“When God rebukes Job our of the whirlwind, Job has the humility and sense to cover his mouth with his hand, thoroughly abashed. But modern evangelicals chatter on. They have embraced the theology of the foolish women Job mentioned at the beginning of the book, and, judging by the posters in their Bible and bauble …
Creme de la Creme
A few days ago, a comment on one of my posts noted that Southern Slavery As It Was had been dropped from the banned and/or challenged list of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. Today when I had a moment, I went to check, and, sure enough, there our booklet wasn’t. In other words, …
A Place of Dubious Honor
“The Bible even goes in for a little bimbo humor. ‘As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion’ (Prov. 11:22). Here, let us consider the parable. Is feminine beauty worth anything? Absolutely, between three and four hundred dollars an ounce. But what is her lack …
Polemical Voltage
One of the staples of NPP discussion with regard to Second Temple Judaism is that, contrary to the OPP, the first-century Jews were not merit-legalists, but that rather they adhered to a religion of grace. In the set-up of the problem, according to many NPP advocates, we are not told that the first century Jews …
Glitterati
“Woe, in other words, to those who roll around on their beds like they were really something, with mirrors on the ceiling, pink champagne on ice. These people think they are rock stars at the Grammies, gathered together with all the glitterati, all ready to receive the award for Best Album, and with a prepared …
Ezra Nehemiah 2
Introduction: The world is a messy place. Part of the mess for believers is learning to tell the difference between situations that call for martyrdom and situations that call for godly acquiescence. One of the more common set-ups where such wisdom is required is when pagan empires are in control. To what extent are we …
The Issue Is Boasting
I freely and cheerfully grant that the Jews of the first century did not hold the peculiar merit theology that prevailed during the medieval era. But that particular merit theology is only one of countless ways that fallen men have devised to boast in themselves instead of in the Lord. And the problem of this …
Great Joy in the Opening
In the resurrection account in Luke 24, we are told several times about the joy of the disciples. In v. 41 it says that they did not believe for joy, and after Christ’s ascension, it says that they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. We are also told several times in the account that the …
Forsaking the Right Thing
As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week, take note that every exhortation, every confession, every charge is to be heard in this context, and this is how we are to fence the Table. If you are a baptized believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you are not under the lawful discipline of His …
Judicial Suspicion
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 67 “He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it: and he that hateth suretiship is sure” (Prov. 11:15). The book of Proverbs is filled with hard-headed business advice, and here we have a fine sample. A man …