Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I appreciate Andy Webb’s recent entry into the current discussion over baptismal efficacy. 1 This is an issue which has consumed a great deal of time and energy in the Reformed world in recent years. It is not likely to subside soon. As a contributing party to the discussion, I…
The Covenant Vision of the Heidelberg & Westminster Catechisms Regarding Children and Baptism 7 POINTS ABOUT THE TEACHING OF THE REFORMED CHURCHES Question 1. What is thy only comfort in life and death? Answer: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but…
Is the Holiday Unpresbyterian? ‘Tis the season to be informed–sometimes in gentleness, often with vigor–by a variety of Christians (and others 1 ) claiming that it is wrong to celebrate Christmas. I have no desire to force anyone to celebrate Christmas against their will. Indeed, it would be insulting to…
This month we begin by considering Alan D. Strange’s article, “Understanding the ‘Federal Vision'” published in the February 2007 issue of New Horizons, the official denominational magazine of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Mr. Strange is an OPC minister, a teacher at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, and was a member of the…
There is no reason to believe that Matthew 24, Mark 13, or Luke 21 records Jesus prophesying about what is now known in Christian theology as “the Second Coming.” In my opinion, the fact that most modern conservative Christian scholars and pastors are not yet willing to acknowledge that the…
Francis Turretin, the Reformed theologian of the seventeenth century, carefully distinguishes the Reformed view of infant faith from Lutheran and Anabaptist claims. Anabaptists denied any faith to infants so that they could justify their refusal to baptize them. Lutherans affirmed (rightly) that covenant infants were believers, but made no distinction…
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In the Spring 2004 issue of The Public Interest , Joseph Bottum insightfully examines the tensions in “biblical America” between the Enlightenment democratic public order and the fervent religiosity of the people. The tension is original and deep: “Public order in a democracy ?Ethe structure of liberalism that needs a…
Gary Demar suggests in a study of Zechariah 12 that the prophecy describes the events that are recorded in the book of Esther. This is an interesting and plausiable thesis, but one particular point is especially stimulating: He suggests that the references to “Judah and Jerusalem” in Zechariah 12 are…
Luke 22:28-30 One of the unique features of Luke?s account of the Last Supper is the repeated reference Jesus makes to the kingdom of God. He says He will never eat a meal again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom, and that he will not drink of the fruit…
When Jesus was but an infant, Simeon saw Him in the temple and prophesied: ?This one is appointed for the fall and rise of many within Israel, and for a sign to be opposed, to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.?E Throughout His life, this is…
Several earlier posts have dealt with the fact that Abraham, according to the Genesis account, was a worshiper of God and a man of faith prior to being declared just in Genesis 15. I have taken that as evidence that Paul is not primarily concerned with “works righteousness” in a…
If we understand the cross and resurrection as the climactic events of the gospel narratives, what do they mean? In asking this question, I am not at all casting doubt on traditional satisfaction theories of the atonement, which are amply justified in both OT and NT. The atonement is “objective,”…
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