The Church Adorned with Beauty
The God of heaven and earth is deeply concerned about and appreciative of beauty.
“And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the... Continue Reading
Creation, Incarnation and the Immutability of God
If God added to Himself a human nature (something that did not exist prior to the incarnation) how was there not a change in God?
Herman Bavinck gave the only suitable answer when he wrote: “Neither creation, nor revelation, nor incarnation (affects, etc.) brought about any change in God. No new plan ever arose in God. In God there was always one single immutable will”2 The immutability of God is in no way whatsoever affected by the incarnation on account... Continue Reading
On Being a Lifelong Learner
Why wouldn’t we want to know as much as possible about the living and true God–both from His word and from those he has appointed to teach us the riches of His word?
We have more resources available to us today than every before in human history. The number of publications–both print and electronic (e.g. Google Books, Internet Archive and Logos)—at our disposal is astonishing. When we find ourselves criticizing theologians or historians of a bygone generation, it would do us well to remember that many of them did not have access to... Continue Reading
From Genesis 3:16 to Dinah – Man’s Desire to Rule Over Woman
The Biblical narrative, from Genesis 3:16 to Dinah, shows that the fall of humankind introduced a power dynamic into the man-woman relationship.
It is our job to war against the effects of the fall. The power men feel they can wield over women is one such effect. The Church must stand against the subjugation of women because in so doing we push back against the Fall of Humanity with the power of the Kingdom. The Church has... Continue Reading
Why Saying “She’s Just a Friend” is an Insult
We say that we are thankful for our brothers and sisters in Christ but often our responses reveal our ingratitude.
Because we live in such a romanticized and sexualized age where every meaningful relationship with the opposite sex is expected to result in the bedroom, we often try to react by minimizing friendship. We set marriage up as the ultimate relationship in which all of our commitment, passion, and intimacy is shared and invested. So... Continue Reading
God’s Sovereignty & Prayer
The question should not be “If God is sovereign, why should we pray?” but rather, “If God is not sovereign, why should we pray?”
Our God is not like the worthless idols that we make literally or figuratively with our own hands. He alone is worthy of praise. He alone is the God of all creation. He alone can pardon our sins. He alone is the God who hears. He alone is our Father in heaven who gives us... Continue Reading
Why Get All Worked Up About Divine Simplicity? An Introduction to the Importance of the Doctrine
God is not only “one” numerically, He is also one of a kind; He is the only God and He is not an individual member of a class of like beings: He is unitas singularitatis.
Many have rejected this doctrine on the bases that it is too speculative, too philosophical, and lacks chapter and verse in the Bible. Many have also rejected it because of its wide range of theological consequences—heretics just plain hate it. But since it does appear weird and highly speculative, why get all worked up about... Continue Reading
Justified and Not Sanctified?
It is critical to how we answer the question, "What must I do to be saved?"
I got B.B. Warfield’s book on the deeper life movement, Perfectionism, several years ago to try to make sense of my former theological beliefs. I never thought I would be referring to it regarding the current discussion on sola fide. This debate is more than academic hair-splitting over theological terms. It is critical to how we answer the question,... Continue Reading
A Better Jerusalem
What is the place of the state of Israel, and the city of Jerusalem, in the consummate purposes and plan of God?
While recent developments concerning the city of Jerusalem has given us reason to revisit this subject–it would do us good to be settled in our minds about the fact that all who are united to Jesus by faith have been made children of Abraham and heirs of God (Gal. 3:29). Believers are the citizens of... Continue Reading
Cyrus, the Lord’s Anointed
Because God is fully sovereign we should expect Him to act in ways we have not anticipated because His decree controls what happens.
Isaiah knew that the Jewish exiles would find it almost impossible to recognize Cyrus, who did not truly know the Lord, as a savior. Thus, the prophet spends much of today’s passage asserting God’s sovereign right to do with His creation as He pleases. Just as it would be foolish for clay to question the... Continue Reading