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…
Showing page 222 of 309
Showing page 6 of 43
Romans 13:1-7 is often separated from its context and treated as a Pauline statement about the Christian’s or the church’s relation to the state. We can certainly draw some conclusions from the passage: God is the source of all public authority (13:1). Whoever resists authority resists the ordinance of God…
Over the past decade, Rusty Reno, editor at First Things , has established himself as one of America’s most interesting cultural and political voices. In his recent Return of the Strong Gods , Rusty offers an eccentric reading of recent history as a collapse of what he calls the “postwar…
The gospel is an inherently political message. As Paul explains it in Romans 1, it’s the announcement that Jesus, Son of David, has been installed as King in His resurrection. Romans 12—15 fills out the ecclesio-political import of this message. Because Jesus is King, He will restore human society. Because…
Red Sky in Morning , Paul Lynch's 2013 debut novel, is a stylistic tour de force . Like the poetry of Seamus Heaney (whom Lynch credits for inspiration), he captures the craggy, muck-mudded landscape of Lynch's native Ireland. Convoluted syntax, unobtrusive Irish colloquialisms, hints of alliterative verse lend the novel…
Over the past several weeks, I've argued that in Romans 9-11 Paul offers a first-century solution to a first-century problem. Paul doesn't , I argue, predict a conversion of Jews in the distant future. He argues instead that Israel's role in the foundation of the new covenant takes the form…
Mary Eberstadt’s Primal Screams is a well-researched, cleanly-written book, full of evidence, theories, statistics, anecdotes, analysis. Its thesis is arresting and compelling. Eberstadt claims we can trace the rise of identity politics to the “Great Scattering” that followed the sexual revolution of the 1960s. When we as a culture decided…
Showing page 36 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
