Braving Hard Passages: Baptism for the Dead
I have always taken comfort from the fact that if Peter could find some of Paul’s saying as hard (2 Peter 3:15-16), so can I. One hard saying in the Apostle Paul’s writing is his remark in 1 Cor. 15:29…
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Braving Hard Passages: I John 5:6
We have all had moments in conversation when we did not understand someone, and anyone who reads the Bible comes across texts they do not initially comprehend. Sometimes a person or passage uses words that are simple enough, but we…
City of Joy
The theme of joy in Scripture finds its focus in the joy of knowing God as our God and Saviour. As we seek his glory (as opposed to our own) we experience a joy that is utterly different from all…
Eternal Generation: Who Would Deny it?
While attending an academic conference this past year I went to a dinner with some friends and other conference attendees. The conversation around the table was spirited, wide ranging and a lot of fun. At one point, the conversation turned…
The Joy of God’s Salvation
In the American Declaration of Independence, ‘the pursuit of happiness’ was listed along with ‘Life’ and ‘Liberty’ as one of three ‘inalienable rights’ common to all people. It is a striking and curious inclusion. But, whatever lay behind its place…
Eternal Generation: An Introduction
Basic Biblical Trinitarianism teaches that God is one being with one divine essence but three eternal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each of the three persons shares fully in the divine essence so that the Father…
Justification, the teaching office of Rome, and confessing Protestants
My first exposures to Protestant-Catholic conversation were more like shouting matches than dialogues. Speakers took a confrontational approach and charges flew on both sides. In my mind, they sound roughly like this Protestants charge, “You…” Preach salvation by…
Hyssop – A Passion Meditation
Hyssop isn’t much of a shrub. It grows clinging to walls and rocks around the Mediterranean. It is however important for its cleansing properties, physical and ritualistic. Under the old covenant, there were priests and sacrifices. But there was no…
Cyril and Methodius and the Struggle for Local Language Translations
Sixteenth-century Reformers were not the first to advocate the translation of the Bible and church liturgy in the language of the people. Nor were they the first to suffer opposition. Two 9th-century brothers from Thessalonica faced a similar struggle as…
From ABC to PhD: A Thorough Trinitarian Summary
Review of B. B. Warfield, “The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity,” in Collected Works, vol. 2, (NY: Oxford UP, 1929; Reprint Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1991), 133-72. The belief that there is “one only and true God,…