I’ve heard of church (and para-church) mission statements and flyers that talk about bringing God’s kingdom to this city or that city by cleaning up neighborhoods, reforming city hall, and getting rid of gangs. While I’m certainly not against those things, I’d argue they are not “kingdom work.” I’m not comfortable with this type of... Continue Reading

“Look at church history. Look at the God-breathed Scriptures themselves. There has always been a need for the people of God to strike a balance between the sacredness of physical presence and the transcending power of communications media — be they Roman roads, printing presses, or social media. Communications media can never fully capture or fulfill the... Continue Reading

Did you ever read a book on sanctification or the Christian life and become awakened to a whole new host of sins that you didn’t even know you were committing? Well, this book had that same effect on me with historical misdemeanors. As Trueman was introducing fallacies such as anachronism or reification, I had that... Continue Reading

The following work is a small attempt to help restore the doctrine of the church to the place assigned to it in Scripture. This book is simultaneously an outline, an abridgement, a study guide, and a Sunday school curriculum derived from James Bannerman’s magisterial work, The Church of Christ. James Bannerman was one of the... Continue Reading

In sum, Taussig has produced a new set of Scriptures to accommodate his new theology. And thus he has reversed the normal order of things. While theology usually comes from Scripture, Taussig has used his theology to create a new Scripture. It’s man-made religion at its best.   This will be the last installment of... Continue Reading

For Wright, the main point of Christ’s death and resurrection was a fulfillment of Israel’s exile and restoration, but not necessarily a substitutionary atonement for condemned sinners. Christ’s death and resurrection are the means whereby the promise of the covenant is extended to God’s people worldwide, but not necessarily a propitiative, expiative, and penal substitution... Continue Reading

Not all who hold to the framework hypothesis agree in all the particulars, and Bedard is careful to note that. Bedard allows them to speak in their own words, and he has carefully cited the views he presents. I would recommend this work first to all proponents of the framework hypothesis, that they might see... Continue Reading

In the end, there are ample reasons to reject the idea that Irenaeus was the inventor of the fourfold gospel canon.  Not only did his contemporaries have this same view, but this view was even shared by those before him.  Thus, we must consider the possibility that Irenaeus was actually telling the truth when he... Continue Reading

Alsup “gets it” that Christian women are, first and foremost, simply Christians. She makes it clear that Jesus—not Ruth or Esther or even the Proverbs 31 woman—is our primary identity. Why do most books for Christian women focus more on the externals of femaleness than on the heart of discipleship?   Wendy Alsup. The Gospel Centered... Continue Reading

“Practical writings have a strong tendency to only reinforce burnout,” recognizing his own helpful book will do just this if we take it as “do more get better” and not grasp his greater message of gospel application. I was glad that he added this important part, and think it may have done well for him... Continue Reading