Reformation21

Dear Comrades in Pursuit of the Chief End of Man, I have rarely (alright, never) been asked to give input regarding the weekly "worship set." However, having witnessed Christian worship in local churches, Christian camps, seminary chapels, and other venues over the past 43 years, I have come to the...

One area where I think the so-called "new Calvinists" (and some PCA churches) need to perhaps give some more careful attention to in their retrieval of Reformed theology is in the area of worship, especially if they want to be taken seriously as "Calvinists". For all the positive developments in...

When I think of the immoderate use of superlatives, I think of Martyn Lloyd-Jones describing each text he was preaching on as the "most important" or "most extraordinary" text in all of God's Word. Maybe he's to blame for the problem I want to describe below. In the church, once-useful superlatives...

Scholastic theology is often derided for the subtle distinctions it makes. Seemingly unable to provide a simple "yes" or "no" regarding disputed theological questions, the common scholastic reply, "we distinguish," sounds more like the response of a slick politician than that of a dutiful shepherd...

Geerhardus Vos has been called the "father of Reformed biblical theology." As many readers are aware, he is known for investigating and displaying the organically integrated and historically unfolded character of biblical revelation. In fact, the Bible was, for him, best understood as the...

We are indebted to Tim Keller for what should amount to a definitive Bible-believing Christian response to the "Gay Christian" argument. No one can accuse Keller of extreme conservatism or personal animus in this matter. His commitment to the authority of Scripture and his careful approach to...

I am grateful to Sean Lucas for pointing out via facebook an excellent article by David Prince, answering the question, " Will I Be Fully Accepted at Your Church as a Gay Man? " He answered by saying that a gay man would of course by welcome to join in their worship. He would be welcomed into their...

Scripture's account of Terah and Abraham's departure from Ur of the Chaldeans for Canaan (via Haran) presents Calvin with a difficulty. In Genesis 11.31 it appears that Terah takes the initiative in quitting Chaldea for the greener pastures of some other place. In Genesis 12.4 it appears that...

I've been wondering just what we're supposed to do with Bryan Chapell's "The State of the PCA" essay in byFaith (available here ), beyond praying over the sad state of affairs it describes. Chapell adapted this essay from a private letter to a friend he was trying to orient to the PCA. In the...

Legalism is a tricky topic. There isn't a Christian alive on earth who doesn't struggle with legalistic tendencies. To diagnose this problem, we need to look at the various types of legalisms that we encounter in the church and in our hearts to understand the concept. Neat definitions aren't always...