Tag: faith
-
Notes on Calvinism
Some notes on Calvinism: God’s sovereignty and human choice are not a zero sum game. The way Scripture presents reality, human choices are genuinely free, but also foreordained by God. This is known in philosophy as compatibilism – the view that freedom and foreordination are compatible. Theologically, it is known as Augustinianism or Calvinism. A…
-
Some Notes on the Paedobaptism Debate
Some notes on the paedobaptism debate: 1. The fundamental divide between covenant baptism and the Baptist view is seeing baptism as a gift and work of God in which we receive a promise versus seeing baptism as act of obedience in which we make a confession of our faith. Is baptism about God’s promise or…
-
The New Right Meets Ecclesiocentrism
The goal of Christian cultural engagement is not to anger the left or “own the libs” or “drink liberal tears.” The goal is to be faithful to Scripture in all of life. Yes, a by-product of faithfulness will be transgressing progressive dogmas. And when that happens, the attitude of the New Right to the left’s…
-
A Masculinity Manifesto (Repost)
This essay already appeared on this blog and also on Kuyperian.com last year, but I wanted to repost it as a stand-alone piece. I love it when various interest of mine converge in one place, and that’s the case with Romans 2:6-16. This passage brings together some of the themes I’ve emphasized in my teaching…
-
Waxing Nostalgic
I was going through some old emails the other day and came across an email I wrote to my kids on the occasion of one of them graduating from high school. This is a slightly edited and slightly depersonalized version of that email: ———— Graduating high school is an important milestone in life. It’s a…
-
Notes on Anti-Semitism
Some thoughts on the current anti-Semitism trends: ———- Questions for anti-Semitic “Christians”: Much of the NT was written to instruct Christians about how to deal with their persecutors, most of whom were Jewish. Are you willing to follow those instructions? The book of James is particularly relevant here since it addresses precisely this issue. If you…
-
Merry 8th Day of Christmas!
Merry 8th day of Christmas! And happy Jesus’ circumcision day! Today is the Feast of the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus. Luke takes care to record Jesus’ circumcision in 2:21. The shedding of blood on Jesus’ 8th day can rightly be viewed as a foreshadowing of the cross. His circumcision confirms that Jesus is a…
-
Exhortations: Four baptisms, a funeral, and the Eucharist
God calls some to himself in the womb. Others he calls to himself later in life. R is one called later in life. God has worked powerfully in R’s life over the last several months, opening his eyes to see the horror of his sin and the beauty of Jesus. R has come to see…
-
From the Archive: AIMING AT SHALOM:THE CHURCH’S MISSION OF JUSTICE AND MERCY
AIMING AT SHALOM:THE CHURCH’S MISSION OFJUSTICE AND MERCY This article was originally published in 2004. Charles Spurgeon once quipped, “If you give a man the gospel, wrap it in a sandwich. And if you give a man a sandwich, wrap it in the gospel.” With those words, the great Baptist preacher captured the essence of the…
-
Patriarchy and the Calvinist Tradition
Calvinists have obviously always been patriarchal, but it should also be noted Geneva in Calvin’s day was one of the first places in the world to make domestic violence a crime. Wife-beating or any other form of domestic violence was dealt with swiftly in Calvin’s Geneva. Numerous other pastors, ethicists, and theologians in the Calvinist…
TPC Pastor's Page 