Green Baggins recently posted a call for repentance for those in the FV camp. Not surprisingly, this elicted quite a few comments (279 to be exact), and among them I noticed the following comment by Gary Johnson. Gary is one of the editors of the book I am currently reviewing (By Faith Alone), and because …
Gospel As Apocalypse
We now come to one of the great claims made in this epistle. The gospel is divine, not man-made, and this truth involves much more than might be assumed at first glance. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of …
Cities of Refuge
As we continue to work through Deuteronomy, we are treating it as extended commentary on the Ten Words. We come now to the treatment of the sixth commandment, the prohibition of murder. As we do this, we have to keep in mind the fact that we are Christians, and our faith holds as one of …
Two Coal Fires/Easter 2007
Introduction: The presence of the Lord Jesus, alive just as He promised He would be, transforms everything. We can see this very clearly in the fall and restoration of the apostle Peter after the resurrection. The Text: “And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of coals; for it was cold: …
Religious Authority in Israel
Under our discussion of the fifth commandment, we have been dealing with broader questions of authority, with an emphasis on “secular” authority. In this portion, we come to questions of religious authority, both legitimate and illegitimate. “The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel . …
What Abraham Saw
Frank Turk has made a reasonable request in the comments section of the previous post. He has asked for 200 words on why I believe that Abraham believed the expansive promises, and whether this is in tension with Christ’s statement that Abraham rejoiced to see His day. So here it is, in brief compass. Remember …
A Mousetrap Gospel
I’ll explain the title shortly. Promise. The next chapter in By Faith Alone is by Rick Phillips, and in it he tackles two different challenges to the Reformed doctrine of imputation. The first is on the part of contemporary Arminians, who say that God accepts our faith in lieu of righteousness, and the second is …
Everything But His Reason
Chesterton once commented that a madman is not someone who has lost his reason; he is a man who has lost everything but his reason. Once there was a man who was driven by emotional forces, largely invisible to him. He was deeply insecure, and so he went from one fractured relationship to another. He …
The Need to Banish Lying Tongues
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Of mercy and judgment I will sing; Unto You O Lord, I will always sing. I will walk in wisdom, in a perfect way. When will You come down to me? Within my house I will walk the same way, With a …
The Wrong Line of Work
After a brief introduction and greetings, Paul raises the issue that is troubling him, and that is the fact that someone is troubling the Galatians. Not only this, but they are not being troubled on some secondary issue. The gospel itself is at stake. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that …