Tag: faith
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Psalm 110 and Priestly Warfare
By time we reach the end of psalm Psalm 110, the dead bodies are piling up. In verse 1, Christ’s enemies are made into a footstool for his feet. In verse 2, he rules in the midst of his enemies — and has a scepter to smite them. In verse 5, he shatters kings in the…
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Inescapable Deaconesses
Deaconesses are inescapable. Every healthy church has deaconesses, whether they call them that or not, whether the recognize them or not, whether they organize them as such or not. Every healthy church has older women who teach and counsel younger women, per Titus 2 – a ministry of women to women. Every healthy church has…
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Preaching the Extremes
Preachers need to preach the extremes. (HT: Rob Rayburn) When preaching free grace, make it as radically free as you can make it. Make grace amazing, astonishing, marvelous. Pour on the love and mercy. Give them comfort and consolation. Give them peace and assurance. When preaching human responsibility and obedience, ratchet it up as much…
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John MacArthur Runs His Last Lap: A Tribute to the Modern Spurgeon
[A version of this article was published at 1819 News.] The passing of John MacArthur could be considered the end of an era in American evangelicalism. MacArthur’s public preaching ministry spanned over 50 years. He brought faithful Bible teaching to millions as his ministry grew from the local church, to radio and television, to the…
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1 Corinthians 7:14
How should we understand the holiness of the unbelieving spouse and children in 7:12-16? This is a complex issue on which good Christians can and will continue to disagree. Some commentators assume that the holiness in the two cases has to be precisely analogous. On this reading, the holiness in view is probably best construed…
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Infant Baptism and Church History: Did the Doctrine of Covenant Children Vanish Without a Trace? What Do We Conclude from the “Missing Controversy”?
Baptists have to argue children stopped being members of the covenant sometime in the first century with no controversy, no discussion, no explicit statement from Jesus or an apostle, and no church council. If Baptists were right, the Jerusalem Council should have been about the exclusion of infants, not (merely) the inclusion of Gentiles. Children…
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Notes on 1 Samuel 25: Pissing Against the Wall
In 1 Samuel 25, David and his men have acted as a “wall” of protection (v. 16) for Nabal’s servants, guarding Nabal’s men and numerous animals from attack by roving marauders (probably raiding Philistines). Soon after, when Nabal is having his great sheep-shearing feast, David sends men to ask him for provisions. David was not…
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Notes on Political Theology
Petrus Van Mastricht’s systematic theology text (“Theoretical-Practical Theology”) takes up the office of the civil magistrate in his section on Christology, under the heading “The Mediator as King.” In other words, political theology is treated as a subdivision of Christology. The magistrate represents Christ and is to rule in submission to Christ. He then proceeds…
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Postmillennialism and Missions
On June 23rd 1833, Princeton Seminary graduate James Eckard was about to set sail for Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He took with him a letter written by ten year old Archibald Alexander Hodge and his sister Mary Elizabeth. The letter was addressed to the “heathen.” It said: Dear heathen, The Lord Jesus Christ has promised that…
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Notes on the Necessity of Christian Education
An X post on education from 9/9/24: What is (shockingly?) missing from this article is any acknowledgement of what God has actually commanded parents to do. The most obvious thing is completely ignored. It’s not as if God’s Word is silent in this area, leaving us to our devices when it comes to deciding how…
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