Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). The famous definition of faith with which the eleventh chapter of Hebrews opens has received a number of different interpretations. The crux of the problem is the interpretation of the words translated in…
This essay is an exploration of one element of the final of the four Gospels, the Gospel of John. My thesis is that the Gospel of John answers the issue of "friendship" being a homoerotic category. It challenges the "Greek Way of Love and Friendship" 1 It is indeed the…
"And I also way to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it" (Matthew 16:18). Matthew 16:13ff. has historically been one of the most oft-cited passages of Scripture. Throughout the Middle Ages, it was used…
Matthew 8-9 records three clusters of miracles, interspersed with snatches of Jesus’ teaching about various aspects of discipleship. Just as the Sermon on the Mount displays the authority of Jesus’ Word in teaching, these chapters display the authority of Jesus’ Word over sickness, uncleanness, the creation, demons, and death. In…
The association of women and wells in the Scriptures has long been noted by theologians, a symbolism closely connected to marriage which begins in Genesis and climaxes in Revelation. There is a lesson drawn in the water of wells that I’d like to explore, but before that I must trace…
Of course, since the Israelites had agriculture, Solomon was not paleolithic as that term is used today. But "paleo" is simply a prefix meaning old or previous , the opposite of "neo." In that sense, I wonder if we might understand Solomon better if we interpret his statements and riddles…
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Luther illustrates justification with the image of a mortally sick man and his doctor. The doctor is so certain that he is going to heal the patient that he declares him well already, and tells the patient to consider himself well. The patient trusts the doctor so thoroughly that he…
Picking up on my last post . . . So far as I know, no one has challenged my paper on justification exegetically. Perhaps someone has offered a devastating critique, one that shows I’ve misinterpreted every passage I discuss. If such a critique is out there, though, I’ve not seen…
The PCA FV Report includes a brief, and fairly accurate, summary of a paper I wrote on justification. This is one of the few things on justification that I’ve published. Since some may read the Report without reading the article, let me summarize what I thought I was doing in…
Is it appropriate to use the term “justify” to describe God’s verdict at the final judgment? This has admittedly not been common usage in Reformed theology. “Justify” has normally been reserved for the “already” of God’s verdict rather than the “not yet.” But Paul uses “justify” to refer to the…
The Father has put judgment into the hands of the Son (John 5), and God the Father has appointed a day on which the Risen Son will judge all men (Acts 17:31). The judge of all will be a Man, as Paul says in Acts 17. According to the PCA…
Is the denial of judgment according to works implicitly binitarian? If we are judged according to Christ’s imputed righteousness, then at the judgment, Jesus’ works are approved but not ours. the judgment is Father-Son. But where’s the Spirit? If our works are the works of the Spirit in us, then…
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