N.T. Wright has some trouble seeing that old scoundrel Pelagius in places where I think we should be able to see him quite plainly. For example, Wright says, “Once we release Paul’s justification-language from the burden of having to describe ‘how someone becomes a Christian’, however, this is simply no longer a problem. There is …
Judge Not
Who do not live in a discriminating age. In fact, we have so little ability left in discrimination that we even think that it is an evil thing to do. But this is a very real problem — and some have sought support from this passage in defense of their error. “Judge not, that you …
Marriage From the Ground Up
Minister: Lift up your hearts! Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord! God of glory, we come before You now in the majesty of Jesus Christ, and are glad to present ourselves to You in His name. You have spoken the universe into existence. You fashioned the earth and the sun and the moon. …
John Paul II
Yesterday marked the passing of Pope John Paul II. As we gather this morning for worship, we do so as convinced, practicing and confessional Protestants, who do not believe that the Reformation was a tragic mistake. We are mindful of the chasm that still separates us from our neighbors in the Roman Catholic communion. Nevertheless, …
Repetitive Food
We come to this Table every week. For some Christians, this repetition means that we will necessarily drift into religious complacency or sloth. This does happen, and so the Word must always accompany the sacrament, to keep us mindful of our responsibilities here. But one of those responsibilities is to be repetitive. The liturgy of …
A Category Mistake
While chasing a category mistake, N.T. Wright falls into one of his own. In the course of his discussion on law courts and covenants, he says this: “The result of all this should be obvious, but is enormously important for understanding Paul. If we use the language of the law court, it makes no sense …
Bowing in Gratitude
Our great and glorious God, we bow before You in gratitude. We know that such thankfulness is a gift to us from You, and so we thank You even for that. We know that thankfulness grows, and develops, just as bitterness does, and we plead with You to keep us grateful and never bitter. We …
A Public Gospel
I have offered some criticisms of N.T. Wright’s understanding of the conversion of Saul, and other issues related to the gospel. Given those criticisms, some of my friends on the TR side of things may want to ask me why I think his contributions on questions surrounding the gospel have any value. The following quote …
When Was Abram Converted?
It seems to me that this is a very important question, on two fronts. First, it is important to note that Abraham was in fact converted from idolatry. He, like all sons of Adam, was dead in his trespasses and sins and needed to have the righteousness of another granted or imputed to him. He …
Marriage as Manifest Glory XVI
Introduction: Some people take an approach to marriage that flatters everyone. In other words, it is assumed that everyone wants (deep down) to be a godly husband or a godly wife, and that the only impediment to this marital bliss is ignorance. That ignorance, it turns out, can be remedied with this book, this seminar, …