Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
John the Baptist says, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:11).” Much debate surrounds the nature of this statement and what exactly it prophesies. Sacramental, baptistic, and charismatic Christians…
First Corinthians is not considered one of the Pastoral Epistles, but there is much to learn from Paul about pastoring a congregation by the way he writes to the Corinthians. Briefly, 1 Corinthians is an exposition of the cross and resurrection. In the first fourteen chapters, Paul gives an exposition…
Fredrik Hagglund ( Isaiah 53 in the Light of Homecoming After Exile (Forschungen Zum Alten Testament) ) argues against the common notion that Isaiah 53 is about the atoning suffering of Yahweh’s Servant. The Servant’s suffering is vicarious (i.e., he suffers for the sins of others) but it is not…
With the inheritance of Canaan and the dividing up of this priestly territory among the tribes, Israel became a microcosm of the nations of the world. This division between Israel and the nations as a substitutionary “land and sea” would prevent another global rebellion, and thus another global judgment. ((For…
One of the more revealing aspects of Paul and James’ soteriology is the different ways they both use Genesis 15:6 (“And Abraham believed God and it was counted for him as righteousness,”) as a proof text to defend their comments about the gospel. The key observation to make is that…
The disintegration of the EU is not the end of the world. It is a sign that the end of the world is anything but nigh. Western culture as we know it is dying at the hands of usurpers, traitors and prodigals. Even the worst rulers throughout Christian history at…
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Antiracism has become, as John McWhorter pointed out in 2015, America’s new religion. It has its holidays, its saints and martyrs, its liturgical processions and gestures, its symbols and sacraments, its Scriptures and sermonizers, its modes of confession and almost-absolution, its eschatological hope that America will, somehow and someday, fix…
It seems the United States has gone mad. For a couple of months, we all stayed home, terrified by a virus that is a serious threat to very few of us. Now we're out and about, burning cities and storming public buildings and businesses. My little hometown is under a…
Thomas Hamilton ( Exodus ) describes the ephod of Aaron: It “is shaped like an apron encircling the body and covers the loins (maybe “from waist to thigh). It is kept in position on the body by means of two shoulder pieces (v. 7) and a fastening band (v. 8).”…
Since the coronavirus pandemic started, people have debated whether or not COVID-19 is "just" a nasty form of the flu or if it's far worse. We’ve heard horror stories about the horrific effects of COVID-19, as if to contrast this deadly virus with influenza. Both sides seem to assume that…
Yesterday, I preached the first in a series of sermons on liturgical music. Here's a snippet of the sermon. We’ve all been swept away by music. Maybe it was a live performance by a favorite band or of a favorite symphony. Perhaps it happens while you’re fixing dinner and Alexa…
"Bring near" Aaron, Yahweh tells Moses (Exodus 28:1). The verb is the hiphil of qarab , the root of qorban , one of the general Hebrew terms for "sacrifice" or "offering" (cf. Leviticus 1:1-3). Aaron is separated from the sons of Israel like an animal separated from the herd, separated…
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