Archive for August 2018
Hymns as Poems
Of the nearly sixty books that I have published, the one that I have most relished producing is an anthology of forty classic hymns presented as devotional poems and accompanied by literary analysis. Composing the book was a journey of discovery for me, as well as offering me a platform to assert long-held convictions about…
Read MoreBook Review: The Gospel According to God
Shortly after my conversion, I was introduced to the writings and sermons of John MacArthur. I’m deeply grateful for the ways the Lord used his ministry to keep me from false doctrine early on after I came to faith in Christ. Throughout my Christian life, I have benefited in countless ways from witnessing MacArthur’s faithfulness…
Read MoreThe NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible
The 2015 NIV Zondervan Study Bible has been repackaged as the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible. With over 20,000 verse-by-verse study notes, comprehensive book introductions, 25 articles on key themes of Scripture, and 3 introductory articles on the discipline of biblical theology, the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible will help you better comprehend how the individual features of…
Read MoreOn Its Own Terms: Rightly Reading Scripture, Part 2
A correct reading of Scripture demands that we do so “on its own terms.” In a previous post, I began to develop the Bible’s “own terms” by first thinking through what Scripture is in terms of its claim for itself. What is Scripture? It is God’s authoritative and truthful Word written through the agency of…
Read MoreIt’s Not Enough to Have Your Sins Forgiven: Why the Imputation of Christ’s Righteousness Is Essential
When the reformer Martin Luther was first confronted by Paul’s phrase “the righteousness of God” in Romans 3, he was overwhelmed and lost all hope. He knew he couldn’t match up to the perfect standard of God’s righteousness. Such righteousness, he thought, would be revealed as God’s wrath against all human ungodliness. However, Luther’s understanding…
Read MoreClarifying Scripture’s Perspicuity: A Look at the New Testament
The perspicuity or clarity of Scripture is affirmed by the hundreds of New Testament references and allusions to the Old Testament. Jesus believed “Moses and all the Prophets” (Lk 24:27) could be understood and he sought to explain and interpret in those writings “the things concerning himself.” By rightly searching the Scriptures, Jesus trusted readers…
Read MoreOn Its Own Terms: Rightly Reading Scripture, Part 1
Paul’s exhortation to Timothy—“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15)—not only exhorts us to read Scripture properly but it also serves as a warning that it is possible to fail in…
Read MoreWhy Pastors Should Engage Mastricht’s Theoretical-Practical Theology
I have been warmly commending, Peter van Mastricht’s Theoretico-Practica Theologia for a decade. However, students have wondered whether my promises that someone was translating it into English were empty. Now that these promises are finally coming to fruition with the publication of this first volume, as one pastor asked me, “Why should I buy and…
Read MoreNew podcast episode with David Bentley Hart: The Classical God and the Insanity of Atheism, Part 2
Is western atheism a novel movement? How has the atheism of today misunderstood the metaphysics of the doctrine of God? Is the classical understanding of God articulated by Eastern and Western Fathers a better antidote to contemporary atheism than the modern, relational view of God? Why is the Christian God the first cause, that being who…
Read MoreThe Classical God and the Insanity of Atheism, Part 2
Is western atheism a novel movement? How has the atheism of today misunderstood the metaphysics of the doctrine of God? Is the classical understanding of God articulated by Eastern and Western Fathers a better antidote to contemporary atheism than the modern, relational view of God? Why is the Christian God the first cause, that being who…
Read MoreNew podcast episode with David Bentley Hart: The Classical God and the Insanity of Atheism, Part 1
Is western atheism a novel movement? How has the atheism of today misunderstood the metaphysics of the doctrine of God? Is the classical understanding of God articulated by Eastern and Western Fathers a better antidote to contemporary atheism than the modern, relational view of God? Why is the Christian God the first cause, that being who…
Read MoreThe Classical God and the Insanity of Atheism, Part 1
Is western atheism a novel movement? How has the atheism of today misunderstood the metaphysics of the doctrine of God? Is the classical understanding of God articulated by Eastern and Western Fathers a better antidote to contemporary atheism than the modern, relational view of God? Why is the Christian God the first cause, that being who…
Read More