24
May
2013
A Road Vlach on Wellum & Gentry’s Via Media?
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In the latest ed. of the Master’s Seminary Journal (avail. free online), Michael Vlach of The Master’s Seminary reviews Wellum & Gentry’s biblical theology Kingdom through Covenant (KtC). It’s one of the more thorough reviews of the book I’ve seen lately (see also, e.g., here). After nicely summarizing the book’s argument and then stating a... Read More
22
May
2013
Living In Light of Death: Ecclesiastes 9:7–10
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Can you imagine the shock when an usher escorts you out of a church service to be told that your mother had just died? Because my mother was forty-four years old at that time and had become a Christian a few years earlier, I was emotionally devastated when I was greeted with this news. I... Read More
20
May
2013
Days that Changed the Course of History…and an Ordinary Year: Two Different Approaches to History
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Over at the Gospel Coalition blog, Joe Carter recently wrote about how four leading church historians responded to the question: “After AD 70, what day most changed the course of Christian history?” The respondents proposed four different answers. Two of the replies had to do with the advance of Islam. Specifically, one writer pointed to... Read More
17
May
2013
Religious Liberty
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RELIGIOUS LIBERTY is being redefined in America, or at least many would like it to be. Our secular establishment wants to reduce the autonomy of religious institutions and limit the influence of faith in the public square. The reason is not hard to grasp. In America, “religion” largely means Christianity, and today our secular culture... Read More
15
May
2013
Sanctification, Homosexuality, and the Church
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In this post my goal is to utilize the issue of homosexuality as a case study to demonstrate that the “Jesus + Nothing = Everything” approach to sanctification is not merely an academic wrinkle, but an error of such prodigious import that it threatens the very essence of the Christian church. American culture has apparently... Read More
13
May
2013
How Should Christians Respond to Other Religions
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Recent decades have provided Christians with an increasing evaluation of and interaction with various world religions. The growth of immigration from non-Christian nations combined with a greater global awareness through travel and communication have confronted Christians with the reality of diversity in faith and practice. Protestant Christians have responded in different ways to this reality.... Read More
10
May
2013
Hidden in Plain View: Mystery and Fulfillment in Colossians 1:25–26
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I have become [the church’s] servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people”—Col 1:25–26 (NIV) Here I’ll make three observations on this text before turning to... Read More
8
May
2013
Summer School Starts May 21
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The first session of the DBTS Summer School begins May 21 and lasts for two weeks (till May 31). Two classes will be offered: 2 Peter & Jude (Greek exegesis), taught by Dr. Bruce Compton, and Theology and Practice of Leadership, taught by Dr. David Doran. The second session runs from June 4–14 and the... Read More
6
May
2013
When Jesus Plus Nothing Doesn’t Equal Everything
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I am not a handy person. The tool chest in my basement contains only a few basic tools, many of which were given to me by my dad when I left home. Next to my tool chest is a 1995 edition of Home Depot’s very useful book Home Improvement 1–2–3, also given to me by... Read More
4
May
2013
Four Guidelines for Prayer
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A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about six reasons for prayer drawn from John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion (3.20.3). In addition to these reasons for prayer, and in fact immediately following them, Calvin also put forward four rules or guidelines for prayer. Here are those guidelines: Calvin suggested, first, that those who pray... Read More