Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
My first title for this series of posts was “Evangelical Sacramental Ecumenism” – not exactly a clickbait title. But those three words, evangelical, sacramental, and ecumenical, say a lot: The centrality of the gospel; a focus on baptism, bread, and wine; and the quest for visible unity among diverse churches.…
I can imagine someone reading the title of this essay and saying to himself, "I have two questions. First, what in the world is “contextualization”?" Second, even before hearing the answer to the first question, he may wonder, "what does baptism have to do with such an awkward and vague…
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 My colleague Ralph Smith has recently written on this passage, here . I entirely agree with Ralph's thrust, which is typological, that the passage is ultimately aimed at the entire nation of Israel itself as the rebellious son. But what I am thinking is from another perspective, perhaps…
In the previous article in this series, I drew attention to the threefold meaning of the Spirit of God descending as a dove on Jesus at His baptism. On a related note, I also argued that 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Titus 3:3-7 were parallel passages that addressed the same issues…
The National Anthem protest is misguided. So too the conservative backlash. The Church’s response has been disappointing. I address each in turn. The greatest triumph of the American Civil Rights Movement was its seizing of the moral high ground in American politics. It did so by insisting only on those…
Peter Leithart’s book, The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism , argues that baptism is parallel to and the fulfillment of the old covenant rite of priestly ordination. But this is not something explicitly stated in the New Testament. Why, then, should we believe it? Leithart shows in…
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The rhetorical and metaphorical shift between Westminster Confession 25.1 and 25.2 is dramatic. The invisible church is described in terms of their intimacy with Christ and with one another: They are gathered “into one” under “Christ the Head; the invisible church is the beloved “spouse” of Jesus, and His “body”;…
The following summarizes the argument of David W. Noble in The Eternal Adam and the New World Garden . In Redburn , Melville wrote, “We are the heirs of all time, and with all nations we divide our inheritance. On this Western Hemisphere all tribes and peoples are forming into…
Some notes from a lecture on Melville’s Billy Budd. Billy Budd was written in the last few years of Melville’s life, and was not published until three decades after his death. It has been common to interpret the novel as a final testament that indicates a shift in Melville’s outlook.…
INTRODUCTION John’s entire message depends on Jesus being the Son of God, the child “begotten” from the eternal Father. Those who believe, love; and those who love and believe overcome the world (v. 5). THE TEXT “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who…
1 John 4:18: Perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. One of the earliest Trinitarian heresies is called “modalism.” It taught that the “persons” of the Trinity are not distinct persons, but only masks or roles that the…
Love is a necessary expression of new life and knowledge of God. If we are born of God and know God, we will love one another, and this love must be expressed in our actual behavior. John is blunt about the alternative: Whoever does not love does not know God.…
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