Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Although the events are, of course, not perfectly parallel, Luke in his gospel intends us to connect Jesus’ birth from the womb and His re-birth from the tomb. Luke 1:27 introduces us to Joseph and in verse 30 we learn that his betrothed wife was named Mary. An angel appeared…
The apostle Matthew is also known as Levi son of Alphaeus. While not much is said about this man, the few things that are told us are significant. Matthew in Greek is Matthaios and comes from the Hebrew name Mattithiah, or Mattith-Yah, "Gift of Yah(weh)." Matthew’s other name is Levi,…
Theologians often speak of "special" and "general" revelation, or of "natural" and "supernatural" revelation, or of "word" and "deed" revelation. While there are many worthwhile insights in these discussions, particularly in the discussions in Cornelius Van Til’s Introduction to Systematic Theology , I have not found any that satisfied my…
Ezekiel’s 430 Years In Ezekiel 4, the prophet is told to begin his ministry by setting up a model of Jerusalem and lying on his side and prophesying against it. He is to do this for 430 days, a day for a year. 390 days are against "Israel," and 40…
The Feast of Ingathering in the seventh month of the Sinaitic calendar is also called the Feast of Sukkoth, of Booths, also called Feast of Tabernacles. I have usually called it by that last phrase, and it is the most common today; but there is a problem: A tabernacle is…
The End of Jehoiakim’s Reign We have seen that Jehoiakim rejected Jeremiah’s prophetic warnings at the beginning of his reign. Let us now make a year-by-year survey of his reign down to its end. In the spring of 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish. In the summer, he…
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INTRODUCTION The liturgy is a journey. We begin by gathering from our homes to one place, where we can worship God together. The minister invites us to enter the Lord?s house by faith, to ascend the heavenly Zion to worship Him. Recognizing that we are unfit to enter, we confess…
Speaking of Forde, his little book on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation (1518), entitled On Being a Theologian of the Cross includes a number of insights worth pondering. 1) Theological Thesis 15 of the Disputation states that free will could not “remain in a state of innocence, much less do good, in…
In the Husbands and Treier volume, Robert Kolb discusses various contemporary Lutheran theologians who are attempting to bring Luther to bear on contemporary theology and life. He focuses attention on Gerhard Forde, Wilfried Harle, Oswald Bayer, and a few others. His discussion of the claim that “Justification is God’s killing…
In the Husbands and Treier volume, Robert Kolb discusses various contemporary Lutheran theologians who are attempting to bring Luther to bear on contemporary theology and life. He focuses attention on Gerhard Forde, Wilfried Harle, Oswald Bayer, and a few others. His discussion of the claim that “Justification is God’s killing…
Mark Seifrid has an important article contrasting Luther and Melanchthon on justification in the Husbands and Treier volume on the subject. He examines a private discussion between the two Reformers that took place in the home of Johannes Bugenhagen in 1536. A number of differences emerge, in their assessment of…
In an unsentimental discussion of the promise and difficulties of Christian community (in Freedom for Ministry ), Richard Neuhaus has these sage words about church fights: “Not infrequently, life together is mainly strife together. This commonly comes as a shock to young men and women entering the ministry. Among those…
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