The Riddleblog

“You Are a Chosen Race” ( Peter 2:1-12) – Words from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Four)

Many of the elect exiles to whom Peter is writing have been forcibly removed from their homes, usually because of their faith in Jesus Christ and for refusing to worship pagan deities. These exiles are undergoing a difficult time of trial and testing. They possess a heavenly citizenship and a living hope which determines what they believe and what they do. But how should these elect exiles think of themselves during their sojourn? Merely as individual sojourners, marking time until they die? What should their identity be as they struggle in this world, despised and rejected, and during times when their faith is put to the test? Peter answers this question in verses 1-12 of the second chapter of Peter’s first epistle. What can we learn from their situation and example?

Recap of 1 Peter 1:13-25 – Three Imperatives

In verses 13-19 of I Peter 1, the apostle issues three imperatives (commands). These commands unfold against the background of the gospel promises made in the previous verses (3-12). Peter’s readers/hearers have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit (set apart for God’s purposes), they have been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus (forgiven of their sins), and they have been set apart for obedience (sanctification). The commands which follow the gospel promises are given to the elect exiles (Christian believers) mentioned in the opening verse of this epistle. Obedience to these imperatives is the means through which elect exiles identify themselves as citizens of heaven (believers in Jesus), while they dwell in the midst of the civil kingdom, where they now find themselves undergoing various trials which test their faith.

The first imperative is that the apostle instructs us to fix our hope upon Jesus (v. 13). Jesus will keep all of the promises he makes to us in the gospel. We live this life in light of the realization of God’s promise of a heavenly inheritance in the next. Second, Peter exhorts us to live holy lives which reflect the holiness of our creator and redeemer (verses 14-16). We are to strive for holiness out of gratitude for all that God has done for us in Jesus Christ. The third imperative is that we are to live in the fear of the Lord, because the one we invoke as our Father is also judge of all the earth (verses 17-19).[1] The practical implications of these commands are spelled out in the next section of this epistle, verses 1-12, of chapter 2.

Far too often the imperatives in I Peter (and similar passages) are read by Christians in light of individual and personal sanctification. In other words, Peter is talking to me (not a church or group of Christians) and these imperatives primarily refer to “my personal walk with the Lord.” But the apostle mentions the “love of our brothers [and sisters]” and commands us to love one another (v. 22) using language which comes from the Old Testament, and which applied to the people of Israel–a nation chosen by God, and set apart for his purposes. Peter now applies the same language to Christians in the context of their membership in Christ’s church. The command to love one another which is worked out in the opening verses of the second chapter (verses 1-3), and which leads to a discussion of the church’s identity (in verses 4-10), reminds us that sanctification and the striving for holiness take place within the community of sinful people who together believe in Jesus Christ. This mirrors the nation of Israel as a people “set apart” by God unto himself and for his purposes.

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I PeterKim RiddlebargerApril 3, 2023A chosen race, The rejected stone Comment

A New Episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast! "We Urge You Brothers" — Instructions Regarding What to Do Until Jesus Returns (1 Thessalonians 5:12-28)

Episode Synopsis:

Since the Lord will return suddenly and unexpectedly, what are the Thessalonians to do until Jesus’s return? Paul has already encouraged them earlier in his letter, telling them that they are doing well despite the persecution and on-going threats they were receiving from Jews and Greco-Roman pagans in Thessalonica. But Paul knows there is always the possibility that things might go south. Therefore, he uses his closing remarks to urge the Thessalonians to be at peace among themselves and respect those who labor among them.

Paul also takes the opportunity to urge them to encourage any strugglers and malingerers in their midst, to do good, to pray without ceasing, and to avoid evil. He reminds them that the Lord will deliver them from their enemies and right all wrongs on the day of judgment. Paul urges the Thessalonians not to quench the Spirit, nor despise prophecy. He prays that God will sanctify them so that they might be blameless on the day of the Lord’s return. He then instructs the brothers to make sure his letter is read aloud in the churches, so any questions the congregation had about the Lord’s return might be answered.

As we have come to see from Paul, there is much practical wisdom here, which is as much a benefit to Christians now as it was to Thessalonicans who first heard this letter read in their churches.

