What is the New Testament all about? If I were to ask this question to my three-year-old son during our family Bible time, he’d answer, “God,” followed by “Jesus.” He’s usually right! And he wouldn’t be wrong in this case, either. There are many good candidates for the central idea of the New Testament. God, […]
Theology
Why Did God Harden Pharaoh’s Heart? A Case for Divine Ultimacy
Every Sunday school child knows the story of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt. It contains all the elements that make a good flannelgraph or picture-book story—or even a Hollywood movie. It’s one of the most powerful and dramatic stories in the Bible. But it’s much more than a children’s story. It’s central in the Bible’s storyline, […]
Did John Use Bad Grammar to Teach the Holy Spirit’s Personality?
Does the Bible present the Holy Spirit as a person, distinct from the Father and the Son? Yes. Did John use the masculine demonstrative pronoun ἐκεῖνος (instead of the neuter ἐκεῖνο) in John 14:26, 15:26, and 16:13–14 to make that point? An impressive list of people answers yes. But Andy Naselli and I argue they’re wrong in “Prooftexting […]
Rob Bell and Andrew Wilson Discuss Homosexuality and the Bible
Or perhaps I should have titled that “Rob Bell Discusses Homosexuality and Andrew Wilson Discusses the Bible,” because there was a disturbing lack of Bible in Rob Bell’s answers and arguments. Instead, Rob argued along these lines (and I’m paraphrasing): People don’t like Christianity. Therefore, we should change the parts they don’t like. The modern […]
Warfield, Vos, and Van Til: Is God One Person?
Orthodox trinitarianism typically refers to God in terms of three persons or subsistences (personas, subsistentia, or ὑποστάσιες) and one essence or substance (essentia, substantia, or οὐσία). But is there a sense in which God is one person? To put it another way, is God’s oneness personal? Here’s how three Princeton theologians addressed this topic. B. B. […]
John Murray on Union with Christ
John Murray’s Redemption Accomplished and Applied is one of my all-time favorite books. I highly recommend it as a biblical and Reformed study on the atonement and the ordo salutis. I’m preparing to teach on union with Christ at my church in a couple of weeks, and I decided to reread Murray’s chapter on the subject. It was time […]
The Doctrine of the Trinity in Five Theses
Here’s how Geerhardus Vos articulates the core affirmations of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity: There is only one divine being. Scripture expresses itself decisively against all polytheism (Deut 6:4; Isa 44:6; Jas 2:19). In this one God are three modes of existence, which we refer to by the word “person” and which are, each […]
John Piper on Alcohol Consumption
John Piper’s view on alcohol consumption is encapsulated in these four sources: “Total Abstinence and Church Membership,” a sermon preached on October 4, 1981 “Flesh Tank and Peashooter Regulations,” a sermon on Colossians 2:16–23 preached on January 17, 1982 “Is It Okay to Drink Alcohol?” Ask Pastor John podcast, May 8, 2010 “Is Drinking Alcohol a Sin?” Ask Pastor John podcast, October 23, 2013 […]