Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Cornelius Van Til offered a revolutionary exposition of the Christian worldview through the lens of Reformed theology. He argued and, I believe demonstrated, that Biblical metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics mutually presuppose and include one another. Every ethical statement of the Bible — commands about righteousness — presuppose the existence and…
In the introductory portion of Deuteronomy, Moses’ last sermons to the people of Israel — people that he regarded as his own beloved children — there is a statement that may seem paradoxical to a modern reader. It invites questions and maybe even creates problems in our understanding. Here are…
In his discussion of the biblical type scene, Robert Alter speaks of the “patterns of repetition, symmetry, [and] contrast” which characterize the narratives of Scripture, patterns that give pleasure to the reader while also building up a web of meaningful connections between texts. 1 But if readers are to notice…
In 1 Timothy 2, Paul writes: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Timothy 2:12-14). This…
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5 When the above verse is read during a Lord’s Day service, no doubt, every extrovert in the room thinks to himself, “Well, that rules out me.” After all, the meek folks in the room are the ones you…
The flames of the altar tell a mysterious story beyond mere atonement. The altar was a place of union, glory, worship, love and forgiveness, laughter and tears, renewal and hope. The altar is where Israel would feast with God, sacrifice to God, worship God, confess, and receive forgiveness from God.…
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To her credit, Brigitte Kahl (in Horsley, ed., In the Shadow of Empire ) recognizes that Acts gives a fairly sympathetic portrait of Rome. In the various episodes where Paul is suspected of subverting the empire, “Acts makes every effort to draw as favorable a picture as possible,” not only…
How many sacraments does the church have? It depends, says Richard Baxter. One can define sacrament as “A solemn dedication of man to God by a vow expressed by some sacred ceremony, signifying mutually our covenant to God, and God’s reception of us and his covenant with us.” By this…
Introducing the Gospel reading from John 21 this morning, Chris Schlect pointed out that Jesus instructs Peter to take up the commission of Israel. Israel was supposed to be light to the nations, but refused; Jesus tells Peter to do what Israel failed to do. That fits with a couple…
The Pharisees often act as a group, but the gospels also speak of individual Pharisees (Luke 7; 11; Acts 5:34). Some of the Pharisees even show some deference to Jesus. No individual Sadducee is ever mentioned in the gospels. They are always a collective, a single mind, a united front.
Matthew uses the verb “put to silence” twice, both in chapter 22. The first time it describes the reaction of the man who arrives at the wedding feast without the proper clothing (v. 12), and in the second it describes the silence of the Sadducees after Jesus answers their question…
Jesus says that in denying the resurrection the Sadducees are misunderstanding the Scripture. How so? He’s saying, first of all, that they don’t even understand the Scripture they’ve quoted. Matthew makes this point very subtly. The quotation from Deuteronomy 25 says that the levirate brother is supposed to “raise up…
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