Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
An addendum to the earlier post on Romans. In my first essay, I pointed out how the role of the sin of Joseph’s brothers in bringing about Joseph’s exaltation in Egypt, and the resulting salvation of the world from famine, might show us and explanation to some of the distinctive…
When Paul wrote to the Romans, he was obviously writing a missionary support letter of a sort. One can read Romans 1.15 and then jump into 15.23 (“[S]ince I no longer have any room. . . .) without losing virtually any coherence. Yet into this letter he “dropped,” as it…
The Westminster Confession says that each passage has one meaning , not many, and that gets picked up on by lots of people who are suspicious of and do not like typological readings of Scripture. I will defer to wiser and more learned heads than mine as to exactly what…
By arresting, torturing, and killing Jesus, the authorities thought that they were securing well being and peace again in their society by means of the tried and true method of a single-victim scapegoat. Everyone’s thirst for violence will be satisfied and we can get on with the business of everyday…
This is the second in a series of essays on "Continuing the Reformation." In his important though sadly unavailable book, Calvin's Doctrine of the Church (Brill, 1970), Benjamin Charles Milner argues persuasively that in Calvin's view God's perfect order for His creation, an order that was to grow and develop…
Trinity House Fellow James Jordan recently gave a series of lectures in London on how to read the Bible. They are available online at NorthLondonChurch.org .
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At the Retreat organized by the asylum reformer Samuel Tuke, the inmates would occasionally enjoy social occasions where the rules of etiquette would be strictly observed. In Tuke’s own description, they would “dress in their best clothes, and vie with each other in politeness and propriety. The best fare is…
Johann Arndt (1555-1621), one of theleaders of German Pietism, wrote of baptism: “This is the true new birth and the new creature that appears before God’s face, pure and holy, cleaned and purified through the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit without any blemish. So perfect is this washing…
In sorting through questions about efficacy of baptism, it’s important to realize that terms are used differently by various theologians. Chemnitz, for instance, claims that baptism has a twofold effect, “regeneration and renewal.” The very fact that he describes these as distinct effects should alert us to the fact that…
Baptism is made by word and water, Luther says. But the word is not the word of the minister that blesses the water, but the authorizing word of Jesus: “God’s word beside and with the water, which is not something we have invented or dreamed up, but is rather the…
The purpose of the proclamation of the Word of Life, John says, is to extend the fellowship of the apostles to include others; and this means to include others within the community – the sharing of things, and particularly the sharing of life – that the apostles have with the…
1) This is a oddly rambling opening to a letter. It starts with a relative pronoun, and doesn’t get to a finite verb until verse 3. Plus, it leaves a number of things initially unexplained. “That which” – what does this refer to? We don’t know for a while. “From…
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