23
Mar
2015
Announcement
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Next year will be our 40th year of helping local churches prepare men for gospel ministry. God has been very kind to DBTS through these four decades of ministry. DBTS grads are serving all over the United States and advancing the gospel around the world. There are a lot of changes happening in the world... Read More
21
Mar
2015
Thinking about the Church Fathers
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A few weeks ago I wrote a post about Patrick (c. 389–c. 461). In response to that post, someone asked several questions about Patrick including whether or not he was Catholic. I offered a brief reply, and a colleague suggested that many people might have similar concerns about the church fathers in general and that... Read More
18
Mar
2015
On "Preferences" and Church Membership
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Another week of blogs, another contribution to the relentless stream of warnings to all Christians everywhere never to let music preference be a factor in deciding where to go to church, and above all never, ever to leave a church for this reason. This unremitting theme has apparently now climaxed with the observation that music... Read More
14
Mar
2015
"I Don't Limit God Like That." Really?
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A common tactic used in discussions about God and His actions is to claim that the other person is limiting God. It comes up in questions about creation (“I don’t limit God to just six days for creation like you do. I think He could use evolutionary processes and take billions of years”), about the... Read More
10
Mar
2015
Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day
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Although St. Patrick’s Day appears on our calendars each year, most modern celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day have little to do with the person behind the holiday. Next week many people will wear a little extra green, some will celebrate their Irish heritage, and more than a few will drink a pint or two in... Read More
7
Mar
2015
Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal
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If you notice the header of this blog, you will see a tab marked “Journal,” which if selected will take you to the web page for our seminary journal. Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal began in 1996 and is published annually in the fall of the year. At the web page you will find the table of contents for all the... Read More
4
Mar
2015
“Wise and Persuasive Words” for the 21st Century
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I confess I don’t keep up very well with the evangelical left and its culture-lapping delight in all things morally degenerate. So I’m rather late getting into the discussion of Perry Noble and his ignoble attempt to catch Mark Driscoll’s mantle before it reaches the ground. Way back in December of last year, Noble preached a... Read More
27
Feb
2015
How I Become Convinced of the Effectual Call
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I grew up with a semi-Calvinistic understanding of salvation. I knew that people were dead in sins and that dead people don’t do anything. But I did not understand much of how salvation actually worked. When I first heard someone teach on the effectual call (also poorly described as irresistible grace) I balked at it.... Read More
21
Feb
2015
Bearing Witness for Christ in the Workplace, Part 2
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In our last post we appealed to John 17 to show that a properly ordered witness for Christ must avoid the two poles of (1) being both in the world and of the world, hoping the gospel will advance wordlessly through personal intimacy alone (Christ of culture) and (2) being neither in the world nor... Read More
19
Feb
2015
Bearing Witness for Christ in the Workplace, Part 1
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I work in an almost exclusively Christian environment. With the exception of a few brief encounters with folks delivering packages, reading the gas meter, and such, my whole workday is spent with believers. I’m not the best person, I admit, to speak of sharing Christ in the workplace. Recent changes in my family’s situations, however,... Read More