To see the show notes and listen to the podcast, follow the link below:

Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerMarch 31, 2023Grieving the Spirit, TrichotomyComment

The Basics -- God's Providence

A Christian doctrine of creation establishes a Christian doctrine of providence. As God created all things out of nothing, so too, he upholds and sustains those things which he has created. Just as in the doctrine of creation, here too we encounter the triune God working in and through all that he has made. Paul lays out this connection between creation and providence in his letter to the Colossians, “for by him [the Son] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). We read elsewhere that the Holy Spirit too was hovering over the face of the deep at creation (Genesis 1:2, Psalm 33:6). Thus we affirm that God the Father works all things in and through the Son, in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, nothing can happen that is outside the will, purpose, and superintendence of God. This is the foundation of a Christian doctrine of providence. The Creator maintains and directs his creation. He does not sleep nor slumber, nor is he ever caught off-guard or unaware.

There are several ways in which we ought think about God’s providence. The first is that God controls, sustains, and directs all things so that they fulfill the purpose for which they have been created. This is often spoken of as “preservation.” As the Bible reveals that God created all things by his all-powerful word, so too, his same word governs the creatures he has made. God commands the creatures he has made to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:22). He commands the same of Adam and Eve (Genesis 1:28). God does not merely act upon creation as an all-powerful external force, he acts within his creation, sustaining, and directing every portion of it as the all-powerful creator and sustainer.

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"A Single Decision of Election" -- Article Eight, First Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort

Article 8: A Single Decision of Election

This election is not of many kinds; it is one and the same election for all who were to be saved in the Old and the New Testament. For Scripture declares that there is a single good pleasure, purpose, and plan of God’s will, by which he chose us from eternity both to grace and to glory, both to salvation and to the way of salvation, which he prepared in advance for us to walk in.

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Scripture teaches us that election is based upon God’s eternal counsel and purpose, and is a mystery to us unless revealed by God in his word or through the passage of time, when that which God has decreed in eternity past comes to fruition in human history (cf. Ephesians 1:3-14). The previous articles have pointed out that election is not based upon anything God foresees in the creature. He sovereignly decrees what comes to pass, and does not merely react to what his creatures may or may not do.

In Article Eight, we now learn that God’s decree is one. God does not have multiple wills or purposes, as for example, when our Lutheran friends contend that God has an antecedent (prior) will to save all men and women, and a consequent (subsequent) will to save those who believe and do not resist grace (i.e., the elect). This may be a sincere attempt to solve the problem of reprobation (God not choosing some to be saved, thereby rendering them objects of his wrath), but ends up creating another unnecessary problem–two apparently contradictory wills within God. These two wills include God’s will to save all, and his subsequent will to save the elect, only because his prior will (the salvation of all), cannot be realized.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerMarch 27, 2023A single decree of electionComment

A Funeral for My Friend

My dear friend Ron recently died in Christ. Ron was one of those guys who was rather unassuming but everyone seemed to know him and he had many friends. I first met him way back when Christians United for Reformation (CURE) held their Friday night “Academy” lectures in Orange County, around the time the White Horse Inn first went on the air. He was there every week.

Once the White Horse Inn hit the airwaves in the LA area, Ron probably listened to every episode. He bought cassette tapes of everything CURE did, passed them out to friends, and then bought more.

When Christ Reformed Church was in the planning stages, Ron was there, at every meeting, probably the most excited person in the room to see things get up and going. He was there when Christ Reformed held its trial run services in Mike Horton’s living room. He was there the first Sunday we held “official” worship services.

He seemed to be there every Sunday, for every Bible Study and Academy. He always had insightful questions, appreciated the lessons, and expressed gratitude for what the doctrines of grace, law and gospel, and the Heidelberg Catechism had done to change his life and grant him assurance. He’d often tell me with a glint of excitement, “God is so good!”

Twenty-five plus years later, Ron was still at Christ Reformed Church every Sunday, though he was now past 80 and in failing health. He was still a working veterinarian, ensured his family came to church, still loving the gospel, still expressing the joy of his salvation.

