Throughout their book, Robbins and Gerety show a genuine inability or unwillingness to engage with the arguments I present for the objectivity of the covenant. For example, one of my common illustrations for what I am talking about is the covenant of marriage. A husband is covenantally a husband, and whether or not he is …
The Scribes and the People
Because of a successive series of synods, ecumenical councils, general assemblies, and graduating classes of the seminaries, the Christian people of the land were greatly impoverished in their souls. Because of this, a great lament arose, and the people of all the congregations were greatly discouraged and wept most copiously. A traveler from another region …
Dominion and Medicine
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 1611) Growing Dominion, Part 11 Among Christians, talk of dominion is just great so long as we keep it general. But the problem is that in order to actually exercise dominion in the world, a host of specific decisions are necessary. And the immediate decisions …
When the Wicked Strut/Psalm 12
All of God’s Word is of course profitable and applicable to our lives. But this psalm is particularly relevant to our contemporary condition, and is worth our careful attention. The great Puritan writer William Gurnall once said that just as one tap can drain a whole cask of wine, so one promise can obtain for …
Present or Absent?
For centuries, Christians have debated the “real presence” of the Lord Jesus in the Supper. Too often it is not noted that the alternative position is necessarily a belief in His real absence. This of course is silly, and so this should cause us to reflect. All orthodox Christians believe in the real presence—the debate …
Call It Regeneration
In order to take all baptized covenant members as participants in Christ in the “strong sense,” we would have to distinguish what is objectively given in Christ, and not what is subjectively done with those objective benefits. Perseverance would, on this reading, be what was subjectively done with what God has objectively given. In this …
A Different Father
In fact, biblically speaking, “nature” is not captured by a static Hellenistic definition, but rather something that is revealed through the process of generation. The nature of the father is found in the nature of the son. In order to acquire a different nature, I must acquire a different father.
According to Nature
Our interest in such passages should not have to do with the wickedness as such, but rather has to do with the divine “paternity suit” that follows on the basis of it. If some covenant members are children of the devil and others are not (as the quotation from 1 John indicates), then there must …
Quarrels and Worship
Have you quarreled with anyone this week? If you did, was it for the cause of righteousness, or was it merely because you wanted your own way on something? If it was the latter, as it probably was, was the quarrel worth it? Did the quarrel bring you closer to God, establish you in His …
Every Weekly Easter
Father and God, Lord and Master, we thank You now for yet another Lord’s Day. You have given us life and light and grace, and we rejoice before You in Your great kindness. You have given us new life, when we as a people were lost in sin, and You have restored us to Your …