5
Feb
2024
The Overlooked Scandal of the Mere Anglicanism Conference
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If you interact with certain segments of conservatism, you may have heard about a kerfuffle at the Mere Anglicanism conference held a couple of weeks ago in SC, which included speakers like Sam Allberry, D. A. Carson, Rebecca McLaughlin, Carl Trueman, and Calvin Robinson. The controversy centers around that last speaker, Calvin Robinson, an ordained... Read More
29
Jan
2024
Parenting Advice from a Dead Guy
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Eastern church father John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) is best known for his eloquent sermons (more than 700 are extant), wherein he worked verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. In fact, “Chrysostom” is neither a patronymic nor a demonym but rather an appellation (meaning “golden-mouthed”) given to him sometime after his death. Today, among the church... Read More
22
Jan
2024
Volition: A Function of Person or Nature?
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As questions in the ongoing Trinitarian controversy become more refined, the “pieces” of the broader discussion are coming under greater scrutiny. One of these appurtenant issues is the locus of the will, that is, whether volition is seated in one’s substance (i.e., as a natural capacity) or in one’s subsistence (i.e., as a matter of... Read More
15
Jan
2024
Old Age, Death, or Something Else? The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 12:1–7
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One of the many interpretive challenges in Ecclesiastes revolves around the meaning of the closing poem in 12:1–7. Interpreters have often read the poem as an allegory of old age. There are a number of problems with this view, however, including inconsistency in the meaning of the symbols and a tendency to impose the reader’s... Read More
8
Jan
2024
Does Matthew 24 Describe the Rapture of the Church? (Part 1)
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The Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24–25 is the longest prophetic section in the NT outside of the book of Revelation. If the next prophesied event that believers are looking forward to is their gathering to meet the Lord in the air, you might expect our Lord to refer to this event in his lengthy prophetic... Read More
1
Jan
2024
DBTS Th.M. Seminars Available Remotely
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Looking for a New Year’s resolution? Consider working towards a Master of Theology (Th.M.) degree at DBTS. As described in our catalog, the Th.M. is “offered for those desiring advanced training beyond the Master of Divinity level.” It is designed for both pastors seeking more advanced education and anyone planning to do Ph.D. work. The... Read More
25
Dec
2023
The Virgin Birth and the Immaculate Conception
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This post originally appeared on December 25, 2013. During Christmas season each year, we read the accounts of Jesus’ birth in the Gospels (Matt 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38), and we are reminded once more of our Savior’s Virgin Birth. What exactly do we mean by the Virgin Birth of Christ? Maybe that’s obvious, but let’s start... Read More
22
Dec
2023
Analysis and Critique of the Federal Vision Teaching of Justification (Part 4)
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Read Part 1 in this series here. Read Part 2 here. Read Part 3 here. Teaching Directly Related to Justification (cont.) The previous post in this series examined what FV has said about the imputation of Christ’s righteousness and the role of works in justification. This final post will examine what FV has taught regarding... Read More
18
Dec
2023
Analysis and Critique of the Federal Vision Teaching of Justification (Part 3)
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Read Part 1 in this series here. Read Part 2 here. Teaching Directly Related to Justification While FV is not centered around soteriology, its proponents still address issues directly related to justification in their writings. Four specific issues directly related to justification occur within their teaching: the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, the role of works,... Read More
14
Dec
2023
The Descent of Christ (Part 2)
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Read Part 1 of this series here. Christ descended in the incarnation on the first Christmas. He came to earth as a man forever binding himself to humanity. This much is certain. But did Christ descend into Sheol (ᾅδης/hades/inferos/inferna) after his death? I argue here that church tradition affirms the descent of Christ into Sheol.... Read More