This chapter, filled with promise, brings hope to all those battered by the curse of the law. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. And in this place Moses points to the coming glory. “And it shall come to pass, when all these things shall come …
Not Whether, But Which
Next time you are shut up in the house — say it is a rainy day with nothing much to do — a pleasant and instructive afternoon could be spent with a world atlas. The cartographical exercise I have in mind would perhaps reveal something about the world which is well worth knowing. While staring …
Timelines and Gaps
A wag once commented that the difference between Americans and Englishmen is that Englishmen think that one hundred miles is a long way, and Americans think one hundred years is a long time. And of course in one sense a hundred years is a long time, or, put more accurately, time enough. Much can happen; …
The Secret Things
The covenant is now presented to the people. They will not be faithful to it, and this defection is important in the teaching of the New Testament. “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel . . .” (Dt. 29:1-29). The first nine verses …
Your Papers Please
An hour or so ago, I made it through security at the Atlanta airport. I have seen some epic security clearance areas, but nothing ever quite like this. We were herded, prodded, chided, admonished, routed through serpentine back n’ forth ways, checked and rechecked. Everyone was extraordinarily cooperative — it was like we were so …
Parish
In his lectures, George Grant has recently been highlighting the remarkable work of Thomas Chalmers, the great Scottish theologian and preacher of the last century. At the center of that work was the concept of “parish.” We frequently start our discussions at the wrong end. Say for example that we bring up the issue of …
Gold is Heavy, and Hard to Carry
By now all those who have been following the Federal Vision situation in the PCA will have heard that the General Assembly of the PCA approved the report by the study committee. That was not what we were praying for, and so I thought I needed to make just a couple of brief comments here. …
The Great Knox
In the providence of God, John Knox was a nation builder. But he was emphatically not what we would call a political operative. He was no coalition builder, no maker or shaper of consensus. He knew nothing of polls, but if he had, he would have despised them. He probably never took a personality test …
Because They Did Not Eat the Fat, or Drink the Sweet
The covenant sanctions include fearsome curses. This section is significantly longer than the blessings, but given the situation the warnings are to the point. This section is not so much an argument as it is a painted picture—it contains a good deal of repetition. These are warnings, not proofs. The proof comes in the judgment. …
Photo Negative Guilt
“There is a tendency to equate and then invert the behavior of the perpetrators of violence and that of their victims, so that self-defense is misrepresented as aggression while the original violence is viewed sympathetically as understandable and even justified” (Melanie Phillips, Londonistan, p. 72).