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“Why the Law?” Some Thoughts on Galatians 3:15-25

In light of Paul’s exposing of the Judaizer’s faulty understanding of redemptive history, the apostle returns to the fundamental question, “why the law?” No doubt, the law serves a very important purpose, but we must be very clear as to what that purpose is. In Galatians 3, especially verses 15-25, Paul explains that the primary purpose of the law is to show us that we are sinners who need a Savior. According to the second use, the law functions as a stern tutor of a guardian of a minor. The law holds us prisoner to sin until we are released from its tutorial function when we embrace Jesus Christ through faith. The law accomplishes its purpose when it exposes how sinful we truly are. Once we have come to faith in Jesus, the law is no longer a guardian for us, like that needed by small children.

When we consider the law from this perspective–the so-called “second” or “theological” use of the law– a number of things should be noted. For one thing, it should be absolutely clear that there will be no one who obtains the promise because they obeyed the law, or earned God’s favor through their good works, or through their obedience to God’s commandments. Paul is both emphatic and clear. The law was not given to bring life. It was given to inflict the curse and death.

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GalatiansKim RiddlebargerMarch 23, 2023Why the Law of God?Comment

Louis Berkhof on the Historical Development of the Church's Doctrine of Antichrist

Berkhof’s summation of church’s development of the doctrine of “Antichrist” across time is very helpful. As you can see, there has been little consensus about this. Berkhof is also writing before more recent speculation generation by the prophecy pundits, especially in light of Israel being re-installed in her ancient homeland.

Historically, there have been different opinions respecting Antichrist. In the ancient Church many maintained that Antichrist would be a Jew, pretending to be the Messiah and ruling at Jerusalem. Many recent commentators are of the opinion that Paul and others mistakenly thought that some Roman emperor would be Antichrist, and that John clearly had Nero in mind in Rev. 13:18, since the letters in the Hebrew words for “emperor Nero” are exactly equivalent to 666, Rev. 13:18. Since the time of the Reformation many, among whom also Reformed scholars, looked upon papal Rome, and in some cases even on some particular Pope, as Antichrist. And the papacy indeed reveals several traits of Antichrist as he is pictured in Scripture. Yet it will hardly do to identify it with Antichrist. It is better to say that there are elements of Antichrist in the papacy. Positively, we can only say: (a) that the anti-Christian principle was already at work in the days of Paul and John according to their own testimony; (b) that it will reach its highest power towards the end of the world; (c) that Daniel pictures the political, Paul the ecclesiastical, and John in the book of Revelation both sides of it: the two may be successive revelations of the anti-Christian power; and (d) that probably this power will finally be concentrated in a single individual, the embodiment of all wickedness.

L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938). 702.

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Amillennialism, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerMarch 20, 2023Antichrst Comments

A New Episode of the Blessed Hope! "Like a Thief in the Night" — Paul's Discussion of the Timing of the our Lord's Return in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Episode Synopsis:

Date-setting has been a problem for God’s people since the days of the apostles. Church history is full of the accounts of those who, for whatever reason, attempted to figure out when Jesus will return, set dates, and then miserably failed to predict the unpredictable. Two recent examples should suffice. Edgar C. Whisenant predicted the Lord’s return in 1988 in his booklet, “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988.” When that failed, he went for 1989. When that failed he picked 1993. And when that failed, he went for 1994. He died in 2001, preventing any future date-setting. The first book created quite a stir, and sold lots of copies (4.5 million of them). Although the later volumes (each with a revised date of Christ’s return) drew less of an audience, Whisenant’s reach was still far larger than anything than any sound theologian has written on the end times before or after.

And there was Harold Camping–a CRC elder–who, in 2005, predicted that Jesus would return on May 21, 2011. According to Camping, those who were saved would be taken to heaven while five months of fire, brimstone, and plagues will strike the earth, with millions dying under the divine onslaught. Following his own time-line Camping concluded that on October 21, 2011 (five months after the rapture), final destruction would come upon the world. When none of this materialized, Camping was completely discredited, his radio empire nearly collapsed, and in response, he called upon Christians to leave their churches because they had all become apostate! By that I take Camping to mean that Christians stopped listening to him and churches were calling him out for his date setting. So, they were at fault not Camping.

When we turn to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 of Paul’s Thessalonian letter, and carefully consider what Paul teaches about the Lord’s parousia, (coming) it does not take long to realize that according to Paul, Christ’s return will be like “a thief in the night.” The Lord’s return will be sudden and unexpected, and will bring about sudden destruction (i.e., final judgment) upon those who do not expect it because they are blissfully indifferent to the awful fate which awaits all those apart from faith in Jesus Christ.

