Wesley and Pelagius
For century after century, one man has been the bogeyman of Western theology. He’s the bad guy. The one nobody wants to be like. Yes, you guessed it: that old Welsh heretic, Pelagius. For centuries the malign influence of his…
Category Reformation21
Walking with God
A nugget from Robert Bolton’s Some General Directions for a Comfortable Walking with God (London, 1626): By walking with God, I mean, a sincere endeavour, punctually and precisely to manage, conduct, and to dispose all our affairs, thoughts, words and…
The Seven Deadly Sins in a Digital Age: 7. Pride
Now as we conclude our series, we come at last to the vice of Pride, “the Great Sin” as C.S. Lewis calls it, and as the Christian tradition has consistently taught. It is both the first and the last of…
Psalter Theology: Royalty over Democracy
The language of royalty is pervasive in the Psalms. “Rule,” “king” and their cognates appear 98 times in the Psalms (and the figurative words “throne,” “rod,” or “scepter” appear 26 times). Kings govern their kingdoms via statutes or laws, and…
Psalter Theology: Royalty over Democracy
The language of royalty is pervasive in the Psalms. “Rule,” “king” and their cognates appear 98 times in the Psalms (and the figurative words “throne,” “rod,” or “scepter” appear 26 times). Kings govern their kingdoms via statutes or laws, and…
A Tale of Christmas, Kirk, and King
As is generally known, the Scottish reformers took a dimmer view of Christmas festivities than their continental peers. When Knox and company drafted the (First) Book of Discipline for the newly Reformed Kirk, they identified Christmas — along with “holy…
Jesus and Jacob
This is the fifth of my Christmas devotionals focused on the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ in the Old Testament. Previous devotionals focus on Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Joshua. Jesus and Jacob When we think of Jesus appearing in the…
Tomorrow’s promise, today’s indulgence
The new year is not far away. That is when we will being that new regime of diet and exercise, start taking our health more seriously, get a grip on ourselves, whip ourselves into shape, and so on. Tomorrow is…
Scandal Rocks Ref21 Book List!
December 19, 2014 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Although originally unavailable for comment, Bruce Baugus (pictured here), editor of China’s Reforming Churches, explained in an exclusive interview with Ref21 News that he was “honored” to be included on Mark Jones’s highly anticipated year-end…
The Accident of Two Legs
We come now to the last of our Ten Tenets. The Ten Tenets are these: The faith that we are defending must begin with, and necessarily include, the Triune God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — who, as God,…