Augustine Contra The Postmodernists

In Augustinian thought, signs, then play a key role in bringing us into contact with the realities they signify. Drawing lines to the Christian life, Augustine argued that catechesis means explaining how “the signs of divine realities are visible, but the invisible . . . Continue reading →

Junius on Providence

Aristotle said it with style: people who set their heart on, proving to themselves with drawn-out arguments “that some providence is,” actually deserve whips, not words; a reply from an executioner, not a philosopher (nor, I add, a theologian). And what is . . . Continue reading →

Dennis Johnson: Two Truths Of Apostolic Preaching

The skillful and pastoral interweaving of theological discussion and exhortation, of doctrine and application, [as demonstrated in Hebrews] illustrates two truths about apostolic preaching that are often ignored in the polarized atmosphere of contemporary preaching. On the one hand, truly apostolic preaching . . . Continue reading →

An Example Of Correction And Sanctification

Puritan concerns sometimes led to excesses. On the one hand, Thomas Watson (1620–86) urged people to press into the kingdom with little mention of faith in Jesus Christ. On one occasion, he even misstated the role of Christ’s blood as the ground . . . Continue reading →

Jesus’ Theology Of The Cross: Blessed Are The Persecuted

11Blessed are you whenever they mock you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you, lying against you. 12Rejoice and exult because your reward is great in heaven. For thus they persecuted the prophets before you. (Matt 5:11–12) During . . . Continue reading →

Descubriendo La Confesión Reformada (Parte 3): Jóvenes, Inquietos y Acts 29

No sabía qué significaba mi transición a la teología pactual y calvinista para el ministerio pastoral, pero sabía que significaba algo. Estaba buscando plantadores de iglesias similares a mí, que evitaran el modelo de ministerio programático y «sensible al buscador». Llegué a . . . Continue reading →

Free Speech And The Fifth Circuit

Whether or not the federal government and its myriad agencies will be able to coerce, cajole, encourage, threaten, and browbeat social media companies into removing views it does not like from their platforms was the question before the Fifth Circuit Court of . . . Continue reading →

Van Asselt On Why Confessional Reformed Seminaries Matter

The Academy of Geneva was established in 1559 under politically difficult circumstances. Especially under Theodore Beza (1519–1605), who was also instrumental in the creation of two chairs of law in 1566 and a chair of medicine in 1567, the academy flourished and . . . Continue reading →

Review: The Binding of God: Calvin’s Role in the Development of Covenant Theology by Peter A. Lillback

Whether Calvin was a covenant theologian has been a matter of considerable confusion and controversy in modern Calvin studies. The answer to this question has usually been determined by whether one considers the rise of covenant theology a positive or negative development, . . . Continue reading →

Bavinck On The Old And New Man

True, we speak of an old and a new man in the believer, and so we give expression to the fact that in the new life the whole man has in principle been changed, and that nevertheless the power of sin continues . . . Continue reading →