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Romans

The Politics of Justification

The doctrine of justification is precious among Protestants. And it should be. The fact that God has declared our sins forgiven and that we have a righteous standing in the sight of God united to Christ is comforting and brings great joy. Unfortunately, the biblical teaching on justification is, many…

by Bill SmithNovember 21, 2017
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Priest

What is a Priest?

The Old Testament priests were given a number of seemingly disparate duties. As everyone knows, the priests led the sacrificial worship of Israel; only the priests could sprinkle blood on the altar or within the tabernacle, and only they could approach the altar to turn sacrificial animals into smoke. But…

by Peter LeithartNovember 17, 2017
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Liturgy

Ite, Missa Est

M issional ecclesiology is all the rage these days, but for many being “missional” means downplaying or even eliminating concern for the “internal” life of the church, particularly its liturgical life. Missional and liturgical, mission and communio , are locked in zero-sum combat. That cannot be right. The liturgy is…

by Peter LeithartNovember 14, 2017
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Romans

The New Gospel

An old friend of mine, now passed into Heaven, started to say this in relationship to his sometimes troubled family, in the last quarter of his life, "I just had to take responsibility for the whole thing..." That was the seed for a new reading of the Gospel for me,…

by Richard BledsoeNovember 9, 2017
reformers
Reformation

Reformation Retrospection

She departed the port, dressed in her best ceremonial regalia, with tassels and flags fluttering from her mast and rigging. She stood tall, robed in mist, crowned in white, and backlit by the rising sun. There she sat, shimmering and spotless; with a perfect ragtop, and a full tank of…

by Jon HerrNovember 7, 2017
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Revelation

Locusts and Honey

John the Baptist is presented in the gospels as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise that God would send His messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the glory of the Lord (Is. 40), and the promise to send Elijah before Him to turn the people to…

by Peter LeithartNovember 2, 2017

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History

Enlightenment

Two very different evaluations of the Enlightenment appear in recent books. First from Robert Darnton, historian of the French Enlightenment, who, according to the reviewer in the October 6 TNR , devotes the first and most substantative essay in his recent book George Washington’s False Teeth to defending the Enlightenment.…

October 20, 2003
Biblical Studies

Promised Land and Heaven

There’s a breakdown in the traditional typology that links “promised land” with “heaven.” Though the promised land is eschatologically a new heavens and new earth, the typology is more exactly fulfilled in the church’s fulfillment of the great commission on earth. After all, we don’t embark on a “conquest” of…

October 18, 2003
Biblical Studies

Moses the Matchmaker

Moses is the matchmaker who brings the bride to a trysting place with her lover, Yahweh. He is the “friend of the bridegroom” who, like John the Baptist, prepares the bride for her husband. As such, Moses and John are models for all Christian ministry, which is also all about…

October 18, 2003
Biblical Studies

Horned Man

Something to check: Is Moses the first “horned man” in the Bible? He comes down from the mountain, having seen the glory of God, with “horns” on his head, rays of glory radiating out. This may be the source of the horned man image used elsewhere, in the Psalms for…

October 18, 2003

“From Faith” (Rom. 1:17)

Douglas A. Campbell argues forcefully for interpreting the phrase ek pisteos (from faith) in Romans 1:17 as a reference to the faithfulness of Christ in his obedience to death. This, in turn, suggests strongly that Paul’s later use of pistis Christou (faith of Christ) as Christ’s own faithfulness rather than…

October 18, 2003

“From Faith” (Rom. 1:17)

Douglas A. Campbell argues forcefully for interpreting the phrase ek pisteos (from faith) in Romans 1:17 as a reference to the faithfulness of Christ in his obedience to death. This, in turn, suggests strongly that Paul’s later use of pistis Christou (faith of Christ) as Christ’s own faithfulness rather than…

October 18, 2003

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