Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Rounding Out the Traditional Doctrine of Justification Justification and the Church The traditional Protestant doctrine of justification fails to fully hold together the soteriological (forgiveness of sins) and the ecclesiological (covenant membership). This is part of a larger problem, of course, namely, the dichotomizing of church and salvation. Biblically and…
John Piper’s book, Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002) is, from any perspective, a passionate work. Nevertheless, I find I need to disagree with parts of it. The reason I do this is not because John Piper’s book does…
What follows is a handout for a Sunday School class I have taught recently at my church . Presbyterian doctrine teaches what the Bible says about God sovereign control over history and his unconditional choice (election) to bring some people to everlasting glory while allowing others to remain in unbelief…
“Covenantal Nomism” sounds like a description of tiny contract-loving creatures who live underground. But it is actually a recent term used to describe the pattern of religious belief and practice in first-century Palestinian Judaism. The idea is that God graciously establishes a structured relationship based on promises, a “covenant,” with…
What follows deals primarily with two essays, one by Dr. Douglas Kelly and the other by The Rev. Richard Phillips . My reason for writing this essay is that many people are confidently saying things about N. T. Wright that I believe are contrary to fact. I choose Dr. Kelly…
The Bible is often treated as a book of rules with directions for living. To some extent, that is true; but it is neither the whole truth nor the most important truth about the book. Ultimately, the Bible is a story about God and man and their reconciliation in Christ.…
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Four times Babylon is called “Babylon the great” ( Babulon he megale ) in Revelation, and the uses of the phrase form a simple chiasm: A. Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, 14:8 B. Babylon the great is remembered before God, 16:19 B'. “Babylon the Great” on forehead of harlot,…
Stan Van Hooft's Cosmopolitanism pays closer attention to religion themes than many works on this theme. He clearly recognizes the role that religion plays in human life, and criticizes Martha Nussbaum for her avoidance of the point: Despite basing her description on an analysis of the cultural productions and literatures…
Paul-Francois Tremlett ( Levi-Strauss on Religion ) provides this neat precis of the central claim of Levi-Straussian structuralism: “new way of thinking about questions of culture and cultural difference. Language had been seen as a transparent medium for expressing thoughts and for describing or re-presenting objects. In structuralist thought, however,…
When Paul lived among the Thessalonians, he wasn't a layabout and didn't ask them for any necessities. He paid for everything he got (2 Thessalonians 3:7-8). Paul did have the right ( exousia ) to ask for food and shelter. He brought spiritual gifts, and could have expected material gifts…
It took a parody. I devoted a section of a chapter in Deep Exegesis to Peter Enns’s work, I’ve critiqued him on my blog here and here and here , as well as the similar work of John Walton, here and here . To my knowledge, neither Enns nor Walton…
The verb “descend” ( katabaino ) is used ten times in Revelation, and the uses form a neat pattern: A. Jerusalem (3:12) B. Angel in cloud with book (10:1) C. Devil (12:12) D. Fire of false prophet (13:13) E. Hailstones (16:21) B'. Angel with glory (18:1) C'. Angel to bind…
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