Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
I appreciate Andy Webb’s recent entry into the current discussion over baptismal efficacy. 1 This is an issue which has consumed a great deal of time and energy in the Reformed world in recent years. It is not likely to subside soon. As a contributing party to the discussion, I…
The Covenant Vision of the Heidelberg & Westminster Catechisms Regarding Children and Baptism 7 POINTS ABOUT THE TEACHING OF THE REFORMED CHURCHES Question 1. What is thy only comfort in life and death? Answer: That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but…
Is the Holiday Unpresbyterian? ‘Tis the season to be informed–sometimes in gentleness, often with vigor–by a variety of Christians (and others 1 ) claiming that it is wrong to celebrate Christmas. I have no desire to force anyone to celebrate Christmas against their will. Indeed, it would be insulting to…
This month we begin by considering Alan D. Strange’s article, “Understanding the ‘Federal Vision'” published in the February 2007 issue of New Horizons, the official denominational magazine of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Mr. Strange is an OPC minister, a teacher at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, and was a member of the…
There is no reason to believe that Matthew 24, Mark 13, or Luke 21 records Jesus prophesying about what is now known in Christian theology as “the Second Coming.” In my opinion, the fact that most modern conservative Christian scholars and pastors are not yet willing to acknowledge that the…
Francis Turretin, the Reformed theologian of the seventeenth century, carefully distinguishes the Reformed view of infant faith from Lutheran and Anabaptist claims. Anabaptists denied any faith to infants so that they could justify their refusal to baptize them. Lutherans affirmed (rightly) that covenant infants were believers, but made no distinction…
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At the end of Rom 7, Paul is looking forward to a deliverance from the power of sin and death that holds him. His wretchedness is not relieved by the law, but only made worse. But he hopes for a deliverance, one that he characterizes as a future deliverance: ?Who…
1 Kings 9:26-28 The portrait of Solomon in 1 Kings 9 is by no means completely negative. Solomon continues building, providing defense for the land by building up fortifications at strategic points. Despite his estrangement from Hiram, he continues to have some kind of working relationship with him, as these…
?Walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness.?E Thus the Lord speaks to Solomon. And we respond, ?Say what? Walk like David?? Wasn?t David an adulterer and a murderer? Wasn?t his family an absolute mess? Wasn?t he a poor father, who spent the last…
What are we to make of Paul’s discussion of sin in Romans 7? If we take it as a description of fallen humanity as such, it is difficult to see how it can square with other portions of Scripture or with the Reformed doctrine of sin. Paul presents sin as…
Jerome Walsh notes that the temple and palace of Solomon were completed 500 years after the exodus (480 years in 1 Ki 6:1 + 20 years for completion, 9:10). Walsh suggests that the 500 year total alludes to the Jubilee; this would have been the 10th Jubilee since the exodus,…
In a few earlier posts, I’ve hinted at the idea that the temple should be conceived of as feminine, a bride-house in which Yahweh the husband dwells. A curious turn of phrase in 1 Kings 9 fits with that idea. After the dedication of Solomon’s temple, Yahweh appears to him…
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