Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
When someone expounds the way of salvation found in the Westminster Confession and Catechisms and in the easily-accessible writings of the Reformed heritage, he often finds him embroiled in a debates about the covenant of works and the Mosaic Covenant. One is “proven” to be aberrant by allegations that one…
The ultimate condemnation of a position in Reformed circles is to show that it “leads back to Rome.” Indeed, one gets the feeling that Rome is a worse destination for a Presbyterian than even hell itself. The accusation of Rome stings deeply, of course, because it means that all the…
One of the odd features of Michael Horton’s version of Covenant theology is his interpretation of the covenant God made with Abraham 1 in Genesis 15. According to Horton, The very way in which God made the covenant with Abraham (putting him to sleep; walking through the torn animals by…
What was I trying to do, when I wrote my book on Mark’s Gospel ? Fundamentally, I wanted a book that would change readers by making them better readers of the Gospel of Mark. My ideal reader is not someone who goes to the book to use as a resource…
Why do we need sacraments? According to the Westminster Confession, sacraments were instituted by Christ “to confirm our interest in him” (27.1), “to strengthen and increase” the “faith” of those within the Covenant of Grace and “to distinguish them from those that are without” that covenant (Westminster Larger Catechism, #162).…
In Isaiah 5:1-7, we have a typical covenant lawsuit, in which the Lord accuses his people of rejecting his grace and mercy. It is not my intention here to exegete the entire passage, or to look at the way the vineyard image used here serves as a metaphor in other…
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?May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine.?ESo says the Bride at the beginning of the Song of Songs. And the chorus agrees: ?We will rejoice in you and be glad; we will extol your love more than wine.?E Later the…
Deut 16:13-17 This morning we considered some issues in child-rearing, showing that we are to raise children to serve, to rule, to have wisdom they can communicate with others. Many aspects of raising children are fairly intangible. We not only teach and exercise discipline, but we work to create a…
Today?s sermon is about raising priests and kings, and a few of the things I say in the sermon today refer to touch. I?m going to encourage you all to hold and caress and cuddle with your infants, and I?m going to encourage you to hug and kiss your older…
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Kaspar Olevianus Schwandt is named for one of the founders of the Reformed Church of Germany, and one of the principal architects of the Heidelberg Catechism. One of the highlights of that beautiful catechism is the answer to the first question, ?What is thy only comfort in…
Thomas Schreiner offers an intriguing reading of the end of Rom 5:12, “death spread to all men EPH HO all sinned.” The Greek phrase has long been a crux: Most recent commentators take the phrase as causal - death spread because all sinned; Augustine interpreted it as equivalent to “in…
A student of mine suggests that frequent communion creates pressures toward paedocommunion. So long as Eucharist is celebrated quarterly or less, it seems to be a special occasion for adults, like fancy dinner parties. Kids know that they are not included, and don’t care to be. As soon as the…
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