Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
This was a newspaper column that I wrote for the Minco Millennium back in January of 2000 when I had first moved to Minco, Oklahoma to pastor First Reformed Presbyterian Church. I wasn’t able to catch the recent performance of the musical, Godspell , in Oklahoma City. However, my dad…
Awhile back, there was a big debate among Evangelicals as to whether one had to trust Jesus “as Lord” as well as “as savior. Some claimed that one could be saved by Jesus through a faith that did not involve submission to him as Lord. Others claimed that one must…
I originally wrote this a few weeks ago in April 2002 as a column in the local newspaper, The Minco Millennium under the title “Faith & Follow-Through.” Several passages in the book of Hebrews are difficult for Protestants to swallow. The author affirms the once-and-for-all work of Christ and yet…
N. T. Wright’s commentary on Romans is destined to be a classic. The introduction alone is worth the hefty price of the book — but the exegesis itself is, well, priceless. I will not attempt a full review — these are just miscellaneous thoughts and random reflections — but I…
At an inn in the town of Lystra three men sat around a corner table. All three were well-known disciples of Joshua Messiah, members of what the town called a new cult, the Way. The short gray-haired man with the enormous beard was clearly restless. “This is taking too long,”…
Recently there has been some surprising debate in some circles over where Paul summarizes his Gospel. I say “surprising” because many Evangelical Bible scholars have held, for quite some time, that Paul’s Gospel is encapsulated in Romans chapter 1, verse 3 and 4. Here is the passage in context: Paul,…
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Some highlights from Clive James’s recent fascinating Cultural Amnesia . Speaking of the lack of adventure in today’s successful careers: “Could there be anything less astonishing than to work day and night on Wall Street to make the millions that will buy the Picasso that will hang on the wall…
Protestants are people of the word; Catholics are people of the sacraments. That’s the way it’s usually divided up. Sed contra, I say: Medieval Catholics frequently denied that there were sacraments in Eden; Protestants have just as frequently affirmed Edenic sacraments. The upshot: For Protestants, sacraments are inherent in human…
If all theology is theology proper, all theology is also prayer. Because we are never merely speaking “about” God.
On some constructions of the covenant of works, obedient Adam would have secured eternal life for his posterity. He would have achieved the eschaton of human destiny, as a human being, entirely from the resources given to him at creation. Since the fall, we need a Savior, and we need…
All theology is theology proper. Talk about creation or covenant, Israel or incarnation, justification or final judgment is talk about the Creator, the covenant Lord, the God of Jacob, the Son who takes flesh, the God who justifies and judges. Theologians can’t not talk about God, and one test -…
What should Adam have done when the serpent started talking to Eve? What would you do? You’d scream, probably. But then you’d pray, hard. Because you’d know that only God can deliver you from a dragon. We sometimes think that Adam should have stepped up and handled the serpent bare-handed.…
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