Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
OUR REFORMED HERITAGE When a Reformed Christian hears “baptismal regeneration,” what comes to mind? “Heresy,” most likely. Unfortunately, many in the Reformed community today have lost touch with some important aspects of their own heritage. If Reformed theology is going to continue reforming according to Scripture, we must recover the…
Faith and assurance are recurring subjects of controversy in Evangelical circles. We all agree that we are saved by the righteousness of Christ reckoned to us, which we receive through faith alone. Jesus lived and died and rose again as the representative of his people so that all of them…
What’s at stake (or not!) for Reformed Pastors regarding the contemporary discussion of Paul and “the works of the law”? There has been a great deal of talk lately about “the New Perspective on Paul” and the works of, among others, Ed Sanders, James Dunn, and N. T. Wright. Each…
When Christ enjoins upon the young man the duty of following him (Mt. 19:23), he does not give a counsel, but a command to all in common because no one can have a hope of salvation unless he follows Christ (2 Pet. 2:21), although from a particular cause it is…
This short paper is not an attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis and defense of N. T. Wright, much less the so-called “New Perspective on Paul” as a whole. Indeed, Wright’s theological project has some failings and the New Perspective as a movement must be considered a mixed bag of…
Leviticus 1:3-13, Translation 3 If his Nearbringing is an Ascension from the herd, a perfect male shall he bring him near. To the forecourt of the Tent of Meeting he shall bring him near, for his acceptance before Yahweh. 4 And he shall lean his hand on the head of…
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In Galatians 2:10, Paul unexpectedly makes a reference to the Jerusalem apostles' interest in the poor and his own eagerness to provide assistance. What is this doing in a letter about justification and Jew/Gentile relations? Historically, this reference suggests that the visit he describes in Galatians 2:10 is the same…
The contrasting lists of “deeds of the flesh” and “fruits of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:16-25 are arranged in a chiastic inversion: a. Walk by Spirit b. Flesh and Spirit at war c. Deeds of the flesh d. No inheritance for flesh c'. Fruits of the Spirit b'. Crucifixion of…
Paul rebukes the Galatians for beginning by the Spirit, and then attempting to revert to the flesh (Galatians 3:1-5). The Spirit initiates the Christian life. Paul makes it clear later in Galatians that the whole Christian life is life in the Spirit. We “walk” by the Spirit, and “stay in…
No “sequence of fossils by itself” can “demonstrate whether Darwinian mutation and natural selection can and did evolve genuine biological novelties (new structures or body plans),” argues Leonard Brand ( Faith, Reason, & Earth History , 281). Some other sort of evidence is needed. Brand doesn't find such evidence in…
Philip Zimbardo and Nikita D. Coulombe ( Man (Dis)connecte d , 226) claim that the average American male teen plays video games 676 hours each year. With that time, he could. . . . Learn the rudiments of French on Rosetta Stone (205 hours); Learn to play the guitar (260…
In Signs and Wonders (65–66), Paul Alexander recounts a conversation with Nigerian theologian Lawrence Nwankwo. Nwankwo expressed the opinion that God wants all Christians to be prosperous. Alexander offered a corrective: “Food, clothing, shelter, health care, and education—these things are necessary and important, but prosperity for all is impossible. It’s…
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