My first article began with the observation that Satan ambitiously aims to attack the church at the very points that are intended by God for its defence. He seeks to bring the world into the church through its elders, and…
Christian catechisms of the question and answer variety came into their own in the sixteenth century. The German Reformer Johannes Brenz developed a Q. & A. catechism for propagating the (revised) Christian faith as early as 1527. Luther followed suit…
I have a work in progress, defending the Reformed doctrine of justification by faith alone. In this work I am trying to make it as pastoral as possible for the average layman in the church to benefit from in his…
Simon Gathercole, Defending Substitution: An Essay on Atonement in Paul. Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2015. pp. 128. $14.99 Gathercole’s introduction begins by asking the question raised by the old spiritual: “Were you there when they…
Simon Gathercole, Defending Substitution: An Essay on Atonement in Paul. Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2015. pp. 128. $14.99 Gathercole’s introduction begins by asking the question raised by the old spiritual: “Were you there when they…
We often read today of a “gospel-centered”TM ministry as opposed to a legalistic or otherwise sub-Christian approach to salvation. When used in this trade-marked sense, “gospel-centered” usually means that we must exclusively present God’s forgiveness for sinners through faith alone in…
Somewhat curiously, Calvin judged “the great number of inns” populating the landscape of his day to be rather obvious “evidence of our depravity” — the “our” in question being, in the first instance, early modern Europeans. What prompted such disapproval…
J.I. Packer is undoubtedly one of the great theologians of our age. His books are, quite simply, outstanding. I’ve never met him. I heard him speak once for an hour and 40 minutes and it felt like a lot longer; but the…
I have the delightful day job of teaching systematic or dogmatic theology. The study and teaching of systematic theology is delightful because systematic theology is preeminently concerned with the Bible, the living and loving address of the Most High God…
Never say “never”, and never say “always” when making a claim about the Reformed tradition. That’s rule number one, and it can save you from a lot of embarrassment. I plan to post on this in the future and bring…
