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Baptism

Water, Spirit, and Fire, (Part 1)

John the Baptist says, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11).” Much debate surrounds the nature of this statement and what exactly it prophesies. Sacramental, baptistic, and charismatic Christians…

by Adam McIntoshAugust 16, 2016
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Pastoral Ministry

Cruciform Pastoral Care

First Corinthians is not considered one of the Pastoral Epistles, but there is much to learn from Paul about pastoring a congregation by the way he writes to the Corinthians. Briefly, 1 Corinthians is an exposition of the cross and resurrection. In the first fourteen chapters, Paul gives an exposition…

by Bill SmithAugust 11, 2016
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Atonement

Bearing Sin

Fredrik Hagglund ( Isaiah 53 in the Light of Homecoming After Exile (Forschungen Zum Alten Testament) ) argues against the common notion that Isaiah 53 is about the atoning suffering of Yahweh’s Servant. The Servant’s suffering is vicarious (i.e., he suffers for the sins of others) but it is not…

by Peter LeithartAugust 9, 2016
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Biblical Theology

Brexit and the Binding of Satan: Part 2

With the inheritance of Canaan and the dividing up of this priestly territory among the tribes, Israel became a microcosm of the nations of the world. This division between Israel and the nations as a substitutionary “land and sea” would prevent another global rebellion, and thus another global judgment. ((For…

by Mike BullAugust 4, 2016
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Romans

Paul and James on the Meaning of Genesis 15:6

One of the more revealing aspects of Paul and James’ soteriology is the different ways they both use Genesis 15:6 (“And Abraham believed God and it was counted for him as righteousness,”) as a proof text to defend their comments about the gospel. The key observation to make is that…

by Gerald HiestandAugust 2, 2016
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Biblical Theology

Brexit and the Binding of Satan: Part 1

The disintegration of the EU is not the end of the world. It is a sign that the end of the world is anything but nigh. Western culture as we know it is dying at the hands of usurpers, traitors and prodigals. Even the worst rulers throughout Christian history at…

by Mike BullJuly 28, 2016

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False Prophet

The New Testament contains a number of warnings about false prophets ( pseudoprophetes ), often in “apocalyptic” contexts (Matthew 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1). The link between false prophecy and crisis goes back to Jeremiah. As the Babylonian threat against Judah rises, false prophets appear,…

April 21, 2015

Touch Not the Anointed

“Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm.” That is how Psalm 105:15 summarizes the Lord's care of the patriarchs who were wanderers and strangers in the earth. “He permitted no many to oppress them, and he reproved kings for their sake” (v. 14, alluding to Genesis 12…

April 21, 2015

Passover Firstfruits

Psalm 105:36 describes the exodus as the Lord's striking of the “firstborn” of Egypt, “the firstfuits of all their vigor.” Firstborn is firstfruits: It makes obvious sense. And behind the obvious is a link between human and humus , between the fruitfulness of earth and the fruitfulness of the human…

April 21, 2015

A Triad of Trinities

Revelation 12-13 describe draconian and bestial attacks on the saints. The enemies form a triad. Indeed, they form a double triad. First, dragon, sea beast, land beast. Then: Sea beast, land beast, image of the beast. Alternatively, we can see four: Dragon, sea beast, land beast, image of the beast.…

April 20, 2015

Stabilized Passion

In his contribution to Radical Secularization , John Milbank contests Habermas's Kantian notion of public reason, arguing that reason is not “self-grounded” but “inseparable from our affective and elective intuitions concerning the nature of reality. Reason is always conjoined with feeling and can even be considered to be a reflexive…

April 20, 2015

Reckoning Time in Genesis

Jeffery Leonard ends a Review of Biblical Literature (4/15) review of BC Hodge's Revisiting the Days of Genesis with this observation: “While the author does a workmanlike job of demonstrating how various numbers in Gen 1–11 could be interpreted symbolically, it is not at all clear to me that the…

April 20, 2015

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