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

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Ephesians

Law and Gospel in Presbyterianism

The Reformed Doctrine Stated & Briefly Vindicated from Scripture THE REFORMED VIEW ACCORDING TO OFFICIAL PRESBYTERIAN DOCTRINE The contrast between Law and Gospel is often treated as if it were a uniquely Lutheran idea, but Reformed doctrine also uses such a formulation. In fact, the distinction is important to understanding…

by Mark HorneMay 22, 2004
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Justification

Justification is the Gospel

According to N. T. Wright : By “the gospel” Paul does not mean “justification by faith” itself. He means the announcement that the crucified and risen Jesus is Lord. To believe this message, to give believing allegiance to Jesus as Messiah and Lord, is to be justified in the present…

by Mark HorneMay 22, 2004
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Justification

Justification & Adoption

Imagine two strangers who happen to be standing on the same subway train; we’ll call one Joe and the other Larry. Joe accidentally steps on the Larry’s foot so that he, in a flash of pain, thinking Joe did it intentionally, resorts to name calling and says something about Joe’s…

by Mark HorneMay 22, 2004
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Eucharist

Children at the Table

Imagine being a small child at an orphanage. One day, one of your caretakers comes rushing to you as you play in the common yard. “I have great news!” she tells you, excitedly. “What is it?” you ask. “A wonderful family has adopted you. They’re at the courthouse right now…

by Mark HorneMay 20, 2004
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Federal Vision

The Necessity of New Obedience

The Westminster Standards, Repentance, & Pardon REPENTANCE ENTAILS ALL OF LIFE According the Westminster Divines, “repentance to life” is an “evangelical” (WCF 15.1) and “saving” (WLC #87) “grace”. By it, a sinner, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness…

by Mark HorneMay 19, 2004
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Biblical Horizons

Liturgical Man, Liturgical Woman — Part 1

Click HERE for an audio version of this article. For Part 2, click HERE . The ordination of women to the Christian ministry, specifically the pastoral office of overseeing worship and performing preaching and the Lord’s Supper, is a recent development in Church history. From the early church until the…

by James B. JordanMay 5, 2004

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Eucharistic meditation, Fourth Advent

John 6:35: Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. Throughout the centuries, Christians have thought about the Lord’s Supper by analogy with the incarnation. Just as God became man in…

December 18, 2005

Baptismal meditation, Fourth Advent

Luke 2:6-7: And it came to pass that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.…

December 18, 2005
Theology

Exhortation, Fourth Advent

Christmas is a joyful season, but for many it turns into something else. Instead of joy, it is full of disappointment and unhappiness. Instead of an occasion for family fellowship, it becomes an opportunity for opening old wounds, reigniting old arguments, giving new life to rancor that should have died…

December 18, 2005

The Island

In many ways, The Island is a silly movie: Long, repetitive, boring chase scenes, inexplicable explosions, impossible escapes, gaping holes in the plot, all filmed with MTV quick-cuts and apparently lit with strobe lights. Somewhere on the far side of the silliness, however, is a welcome indictment of the dehumanization…

December 18, 2005

Athanasius and the Humanity of Christ

RPC Hanson, among others, argued that Athanasius’ Christology minimizes the humanity of Jesus: “We must conclude that whatever else the Logos incarnte is in Athanasius’ account of him, he is not a human being.” Not so, argues Khaled Anatolios in his 1998 study of the theology of Athanasius. In appropriating…

December 17, 2005

The Nestorian Shuffle

In his book on Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy (St. Vladimir’s, 2004), John McGuckin describes the Nestorian reading of the gospels. The gospels describe the birth and growth of the man Jesus, and also describe a person whose powers are beyond human powers - the power to…

December 17, 2005

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