Glancing around the Internet, I have recently noticed higher levels of interest than usual in the doctrine of penal substitution, and thought it might be worthwhile to set down a few basic principles concerning the doctrine. So here they are: 1. Penal substitution defined is the doctrine that the salvation of God’s people is secured …
Gilt Guilt
The Lord Jesus famously said that if we don’t forgive others, we ourselves are unforgiven. “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:15). This seems like a bad bit of business, but only because we tend to think of forgiveness as a peculiar sort of double-entry …
Statist Solutioneering
Wright’s last three chapters were really very good. They were “How to Engage Tomorrow’s World,” “Apocalypse and the Beauty of God,” and “Becoming People of Hope.” What I want to do is make a few brief comments about each, and then make two observations about the book as a whole, and Wright’s influence generally. In …
Forgetting the Columns
The next chapter is on the problem of evil, and in the course of it Wright says something that is particularly fine. Since there are a lot of other problems, to be dealt with in due course, I wanted to begin with the praise. “The Gospels tell this story in order to say that the …
The Elton John Version
Wright’s chapter on the case for ordaining women starts off a little oddly. He acknowledges that he used to teach that “the creation of man and woman in their two genders is a vital part of what it meant that humans are created in God’s image. I now regard that as a mistake” (p. 64). …
The Butterfly’s Boots
I am continuing to work through Wright’s book, Surprised by Scripture, and so I now come to Chapter 3 — “Can a Scientist Believe in the Resurrection?” Look. This chapter was fantastico. Top drawer. First class. Stupendous. Marvelous. Top flight. Really cool. Fantabulous. This is how Wright deservedly got his high reputation. Am I overdoing …
Centers and Edges
In his wonderful book on the Westminster Assembly, Robert Letham says this: “In short, the Assembly, within limits, was inclusive rather than exclusive. It sought to reach the widest measure of agreement possible, within acceptable limits of doctrine and practice” (Letham, The Westminster Assembly, p. 117). In many ways I think this should serve as …
Hellfire and Damnation
I want to begin by acknowledging that the metaphors of damnation that we find in Scripture are quite possibly not literal descriptions — where the worm does not die, where the fire is not quenched, where it is an outer darkness, where there is a lake of fire, and so on. But before assuming that …
The Bagpipes of Hard Sovereignty
A few posts ago I wrote about how God loves cliff-hangers. In the comments to that post, one person asked about long term unanswered prayer, and I wanted to briefly respond to that concern here. There is the emotional side of this question, and there is a logical side. If the emotions are just answered …
God Loves Cliffhangers
As we deal — as we all must do — with troubles, affliction, difficulties and so on, the toughest thing to remember is that God is handstitching these problems for us, and He is doing this so that they will fit us perfectly. We don’t grasp this because we are victims of a metaphor. When …