Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
My good friend, Jason Ewert, recently posted a review of Pastor Douglas Wilson’s book, Against the Church . Jason correctly notes that Pastor Wilson’s main pastoral motivation in writing this book is to combat dead orthodoxy. Dead orthodoxy is a real problem in Reformed churches that celebrate the primacy of…
At the church I pastor, we have four servers who distribute the communion elements to the congregation, and I distribute the elements to those in the foyer and nursery. The servers and I do not partake of the bread and wine until the congregation is served first. As this has…
We at Trinity House believe that the church ought to raise and train her future pastors. Part of that training may be carried out by specialized institutions like Trinity House, but the church and her leaders are ultimately responsible for that training. To encourage churches to assume that responsibility, Trinity…
Sandra Jacobs's The Body as Property examines the role of physical disfigurement in the Hebrew Bible, with focus on the Torah, and more specifically on the (fictitious) Priestly document, P. After an introduction laying out a rationale for the comparative method that guides her research, she explores circumcision, the use…
Yahweh saves. That’s what Isaiah’s name means, and that’s what Isaiah’s prophecy is about. Yah saves Judah when Aram and Israel pressure her. He saves Jerusalem from the Assyrian siege. He brings Judah back from the grave of Babylonian exile. But this triumphant message of Isaiah fizzles. The last few…
Are apostasy and assurance mutually exclusive? Some seem to think so. But let’s consider this a bit: No Reformed man would ever say that a man who is “saved” today will be safe forever no matter what . Rather we say, “your sins are forgiven, now, walk faithfully, glorify the…
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In Amos 3:7, the prophet says “Yahweh God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets.” This is a fairly obvious allusion back to Genesis 18:17-18, where Yahweh says, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become…
Luke 22:24-30 As I mentioned last week in connection with priesthood, there is a sense in which we can talk about a priestly stage of Israel?s history and a priestly stage of life. But the more fundamental reality of the NT is that all members of Christ are priests. And…
In Rom 5:1-11, Paul twice mentions salvation as a future experience for the believer (vv 9, 10). The salvation he has in view is particularly rescue from the wrath of judgment, which might have either an historical or eschatological focus. The just are like Noah, who are “saved” when God…
The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery entry on “enemy” points out that “groaning” in the Psalms is “frequently focused on the enemy, such as the anguished rhetorical lament, ‘How long will my enemy triumph over me?’” The article points out that Paul adopts this same groaning lament in Rom 7:24, but…
Robert Kagan ‘s acclaimed little book, Paradise and Power , offers the following insightful analysis into the contemporary European vision of the world and the European hostility to and suspicion of US power. After WW2, Kagan writes, “European strategy culture” set out on a program of “conscious rejection of the…
One of the charges brought against the Auburn Avenue theology is that it undermines assurance. Raising the question of assurance is fair game, but it is also highly ironic. It is not as if the Reformed churches have the issue of assurance solved, after all. In many sectors of the…
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