Gospel Unity or Black Lives Matter
As a pastor, I am for unity. It is part and parcel of the fabric of what it means to be a Christian. I am united to Christ by virtue of the Spirit of unity indwelling me. The Apostle Paul…
Category Theology for Everyone
A Contrast in Growth
Everybody loves the Joseph story. Chapters thirty-seven through fifty with the minor exception of chapter thirty-eight seem to be all about Joseph. And that is exactly why we have to remind ourselves that the story is not Joseph’s but Jacob’s…
Preaching: The Weight of Revelation
It’s not too often that one goes to Genesis to find instruction on Biblical preaching, but there is a fascinating, and I think helpful example of good, Biblical preaching within this book of beginnings. The example comes in chapter 41,…
Justification and Assurance
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life… 1 John 5:13aNKJ The Protestant Reformation is most often remembered and celebrated as the…
Time on Our Hands: Jonathan Edwards on the Preciousness of Time
Editor’s note: In a previous post, Megan Taylor introduced us to the great American theologian Jonathan Edwards. She directed us to consider the Small Pox vaccination which ended his life. In this post. Megan once again enlists the great theologian,…
Justification and Counseling
Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.[i] When this pastor begins…
Justification and Preaching
The familiar words of Isaiah 40:1-2 call to mind the sonorous strains of Handel’s Messiah: “‘Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,’ saith your God. ‘Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her … that her iniquity is pardoned.’” They are…
Jonathan Edwards & Smallpox: Lessons from Edwards’s Fatal Experiment
You may be familiar with the famous American pastor who loved chocolate and flying spiders, but did you know that Jonathan Edwards died from a smallpox inoculation? Edwards was not only a theologian but a student of natural philosophy who…
Justification and Imputation
On October 31, 2017, many Christians celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. My church held a service where several pastors spoke on the theological importance of this historical event, namely the recovery of the doctrine of justification by…
Justification and Union with Christ
When we think about the doctrine of salvation, one of the more important topics to explore is the relationship between union with Christ and justification by faith. In fact, if we have a poor connection between these concepts, our understanding…