To listen to this episode and see the show notes, follow the link below

“This Word Is the Good News” (1 Peter 1:13-25) – Words from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Three)

The Distinguishing Feature of a Heavenly Citizenship

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you are also a citizen of the heavenly kingdom. Our heavenly citizenship also means that we are, in a sense, resident aliens in the land in which we live (in our case, the United States of America). In light of our dual citizenship, the question raised by our text is what, if anything, distinguishes us from the non-Christians around us?

The answer to this question is to be found in the simple fact that Christianity is not a culture, but a system of doctrine. Generally speaking, Christians do not identify themselves by wearing a unique Christian costume (clothing, hairstyle, etc.). Or by eating or not eating certain foods. Or by withdrawing from daily life and keeping to ourselves in Christian communities isolated from the non-Christians around us. There are notable exceptions to be sure–but these are exceptions nonetheless. The Amish wear distinctive clothing and avoid modern “worldly” contrivances, the Seventh Day Adventists follow certain dietary laws, and there are orders in the Roman church which cloister themselves so as to be fully devoted to a life of contemplation, or to support vows of celibacy, poverty, or silence.

But Peter mentions none of these things when writing his first letter to Christian exiles in Asia Minor. The Apostle exhorts Christian aliens to identify ourselves as citizens of heaven by our doctrine (what we profess about the Triune God) and by our conduct, (we strive to be holy as the Lord is holy). This is how we as Christians distinguish ourselves from the non-Christians around us–our doctrine and life.

In part three of our series on Peter’s words to a pilgrim church, we move further into the opening chapter where Peter describes how Christian aliens are to conduct themselves during their earthly sojourn. Peter is writing to a group of struggling Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor (Turkey). His readers/hearers had been displaced from their homes several years earlier as a result of a decree by the Roman emperor Claudius, who granted confiscated land to retired Roman soldiers in the regions mentioned by Peter. Yet, there is a sense in which all Christians are similarly “elect exiles”–the term Peter uses when referring to Christians hearing and reading this letter. What Peter says to those elect exiles uprooted by the Diaspora in the first century, also applies to us. How do we conduct ourselves as resident aliens in the modern world in light of Peter’s exhortation to those in first century Asia Minor to live holy lives?

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Musings (3/13/2023)

Here’s R. C. Sproul’s take on B. B. Warfield’s legacy (including an account of Warfield’s death): R. C. Sproul — Warfield, "Defender of the Faith"
J-Mac at the 2023 Shepherd’s Conference Redux. Despite his age and recent health issues, John MacArthur was his feisty old self at the recent Shepherd’s Conference, calling the Book of Zechariah an “amillennialist’s nightmare.” Sorry, Dr. MacArthur, I beg to differ . . . Evil in the Millennial Age? An Exposition of Zechariah 14
Some of the old dust-ups surrounding J-Mac’s dispensationalism resurfaced on Twitter as fallout from MacArthur’s sermon/lecture on Zechariah. Here’s My Reply to John MacArthur 2007 Shepherd's Conference Straw Man Attack on Amillennialism
So too, MacArthur’s rather loose proximity to the Reformed tradition was raised again. Here’s the best response to J-Mac’s “Reformed” credentials I’ve seen yet: Richard Muller's "How Many Points?" takes a look at how J-Mac would fare in Calvin's Geneva. Here’s a hint. Not well.

To read the rest of my “musings” follow the link below

The Basics -- Creation

As C. S. Lewis quipped in Mere Christianity, “God likes matter. He invented it.” Although we can easily overlook this important theological connection, the Christian doctrine of God requires a corresponding Christian doctrine of creation. There are three important elements to consider when reflecting upon how Christians should understand the created order, including things seen and unseen.

