“Instead of the Church and the sacraments, the means of grace, being conceived, as they are represented in the Scriptures, and as they must be thought of in all healthful religious conceptions of them, as instrumentalities which the Holy Spirit uses in working salvation, the Holy Spirit is made an instrument which the Church, the …
Conversion and Conversionism
One of the points I have been seeking to emphasize recently is the importance of evangelicalism. But let me break out what I mean by this because confusion on such a point is pretty easy. I grew up in the context of North American evangelicalism, which includes two things that are pertinent to this discussion. …
Like a Blue Comet
Ralph Wood recently made a wonderful statement regarding Chesterton, although Dr. Woods is in no way responsible for any of the downstream consequences that his observation then decided to have in my head. He said that Chesterton was a remarkable fusion between the sacramental vision and the prophetic vision. I think this is exactly right, …
The Sacrament of Abominations
My friend Toby Sumpter recently tweeted this: “Sometimes a pastor needs to take a man’s baptism & trash it & bury it in front of him & only then will it become true.” Why would a pastor say something like that? Aren’t we ministers of Word and sacrament? Why would we ever want to trash …
Evangelicalism, Cultural and Doctrinal
In discussions with a friend, he wondered at my use of evangelical to describe my position, when many Calvinistic evangelicals (think Lloyd-Jones here) would certainly balk at my applications of it. A word of warning first. Some of the following may be disturbing to my Baptist friends, but I don’t mind spooking them — but …
The New Birth in a Type
The absolute necessity of the new birth can be seen in a type. The law of God distinguished between clean and unclean animals — the unclean could not be offered in sacrifice. From this, some might want to infer that any clean animal could be so offered, but this was not the case at all. …
Chamber Pots and the Explanatory Power of Regeneration
Systematic theology is nothing less than remembering what you read in other passages while you are reading this passage. The kind of thing that gives systematic theology a bad name is remembering what you thought other passages said, privileging them in some form of special pleading, and making the verse in front of you do …
Dark Is What It Is
So when does the moment of regeneration occur anyhow? Fortunately, the answer to that one is simple . . . who knows? who cares? none of our business! Perhaps I should explain. What I am contending for is an affirmation that such a transformation must occur at some point in the lives of those who …
Eschatological Realities May Be Closer Than They Appear
A friend has asked how I would define regeneration in all these discussions, and has also asked how I would relate the whole thing to infant baptism. So I will begin with the definition, move on to a brief statement of how I relate that reality to infant baptism, and then come back to my …
Evangelical Son
The hardest thing in the world to keep is balance, and this is particularly the case when you are in discussions with folks who think you might not be keeping yours. I have heard it said that some have accounted for my recent regeneration jag as a ploy to stay in good with Piper or …