In his classic work, The Doctrine of the Law and Grace Unfolded, John Bunyan contrasts the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace. In his discourse upon the Covenant of Works, he considers how far one might go and still be under the Covenant of Works and lost in his or her sin. The […]
Theology
The Church History ABCs (children’s book review)
The Church History ABCs is a fun way for kids to learn about great figures in Christian history. Twenty-six heroes of the faith march through the alphabet, boldly telling their stories in language children can understand. This wide range of characters—men and women from across the centuries and from all over the globe—reflects the breadth of […]
Psalm 46 in the LSB vs. NASB 1995
Last week, Three Sixteen Publishing posted the text of Psalm 46 in the Legacy Standard Bible. As we did with Psalm 37 earlier, here’s a verse-by-verse comparison with its NASB 1995 predecessor. I’ve also added some small commentary below. LSB NASB 1995 0 God Is Our Refuge and Strength For the choir director. | Of […]
Futile Thoughts, Foolish Hearts
Recently, we’ve been walking through Romans 1:18-32 for Sunday School. This passage teaches us that all men, women, boys, and girls know God is real because He has shown it to them. But they deny this reality and suppress the truth in unrighteousness. And then Romans 1:21 says, “For although they knew God, they did […]
Psalm 37 in the LSB vs. NASB 1995
The LSB website recently posted its translation of Psalm 37. I’ve typed it out here and marked differences with its NASB 1995 basis. LSB NASB 1995 1 Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward doers of unrighteousness. Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers. 2 For they will […]
Reformed Ethics, vol. 1: Created, Fallen, and Converted Humanity (book review)
Reformed Ethics – Vol. 1 is the first in what will be an eventual 3 Volume set from one of the great rediscovered theologians of the past. Bavinck’s method for thinking through ethics is challenging and helpful. In many sections I found myself driven to worship the God who frees his people from the spirit of slavery, grants them his Spirit of Adoption, and frees them to obey Him out of gratitude.
Living in the Light: An Inconsistency in the Grammatical-Historical Hermeneutic
I’ve sat on this blog post for some time and there have been times I thought it might not ever be published. It became one of those things where it was just good for me to write out my own thoughts and not necessarily let all of Al Gore’s interwebs observe. But I was recently […]
Soul (movie review)
Though originally intended for theatrical release, Disney/Pixar’s Soul was released on Disney+ on Christmas last year given the present pandemic. Christians may rightly already be skeptical just by virtue of the film’s title and its dealing with souls. Weird metaphysics are to be expected, but there’s also a skewed sense of justice that’s worth examining […]
Book Review — Bavinck – A Critical Biography
In Kingdom Through Covenant – 2nd Edition, Gentry and Wellum have given us a much needed updated to their seminal work on the biblical covenants. Whether one finds their arguments convincing or not, theologians who argue for or against covenant theology or dispensationalism will eventually have to consider the claims made by the authors.
The Immeasurable Greatness of His Power
We are working through the book of Ephesians at Perryville Second Baptist Church. Recently, we came upon Ephesians 1:19 where Paul prays that the Ephesians would know what is the immeasurable greatness of God’s power toward believers. It’s a really great prayer. And it’s an important truth for us today. I’m sure you’ve heard some wrong ways […]
Philippians in the Legacy Standard Bible: Instances of “Think”
In case you’ve been hiding under the sky☘, a team from The Master’s University and Seminary is working on the Legacy Standard Bible, an update to the much-beloved NASB 1995. They recently released a PDF containing the entire text of Philippians, and I’ve made the time to note all of the differences from its predecessor. […]
Unhitching: A Ditch on Either Side
Recent History Andy Stanley famously (well, Christian-famously) mentioned that we need to “unhitch” Christianity from the Old Testament. He tried to walk back the statement afterward but, well, that’s hard to do even if had he had a good explanation. Garrett wrote about it here, and I commend that to you. Regardless of what Stanley really […]
An Age Old Question: What do you think about the End Times?
Recently, I took a seminary examination that posed the following question. I thought I would post this question and my response for our readers. The Question During Wednesday night supper at church, Bob—one of your top children’s Sunday School teachers—comes up to you all excited: “I’ve been reading the most fantastic book about the rapture […]
Justification, Mercy, and Propitiation
I should probably get back to working on the book manuscript I wrote. Back in May, I posted an excerpt called “The Need for Justification.” This is the portion that follows. Just and Merciful But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God (being testified by the Law and the Prophets) has been made […]
Is Gambling Okay?
The Question After we published our second playoff roundtable episode for the year, I received a question via email from a listener. Would you consider friendly wagers of $5–10 sinful? I think this is a question worth answering, and I’ll attempt to do it with brevity rather than an in-depth analysis. Does Context Matter? My […]
God’s Hatred of Sin and the Coming Judgment
Since God is unchangeably holy, His hatred of sin has not changed. God will always have an intense hatred for sin. One day, Christ will return to judge the nations, and those who have not bowed the knee to the Lord of hosts will suffer His great wrath. Revelation 14:19–20 says, So the angel swung […]
Socially Responsible Investing Choices, part 3 — Conscience, China, and Putting it Together
In part 1 of this series, I discussed the concept of ESG investing from a secular standpoint and evaluated the screening of GuideStone Funds, the Southern Baptist Convention financial services arm. In part 2, I evaluated three more Christian providers of investment funds and discussed the dollar value of ESG investing. Here in part 3, […]
Unconditional Election
The biblical doctrine of election is God’s unconditional, eternal, immutable, particular, and effectual choice to save specific persons in Christ according to His own pleasure and not on the basis of foreseen faith or merit. This precious doctrine is the wellspring of every other salvific blessing believers experience for without election, other tenets of soteriology […]
Book Review — Zondervan Single Column Reference Premier Collection
Zondervan’s Premier Collection NASB Single Column Reference is a beautiful presentation of God’s Word in the renowned NASB 1995 translation. The materials and typesetting make this a Bible that can compete with similar, more expensive Bibles on the premium market.
Socially Responsible Investing Choices, part 2 — More Alternatives and Dollar Value
In part 1, we discussed secular “ESG” investing choices and did an overview of GuideStone’s negative investment screening. In this post, we’ll look at some firms that claim positive screening and consider whether these are worthwhile for the individual investor. We’ll then consider the costs of such fund choices and whether they are worth their fees. […]