodigal Children
Parents must not give in to the temptation to presume their prodigal children are bound for glory
If parents, who are primarily responsible for training up their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, choose not to admonish for fear of driving their faithless children farther away from home, their fear might ultimately reveal their own faithlessness as well As a pastor, I am often faced with the difficulty... Continue Reading
Why C.S. Lewis Was Wrong on Marriage (and J.R.R. Tolkien Was Right)
Lewis surrendered his central conviction when he argued for "two distinct kinds of marriage."
Now younger evangelicals are reacting against that and are attempting to develop a robustly Christian social ethic that holds all of creation accountable to the claims of Christ. It’s an undeniably positive and most welcome development. However, it is important to understand that evangelical commitments to both the pro-life cause and the preservation of traditional... Continue Reading
The Bible’s High Calling to Conform to God’s Moral Character
What about making a priority of giving God pleasure in the way we handle our sexuality?
We may feel that because our technology is superior to that of previous generations, so our morality must have evolved to be superior too. We or our friends may want to embrace some of the acts these authors claim God forbids. In our hearts, we are convinced our sexuality is ours alone. Asking some of... Continue Reading
On Keeping Christmas
Christmas: Is it a day to be ecclesiastically set apart as a ‘holy’ day?
The birth of Jesus was solemnized by armies of angels; they had their music and their songs on this occasion. But how different from those generally used among mortals! “Glory to God in the highest, on earth, peace, good will to men!” This was their song. But is the music and dancing, the feasting and... Continue Reading
Brothers, We Are Not Perfectionists (2)
The objective truth and reality of God’s actions for us in Christ do have experiential, subjective consequences for us
Now, however, in Christ, there is a decisive break in the old reality. The new reality, introduced in Christ, is that we no longer belong to the law for righteousness and we no longer belong fundamentally to sin. We have been justified and the Spirit who raised us from death to life is at work... Continue Reading
A Parody: John the Baptist’s Conversation with Herod
Several new non-standard versions of an old conversation
He told Herod to consider the fact that he was breaking the law of God. Herod, you are living in sin. You have broken the law of God, and unless you repent you will perish. John the Baptist was probably thinking, “I may lose my head over this, but I’m going to say it anyway.”... Continue Reading