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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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Hilasterion

The Greek word hilaterion has been one of the most disputed Pauline terms in the past century. Traditionally translate as “propitiation” or “propitiatory sacrifice,” many recent scholars have disputed the notion that Jesus died to appease an angry Father. In a 2000 article in the Tyndale Bulletin , Daniel P.…

March 5, 2013

Friends of God, again

My colleague Toby Sumpter offers these additional thoughts on the disciples as “friends of God”: “When Jesus tells His friends about the ‘fire falling.’ it’s hard not to think of Pentecost. Jerusalem is a new Sodom, but this time the judgment falls with even more potential for escape and mercy…

March 5, 2013

Angels

Angels are active in the book of acts, opening prisons (5:19; 12:7-11), directing preachers (8:26), assuring the Roman centurion Cornelius that his prayers are heard (10:3; 11:13). After chapter 12, angels virtually disappear. There are references to angels in 23:8-9, and Paul says that an angel assured him that he…

March 5, 2013

Friends of God

A student, Kellen Meyer, points out the Abrahamic roots of John 15:14, where Jesus calls the disciples “friends.” Abraham too was called a “friend of God” (2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8). In designating the disciples as “friends,” Jesus is in effect calling them “true sons of Abraham.” As a display…

March 5, 2013

Pathway into Romans

Pastor Mark Horne shows the pathway into Romans at the Trinity House site.

March 4, 2013

Moral Arithmetic

“Conservatives are fighting a losing battle of moral arithmetic,” writes Arthur Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute. “They hand an argument with virtually 100% public support—care for the vulnerable—to progressives, and focus instead on materialistic concerns and minority moral viewpoints.” He thinks the solution is to “make improving the lives…

March 4, 2013

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