Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The Blessing of the Father The narrative of the Exodus makes it clear that Yahweh is Israel’s Father. Moses is told to declare to Pharaoh that “Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me’” (Exodus 4:22-23). In contrast to…
When reading the Old Testament, the believer faces two dilemmas. First, there is a seemingly sharp discontinuity between the universal proclamation of the gospel to the whole earth and God’s singling out of the nation of Israel. Second, the New Testament says of Jesus that “there is no other name…
John 17 contains the longest prayer that we have from Jesus, and it shows us the intimate relationship between the Father and the Son in a way that few passages do. The prayer lays out the chiastic pattern noted by Athanasius (God became man so that man could become God),…
The following meditation on the incarnation is paraphrased and quoted from Karl Barth, The Doctrine of Reconciliation (Church Dogmatics, Vol. 4, Part 1) , pp. 185ff. In the incarnation, the eternal Son of God makes His way into a far country, and takes on the form of a servant. “But…
Peter says "baptism saves you" (1 Peter 3:21). Does the New Testament teach that "baptism justifies you"? I think the answer is Yes. That's a controversial answer, and demands some defense and explanation, but first some critical qualifications. No New Testament text states "baptism justifies you," so my argument will…
In his THI article “ Son of David, Son of Abraham ,” Peter Leithart notes that Matthew's genealogy “contains a summary of redemptive history.” This statement is only too true and one that deserves further elucidation. Biblos genese ō s. The first two words of Matthew's Gospel are usually translated…
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Does judgment according to works contradict the gospel? Does it reintroduce law back in the covenant of grace at the last minute? Is judgment according to works God’s final “Gotcha”? Not at all. Judgment according to works is part of the gospel. Paul hopes for the day when “according to…
It’s been suggested that there is some conflict between my denial of human merit and my defense of judgment according to works. There is no conflict. There is not even a tension. Nary a whisper. We are judged, after all, according to works that are entirely gifts of God. The…
Was Charles Hodge out of accord with the Westminster Standards as interpreted by the FV Study Commitee? Hodge writes of the final judgment: “The ground or matter of judgment is said to be the ‘deeds done in the body,’ men are to be judged ‘according to their works;’ ‘the secrets…
Revelation 20:11-15 is widely taken as a scene of final judgment. Despite some potential preterist doubts, it does appear to be a final judgment scene. It comes after the millennium, and the ones to be judged are raised from the dead. The dead in v 12 includes all the dead,…
I’ve gotten wind that somewhere out there in the vast howling wilderness of cyberspace some have hinted - nay, more than hinted - that I have only recently begun to show my true colors, and only under pressure from the PCA GA FV study committee. I could protest my honesty,…
In his stimulating book Liturgical Theology , Simon Chan argues that a crucial weakness of Protestant and evangelical theology is that it stops the gospel story with the ascension, and doesn’t see that Pentecost and the church are integral to the evangel (as Jesus says in Luke 24 - the…
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