Story telling is a subversive activity. Every culture, every society, has a story to tell of itself. Idolatrous societies tell stories that vindicate their idols, presenting them in the best possible light. You, as Christians, will always be allowed to worship as you please, just so long as you do not do anything to subvert …
Take the Grilled Cheese Sandwich Away
The next chapter in Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry is by Scott Clark, and is entitled “Do This and Live.” In it he argues for the active obedience of Christ as (an essential part of) the ground of our justification. Okay, I agree with that. So how hard could this be? But alas. On p. …
Not Nearly Scrupulous Enough
God pronounces a blessing for those who do not lean on their own understanding. Of course, in one sense, our own understanding is the only thing we have. The proverb does not mean that God somehow requires us to think with someone else’s mind, to look out at the world with someone else’s eyes. This …
Christ and the Life of Faith
In my previous post on the Auburn Avenue business, I said something that I think requires a bit more amplification. I believe that the unfallen Adam was under a covenant that obligated him to obey God completely and entirely. He broke that covenant, and God promised him a redeemer through another kind of covenant, a …
Another Blast from the Past
Within the last week or so, we have seen the removal of the Ten Commandments from an Alabama courthouse, a removal done on the tyrannical insistence of our federal government, over the courageous protest of Chief Justice Moore. My point here is not to praise or blame Moore, although if it were, I would praise …
Like Scarsdale
So here I sit in the Chicago airport, exercising the patience of Job, or at any rate thinking that I ought to be exercising the patience of Job. No, nothing to do with the flights. I just finished reading Michael Horton’s contribution to Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry. I was seriously disappointed — I think …
And You Help Me Pursue
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! Oh God, my Lord and God, I seek You early in the morning. My soul thirsts for You, My body longs for You In a dry and thirsty land, Where there is no water. I long to see Your power and glory, …
Why the World Limps
The world used to be a pleasant place. Occasionally trouble would arise—a plague, or a disaster, or an invasion. But men instinctively knew how to deal with all such events—they would find the one responsible, whether he was responsible or not, take him outside the city limits, and stone him there. The pile of stones …
Our Communion Parable
Father and Lord, we come to You in the name of the Lord Jesus, and ask You to hear our prayer. We are thankful for our food, for the wine, for another Sabbath, and for the opportunity to worship You tomorrow together with all Your people. We thank You for the communion of saints, and …
Merit Isn’t One of Those Words
The next chapter in Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry is entitled “The Covenant Before the Covenants,” and is written by Scott Clark and David VanDrunen. In the course of reviewing it, I intend to quote Ambrose Bierce not once, but twice. The first citation is of a more general nature. The topic of this chapter …