So what is an evangelical? The Greek word for gospel or good news is evangel, and so the first and primary meaning of the word should be a reference to someone who accepts the truth of that proclamation. And here at the very beginning of our work we see the conundrum that has necessitated further …
Not One of Those Transformer Thingies
I have been writing a lot recently about regeneration as requiring a “change of nature,” and this has been part of a larger discussion (spanning some years) with my friend Jim Jordan. Another friend Peter Leithart has posted something this morning that I think helps move the ball. As I told him, we don’t have …
Even a Baptized Dragon
One of my background assumptions in discussing regeneration is that there is a stark difference between light and darkness in the soul of a man. When a person is converted, and I mean really converted, there is a transformation that is palpable. It is all of grace, and so there is no sense in anyone …
Always Start With the Muck Boots
In his small book, What Is An Evangelical?, Martin Lloyd-Jones says a number of helpful things (along with some pretty unhelpful ones). But one of the helpful ones was this — “The next thing, clearly, about the evangelical is the tremendous emphasis that he puts upon the rebirth. This is absolutely basic to him . …
The Sacramental Story
The alternative to believing in the real presence of the Lord in the Supper is believing in His real absence. That can’t be right. So perhaps a better way to frame the debate should therefore be local presence versus a rightly understood covenantal presence. One of the great problems with local presence has to do …
Ugly Dies
George MacDonald once famously said that obedience is the great opener of eyes. But obedience has to come from an obedient heart, and in order to have obedient hearts, we must have new hearts. This brings us (yet again) to the foundational necessity of the new birth. Without that reality, there is absolutely nothing we …
Immediate Grace
Peter Leithart does a great job raising questions about B.B. Warfield’s book The Plan of Salvation here. I agree with just about all of Peter’s concerns, and would echo them. I certainly agree with him that at the very least a Warfieldian minimalism needs to be be filled out, and questions need to be answered. …
A Decent Sandwich in New York
Jason Stellman, author of Dual Citizens, and prosecutor of Peter Leithart in his trial in the Northwest Presbytery of the PCA, has tendered his resignation from the ministry of the PCA. You can read his letter here. The two cited reasons are his loss of faith in sola Scriptura, along with his abandonment of sola …
A Catholic Evangelical
When I write, as I often do, about the absolute necessity of the new birth, one question that has arisen is this — who or what am I arguing with? Here is a quick answer, or at least as quick as a four-fold answer can be. First, as Chesterton noticed, when Satan fell, he fell …
Silver on Top, and Black on the Bottom
It is bad when a blogger gets in over his head, or when a theologian does, or when a pamphlateer does, or when a connector-of-the-dots does. But, with all necessary qualifications made, it not bad when a preacher does. It is a preacher’s calling to get in over his head (2 Cor. 2:16). But he …