In defending the prerogatives of the pope as the successor of Peter, Roman Catholics commonly appeal to Matthew 16:19, where Jesus says to Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be...

Calvin's broad-scale attack on the abuses of the Roman Church continues with his criticisms of monks, priests, deacons, and other clerics. The Geneva Reformer had little time for monks who claimed to fulfill a priestly function. Whatever virtues monastic life may hold, it is not a pastoral ministry...

One of the many books I enjoyed reading this summer was Original Sin , by Alan Jacobs. The book included this gem of a quotation from novelist Rebecca West: "If the whole human race lay in one grave, the epitaph on its headstone might well be: 'It seemed like a good idea at the time'."

I have been doing a fair amount of reading on sabbatical, including Thabiti Anyabwile's The Decline of African American Theology , which I enjoyed immensely. Thabiti uses original sources to document the ways in which African American theology has moved from its reformational roots.

WHY GOD ALLOWS SUFFERING This passage began with a call to consider the work of God. As we contemplate the way that he works in the world, he teaches us the right way to live. We learn to praise God for prosperity and trust God through adversity. We learn to live a God-fearing life that is free...

Calvin continues his categorization of where people stand with respect to justification. He concludes his remarks on the first category--people who are outside of Christ and thus remain unjustified--by reiterating that justification depends entirely on God's mercy, not our works. We remain dead in...

For Calvin, the only possible way to receive God's mercy is with absolute humility, which he defines as "an unfeigned submission of our heart, stricken down in earnest with an awareness of its own misery and want." Without such humility, we remain persuaded of our own righteousness, when in fact we...

Two Dangers That Lead to Destruction It is one thing to say that we believe in the sovereignty of God, but another thing to live that out in a world that often seems meaningless. No sooner has the Preacher told us to consider the works of God than he struggles with some of the implications of God's...

One of the first people that I hope to meet in heaven is the Scottish theologian Thomas Boston, who was the subject of my doctoral research in church history. [1] I admire the man for the depth of his theology. Jonathan Edwards said that Boston's work on the covenants distinguished him as a "truly...

To help prepare a scrapbook for my grandfather's 90th birthday, my mother was given a small treasure trove of old letters from around the 1940's. Most of them were written by my Great Grandpa Ernest and sent to my grandfather, Albert Graham. In addition to opening a fresh window on family history,...

The English journalist and essayist A.N. Wilson, who abandoned the Christian faith some twenty years ago, reports that he has found his way back to Christianity. In a recent essay for the New Statesman he writes:

"I lived at a time when a huge change in the contents of the human imagination was occurring. In my lifetime Heaven and Hell disappeared, the belief in life after death was considerably weakened, the borderline between man and animals, once so clear, ceased to be obvious under the impact of the...

"True faith acts on supernatural facts and gets supernatural results" -- Donald Grey Barnhouse.

"Let me have my own way in exactly everything and a sunnier and pleasanter creature does not exist." -- Thomas Carlyle. For comparison, see 1 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Timothy 3:2; etc.

Calvin continues proving the doctrine of eternal life from the Old Testament Scriptures by pointing to Ezekiel's prophecy that dead, dry bones will live and rise again (Ezek. 37). No one should think that the covenant promises God made to the Jews were merely carnal, which was the error of the...

It is sometimes thought that whereas the blessings that God gave to his people in the Old Testament were earthly, the blessings that he promises to give his New Testament people in Christ are heavenly. Calvin disagreed with drawing such a sharp distinction between the old and the new covenants...

From weakness of judgment, from the indecision that can make no choice, and the irresolution that carries no choice into act, strengthen our eye to see and our will to choose the right; and from losing opportunities and perplexing our people with uncertainties. Save us and help us, we humbly...

John Calvin is a covenant theologian. That is to say, he comprehends the whole biblical teaching on salvation under the category God's gracious covenant for the redemption of his people in Christ. While Calvin recognizes differences between the Old and New Testaments, he emphasizes continuities in...

I am very high on the latest book by Steve Nichols, with Eric Brandt: Ancient Word, Changing Worlds . Simply put, it is the best, clearest, and most reliable historical overview of the doctrine of Scripture for a contemporary audience.

For those who haven't seen it yet, David Van Biema has a piece in the latest issue of Time magazine about the resurgence of Calvinism as a culture-shaping theology. Despite a few caricatures (Calvin's God is not only "utterly sovereign," but also "micromanaging") and inaccuracies (are there really...

In addition to what Sean Lucas has written, there are several other points worth making about Michael Spencer's article Tuesday in the Christian Science Monitor:

"O Lord, open thou our minds to see ourselves as thou seest us, or even as others see us and we see others; and from all unwillingness to know our infirmities; Save us and help us, we humbly beseech thee, O Lord. "

A friend has shared with me a litany, or formal order for prayer, written by Dr. George Ridding, the first Bishop of Southwell. The litany was designed for use at meetings of the clergy it was his privilege to supervise and encourage in the ministry of the gospel. Over the next several weeks I will...

The letter "from the editor" in the spring issue of ByFaith (the official magazine of the Presbyterian Church in America, in which I serve as a pastor) reports that ByFaith will soon launch an online series about the health of PCA churches, using Mark Dever's book What Is a Healthy Church? as a...