The fundamental problem with boasting is only connected to the direct object in one sense. The one who boasts must boast in the Lord. A man who boasts in the Lord is guiltless because the object is right (2 Cor. 10:17). But if someone boasts in anything on this side of the Creator/creature divide, the …
Faith As A Badge
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 …
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 …
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 …
The Conscience of Saul of Tarsus
Before his conversion on the Damascus road, did Saul of Tarsus wrestle with a troubled conscience? Now I believe that he did, and have argued for this take in the special issue of Credenda entitled “A Pauline Take on the New Perspective.” I am happy to grant that a troubled conscience in a Pharisee like …
Saul As Torah-Breaker
I am continuing with some occasional remarks on various aspects of N.T. Wright’s work. “What, then, was the agenda of Saul of Tarsus? We may draw it together in three points. First, he was zealous for Israel’s God and for the Torah. This was a matter of personal piety, no doubt, and of fervent prayer …
Reprobation and Preterition
We must begin by understanding that there are two distinct aspects to reprobation. It is important to keep these distinctions in mind all the time. Preterition comes from the Latin, and means “to pass by.” It is flip side to election and has nothing whatever to do with the merits or demerits of the person …
Free Will and Free Agency
No serious participant in this debate denies that men are free, responsible agents, and that they are fully accountable for what they do. There is, however, much debate on what the word freedom means. How Does the Will Operate? Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and …
Providence and Predestination
We come now to a discussion of God’s control over everything. Obviously, this includes our salvation, but is not limited to that. Now most Christians do not have a problem in acknowledging God’s control over the physical creation. Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father, and He know the numbers of …