First, Scripture affirms that God created all things. Nothing which now exists, exists apart from the fact that God created it. All created things, therefore, owe their existence to God’s eternal decree that particular things do exist because he wills it. The second distinct feature of a Christian doctrine of creation is that since God created all things, God is therefore distinct from all created things and beings. This is apparent from the very opening declaration of the Bible–“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Creation is not part of God (pantheism), nor is creation within the being of God (panentheism). This fact sets Christianity apart from a number of religions–especially those of the east, or those who see a dualism between spirit and matter in opposition to one another, as found in ancient Greek philosophy. A third aspect is that having created all things, God pronounced them “good,” a benediction which is repeated throughout the seven days of creation of Genesis 1. These three facts not only frame a distinctive Christian doctrine of creation, they stand in opposition to a great deal of contemporary opinion to the contrary.

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"Election" -- Article Seven, First Head of Doctrine, The Canons of Dort

Article 7: Election

Election [or choosing] is God’s unchangeable purpose by which he did the following:

Before the foundation of the world, by sheer grace, according to the free good pleasure of his will, he chose in Christ to salvation a definite number of particular people out of the entire human race, which had fallen by its own fault from its original innocence into sin and ruin. Those chosen were neither better nor more deserving than the others, but lay with them in the common misery. He did this in Christ, whom he also appointed from eternity to be the mediator, the head of all those chosen, and the foundation of their salvation.

And so he decided to give the chosen ones to Christ to be saved, and to call and draw them effectively into Christ’s fellowship through his Word and Spirit. In other words, he decided to grant them true faith in Christ, to justify them, to sanctify them, and finally, after powerfully preserving them in the fellowship of his Son, to glorify them.

God did all this in order to demonstrate his mercy, to the praise of the riches of his glorious grace.

As Scripture says, “God chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world, so that we should be holy and blameless before him with love; he predestined us whom he adopted as his children through Jesus Christ, in himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, by which he freely made us pleasing to himself in his beloved” (Eph. 1:4–6). And elsewhere, “Those whom he predestined, he also called; and those whom he called, he also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:30).

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In Article Seven, the Canons set forth a working definition of the doctrine of election which will be used throughout the following articles. It is important to define our terms from the outset and this is what the authors do here. We can best understand this definition by working our way through the main points in order.

First, the Canons teach that election took place in eternity past—“Before the foundation of the world.” Paul teaches this in Ephesians 1:4-6, and his point should be carefully considered so that we remove from our thinking all notions of election being based upon something God foresees the creature doing–as in the case of those who argue that God merely knows in advance what we will do under certain conditions and then he reacts accordingly. While election takes place in eternity past, God executes his eternal decree in time and space. Redemptive history, the biblical account of our redemption from sin and the curse, is therefore the outworking of God’s eternal decree. This too can be seen in Ephesians 1:7-10, when Paul speaks of the work of Christ for us, and then in verses 11-14, when he speaks of Christ’s work being applied to believers by the Holy Spirit. Redemption is decreed (Election), accomplished by Christ, and then applied to us by the Holy Spirit.

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Kim RiddlebargerMarch 8, 2023

The Great Tribulation and the Great Commission—Disciples, Witnesses, and Martyrs

The Great Commission and the Great Tribulation Run Concurrently

It is common for Christians to discuss the Great Commission in a missionary context and to consider and develop its role as the final marching orders coming from Jesus to his church. In Matthew 28:18–20, we read, “And Jesus came and said to them, `All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

It is also common for Christians interested in eschatology to discuss and debate the nature of the great tribulation (i.e., “when?” and “how long?”). In a previous essay (The Great Tribulation -- When and How Long?), I wrote,

In light of the tendency to relegate a time of "great" tribulation to the distant past or the immediate future, it is important to briefly survey the biblical teaching on this topic. When we do so, it becomes clear that the time of “great tribulation” cannot be tied exclusively to the events of A.D. 70, nor to the seven years immediately before our Lord’s return. The Bible does not speak of tribulation in this manner, and as we know, many of God’s people have already faced periods of horrific tribulation following the days of Christ’s redemptive tribulation on the cross, and that such tribulation for the people of God will continue until Jesus returns at the end of the age to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new.

But it is not often that the Great Commission and the tribulation are discussed in relation to each other (they are connected), and seen as running in parallel throughout the entire inter-advental age. Each give us quite different perspectives on the same period of time—this present evil age. In what follows, I will attempt to draw out and highlight the connection between the mission of the church to go out among the nations, and the opposition from those nations which that mission generates. Jesus himself tells us that this mission extends throughout this present evil age (“I am with until the end of the age”), and provides the context of the nature and mission of the church which Jesus established—to make disciples. It also is apparent that this mission will be conducted in an atmosphere of hostility—i,e., the age of tribulation.

