“When we consider the relationship of the infinite Creator of the finite creature, we do have a problem understanding how true natural liberty can coexist with a sovereign God superintending all events in the universe. But the reconciliation of these two biblical truths is ultimately to be found in the mind of God. It is …
Grand Particularities
“From the very beginning, immense pressure was exerted to tone down the gospel and make it something else than an exclusive gospel, to take out of it what Dr. Thomas Chalmers liked to describe as ‘the grand particularities’ of the gospel” (Macartney, Preaching Without Notes, pp. 14-15)
The Ground of Liberty
“The debate, then, is not between Christians who affirm the liberty and responsibility of creatures, and those who deny such liberty. Rather, it is between those who ground the liberty of creatures in the strength and power of God, and those who ground it in the strength and power of man” (Back to Basics, p. …
Building to the Top
“The Apostle Paul was fond of what we might describe as the acculmulating climax, or the pyramidical sentence. He delighted in placing one great proposition and truth upon another, until from one grand and solid base he reached an exalted and sublime apex” (Clarence Macartney, Preaching Without Notes, p. 12)
The Hell of Pomo Thot
Over at JesusCreed, we discover the last refuge of the scoundrel is not patriotism. It is actually C.S. Lewis. The intro to that post says this: “I’m not enough of a C.S. Lewis expert to give a definitive answer, though I always have thought the end of The Last Battle went in a universalistic direction. …
Calling All Writers
New St. Andrews just received approval from our accreditation organization for a change in one of our grad programs, and I am as excited about the prospects for this as I have been about anything we have done here at the college thus far. Here are few paragraphs from NSA’s website explaining some of the …
Free to Do What?
“Slavery to sin is true slavery (i.e. the opposite of moral liberty). But even sin does not negate natural liberty. The slave to sin is free from righteousness, but is still not free from his own desires. Sin’s slave loves sin, and consequently obeys his impulses. As a creature, the slave to sin is naturally …
Avoiding the Sermonic Weasel
“Passive and subjunctive verbs and prepositional phrases cut the life out of oral speech. No wonder the narratives of the Old Testament preach so easily. They are alive with strong nouns and active verbs” (Lowry, The Homiletical Plot, p. 111)
If a Charlie Sheen Rant Were a War
In foreign policy, there are two kinds of competence. Both of them are good things, but you cannot rely on one of them alone. At the same time, the presence of one can ameliorate a situation, keeping it from becoming the outright disaster it would otherwise be. Let’s take the latest adventure in Libya for …
We Think We Hit a Triple
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) The Basket Case Chronicles #35 “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it” (1 Cor. 4:7). The …