Here are some studies you may have missed: The Worldview of the Wisdom Books Who Are “The Sons of God” in Genesis 6? The Divine Logos (1) The Divine Logos (2) The Divine Logos (3) Ezekiel’s Temple: Premillennial Achille’s Heal? Creation, Fall, Redemption: The Theological Motif of the Bible The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament (1) The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament (2) Law, Gospel and Faith …
Category: Biblical Studies
I have been discussing the importance of “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.” Here are some thoughts which pertain to this important subject: Some Christians allow contemporary thinking to push out the Biblical Worldview. For example, someone recently wrote that rainbows are not objective realities. Now we grant that no one can find the end of a rainbow. but that is not the same as asserting that rainbows aren’t there. The colors of a rainbow are “there” just as much as …
Here are five more of my 20 Theses on the importance of the Christian doctrine of Creation. Parts One and Two can be read here and here. 11. The Doctrine of a Creation to be explored and understood encouraged the modern scientific process, which was begun in the Renaissance and made explicit in the Reformation, with its insistence that daily work, however menial, was to be done to God’s glory. This dignified and legitimated many areas including many scientific pursuits. …
We come to the final letter in TULIP: ‘P‘ = Perseverance of the Saints. Again our question is not technically whether this doctrine is correct or incorrect, but whether the standard Reformed understandings of the doctrine can be sustained on the basis of dispensational hermeneutics. Some Clarification Much confusion arises because of the similarity of this teaching to what is known as “Eternal Security” which most dispensationalists hold tenaciously. It could also be construed as close to what is often …
This group of five ‘theses’ continue five in a previous post. They derive from a lecture of mine included in a course, “Doctrine of God (2): The Works of God in Creation & Providence.” 6. God certainly works in this world, and makes things according to the laws of thought, the laws of physics, and so on, of which He is the Source. Man’s works must follow these laws, but whatever he does is not a creation but a re-creation; …
The Doctrine of Creation is essential to coming to terms with “the mind of Christ” and to being able to interpret the world Christianly. Sadly, most Christians do not incorporate their view of life within a Creation framework. This leads them to see reality as splintered and only occasionally God-embossed. Here a some “theses” which stem from a lecture from the course “Doctrine of God (2): The Works of God in Creation & Providence” at Veritas School of Theology. They …
Limited Atonement, with its intentional combining of the accomplishment of the atonement with its application, thereby making the atonement itself effectual, paves the way for this next letter of TULIP. Irresistible (or effectual or efficacious) grace is also a necessary corollary to the particular (I don’t say “peculiar”) understanding of Total Depravity usually maintained in Reformed theology. It is closely related with “Effectual Calling” and is often included under that heading in Reformed Confessions and books. In fact, if it …
This is the second in a series of personal reflections on why I cannot embrace Covenant Theology. Part One can be read here. 1. Covenant theology depends for its credibility upon theological covenants with virtually no exegetical proof. This is especially the case with the “Covenant of Grace.” The “Covenant of Grace”, which is often simply called “the covenant” by CT’s, wields tremendous, we might say decisive hermeneutical power over CT’s biblical interpretation (see next post in this series). But …
This is the third article on the subject of whether a dispensationalist; one who advocates getting doctrines through exegesis using consistent plain-sense hermeneutics, can come to amicable terms with the 5 Points of Calvinism as they have been expounded in the Reformed Confessions and standard works on the subject. I know that some well read and solid men who are dispensational premillennialists in their eschatology do say their belief in TULIP comes about via the same interpretive base as their …
Introduction In this series of posts I will try to answer the question as to whether Dispensational Theology (DT) can be assimilated with TULIP. It is important to note that the definitions of the 5 points I have in mind are those associated with the classic Confessions of Reformed theology and reproduced in the standard works. I have decided I shall limit my Reformed sources to the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, the Westminster Confession, the Canons of Dordt, …