Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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.…
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When Paul brings Isaiah?s vision into 2 Corinthians 5, he speaks of the mortal being swallowed up by life. ?Life?Ehas already taken on a specific coloration in the course of 2 Corinthians 4. Having spoken of the glory of Christ that has shone in his heart, Paul concedes that he…
Another student, Peter Rae, came up with a chiastic outline of 1 Peter: A. Greeting, 1:1-2 B. Rejoicing in trial, 1:3-25 C. Abstain from flesh, 2:1-12 D. Submit to those in authority, 2:13-3:17 C’. Christ the example, 3:18-4:11 B’. Rejoicing in trial, 4:11-5:11 A’. Farewell, 5:12-14 The intriguing this about…
A student, Amy Mertens, points out that the vine in Revelation 14 is bearing fruit, and thus is an unlikely symbol of the wicked or of apostate Israel. Jesus came looking for fruit on Israel’s fig tree and found none; why would we expect it to be found on the…
As Beale points out, in Rev 12 John uses a technique of temporal telescoping. Jesus’ entire career is summarized as incarnation and exaltation. It is reasonable, then, to suggest, as Beale does, that the woman’s labor pains and the sweeping of stars from heaven are describing events of the intertestamental…
“Good” is God’s original evaluation of creation (Gen 1), and it will be the last (Rom 8:28). “Good” is the first and the last word. Goodness is the alpha and omega of creation.
Revelation 20:1-3 claims that Satan is cast into the abyss, which is “shut” and “sealed” for 1000 years, and verses 7-10 add that at the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be released to gather the nations against the beloved city of God until they are devoured. What kind…
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