We have been anticipating this song, but the time has now come to learn it. The theme of the song echoes many of the themes of the entire book of Deuteronomy. Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth . . . (Dt. 32:1-52). The …
Contra Mundum?
Contra mundum is a nice slogan if you can get it. I have been watching some of the internet discussion in the aftermath of the PCA decision at GA, and I decided I needed to say a little something about the following argument: “All these venerable alphabet combinations have condemned the Federal Vision — URC, …
The Law of Liberty
Although Israel will ultimately fail in their invasion of Canaan, the second Israel will never fail in His invasion of the world. Although the ancient people of God were corrupted by idolatry, the people of God today cannot ultimately fall in the same way. Jesus Christ is victor. “And Moses went and spake these words …
The Rebirth of Israel
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 …
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 …
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. …
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. …
PCA at the Crossroads
Please be praying for the PCA. This afternoon they will be considering the Federal Vision issue. Or, more accurately, they will be considering what some people deem to be the Federal Vision issue. Unfortunately, depending on the outcome, there are accurate names connected to inaccurate summaries of doctrine, and so this really is a crossroads …
The Inclusivist Snare
John Stackhouse is a professor of theology and culture at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. He is part of the Christian Vision Project, and he writes in favor of “inclusivism” here. Inclusivism, as he defines it, says that there are many outside the Christian faith who are saved because of their demeanor of faith, without …
A Career Move?
I just got an email from my son-in-law Ben, to whom the credit for this insight belongs. He was responding to the current PCA embarrassment and, here . . . let him talk. I was thinking about how for the last generation the thing that has always been presbyterianism’s real strength has been its intellectualism. …