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Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Apostasy

Regeneration and Lettuce

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…

by Garry VanderveenJuly 31, 2014
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Eucharist

Jesus Eats First

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…

by Burke ShadeJuly 28, 2014
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Theopolis News

Church of the Present, Pastors of the Future

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…

by Peter LeithartJuly 23, 2014
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Exodus

Mutilated Bodies

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…

by Peter LeithartJuly 23, 2014
Isaiah

Saving Judah

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…

by Peter LeithartJuly 21, 2014
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Apostasy

Apostasy and Assurance

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…

by Steve WilkinsJuly 16, 2014

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Glory and Unity

Pastor Rich Bledsoe explores the connections of glory and unity at the Trinity House site .

May 14, 2014

Double Imputation

For some today, double imputation alone grounds the gospel. If Christ’s passive obedience (death on the cross) alone is imputed, then we are forgiven but not positively righteous. We need to have Christ’s active obedience (in life) imputed if we are to be counted positively as law-keepers, as righteous in…

May 14, 2014

Ascended Lamb

A Lamb arrives in heaven to take the book from the Enthroned One (Revelation 5). Why a Lamb? We think of the “Lamb” in association with Passover, but Passover is not the only time when a lamb has to be offered. In fact, Passover doesn’t even requires a lamb but…

May 13, 2014
Trinity

New-Old Debate

One of the virtues of Steven Studebaker’s Jonathan Edwards’ Social Augustinian Trinitarianism is his attention to forgotten debates. Our contemporary debates are not as cutting-edge as we think. We - and I do include myself in we - only think so because of our ignorance and amnesia. He traces social…

May 13, 2014

Johannine Atonement

In a fascinating 2009 JETS article, Nicholas Lunn shows that John’s account of Jesus’ death and resurrection follows the pattern of the day of atonement. He begins from the common observation that the tomb of Jesus, with its flanking angels and discarded linens, is analogous to the ark of the…

May 13, 2014

What Is Sacrifice?

Geerhardus Vos nicely synthesizes different moments of sacrifice: “to the prospherein , ‘offering,’ belongs more than the self-surrender in death; its culminating part is the self-presentation in heaven. It is not merely necessary that a sacrifice be slain; it is equally necessary that the sacrifice be brought into the immediate…

May 13, 2014

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