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Writing

Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Federal Vision

Justification: Ecclesial, Cosmic, and Divine

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…

by Rich LuskMay 22, 2003
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Romans

Freed from Sin | John Piper on Romans 6.7

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…

by Mark HorneMay 21, 2003
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Covenant

ELECTION: CORPORATE & INDIVIDUAL

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…

by Mark HorneMay 21, 2003
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Covenant

Covenantal Nomism

“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…

by Mark HorneMay 20, 2003
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New Perspective on Paul

Are Wright’s Critics Misreading Him?

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…

by Mark HorneMay 20, 2003
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How to Worship

Learning to Sing the Lord’s Song

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.…

by Mark HorneMay 20, 2003

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Theology

McCarthy’s Proof

At the end of the film version of Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses , the principal character, Cole, asks whether God exists. Cole has been through a infernal trip to Mexico - his lover is taken away from him by her family, he watches a companion get shot, endures…

August 21, 2006
Theology

McCarthy’s Proof

At the end of the film version of Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses , the principal character, Cole, asks whether God exists. Cole has been through a infernal trip to Mexico - his lover is taken away from him by her family, he watches a companion get shot, endures…

August 21, 2006

Eucharistic meditation

2 Chronicles 20: Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres and trumpets to the house of the LORD. And the dread of…

August 20, 2006

Wedding Sermon

1 Corinthians 7:3-4: Let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife…

August 20, 2006

Baptismal meditation

Paul’s description of the armor of God draws on Isaiah 59, the description of God’s own armor. We deck ourselves in the same armor He does. But Paul is also referring to another set of garments found in the OT. In the OT, the high priest wore a breastplate and…

August 20, 2006

Exhortation

The Psalter is the church’s primary Hymnal, and what do we find when we pick up the Psalter? We learn that God establishes the righteous man like a tree, but drives the wicked away like chaff. Then we learn that God has installed His Son as King of kings, and…

August 20, 2006

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