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"The Rapture" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) -- Don’t be Left Behind! Episode Nine of the Blessed Hope Podcast on Paul's Thessalonian Letters Is Ready

Episode Synopsis:

As a baby boomer, I grew up during the Cold War, when the threat of nuclear war was real and constant. In 1948, Israel became a nation and many Jews began returning to their ancient homeland. The “Six Day War” of 1967, fought between Israel and a confederation of Arab states, sure made it seem as though the dispensational expectation of the rapture of the Gentile church, followed by a seven-year tribulation period in which antichrist would make a peace treaty with Israel, only to turn upon the nation leading to the Battle of Armageddon, was at hand. Fear and uncertainty among God’s people during this time created a huge and eager audience as well as perfect timing for Hal Lindsey to release his blockbuster book, the Late Great Planet Earth which was the best-selling book in the United States during the 1970's, selling some 28 million copies by 1990. Lindsey put into popular terms how current events were unfolding as the fulfillment of God’s plan to redeem his people, save Israel, and usher in the millennial age. But what was to come next on this time line? The “rapture.” The rapture became the main hope of vast numbers of Bible-believing Christians. Jesus will return to rapture believers before any nuclear holocaust thereby sparing believers from such horrors, and the removal of the Gentile church will allow God to return to dealing with Israel, the apple of his eye. Everything centered upon the “rapture.”

But when Paul discusses the meaning of Jesus Christ’s parousia (or his coming) in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, does the apostle actually teach anything like the end-times scenario as taught by dispensationalists and popularized by the likes of Hal Lindsey? In this ninth episode of season two of the Blessed Hope Podcast in which are working our way through Paul’s two Thessalonian letters, we will consider Paul’s discussion of the Lord’s return. While Paul is certain of the Lord’s return to raise the dead, judge the world and make all things new, he knows nothing of the “rapture” in the form embraced by so many. What does Paul teach about the Lord’s return? Stay tuned.

To listen to the episode and view the show notes, follow the links below:

Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerMarch 3, 2023The Rapture, The Lord's ParousiaComment

Two Essential Works by B. B. Warfield Are Coming In June!

Many of us first encountered B. B. Warfield through the five “Warfield” volumes first published by P & R from 1948-1958. My Warfield volumes are now thoroughly highlighted and well-worn. I have even purchased duplicate volumes over the years to mark up all over again. All but one of the Warfield volumes have now fallen out of print.

I am thrilled to learn of the re-publication of a new and entirely updated version of this five volume set of which the first two volumes should be ready by June 2023. I’ve seen the new editions and they are beautifully done and edited.

I cannot recommend these volumes highly enough nor sufficiently thank the folks at P & R for bringing the “Warfield set” and its content back into print. May a new generation of readers discover America’s greatest theologian as I once did!

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"The Salvation of Your Souls" (1 Peter 1:1-12) -- Words from Peter to the Pilgrim Church (Part Two)

Aliens and Strangers

Why does God allow his people to find themselves as aliens and strangers in their own land? How do Christians find joy in times of trial and suffering? What purpose can there be in suffering such as this? Peter will seek to answer these questions by pointing his struggling readers and hearers back to the promises God makes to us in the gospel. We have been given a living hope grounded in the same power through which God raised Jesus from the dead, a hope to be realized in part in this life, but fully in the next. This hope is not just so many words, but is grounded in the fact that what the Old Testament prophets (and even angels) longed to see, has come to pass in the person and work of Jesus Christ and now the basis of the living hope promised to the people of God.

In Part one, we covered Peter’s greeting (in vv. 1-2), here in part two, we turn to vv. 3-12, which is the apostle Peter’s opening words of encouragement to the elect exiles of the Diaspora in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). Peter is writing to Christians and Jews scattered throughout much of Asia Minor, many of whom had been uprooted from their homes by a decree from the Roman emperor Claudius, which granted land in this region to retired Roman soldiers. Many of those uprooted by Claudius’ decree were Christians (both Jewish and Gentile) who were viewed as exiles in their own land because they refused to worship the Roman gods (including Claudius), and because they would not participate in local pagan religious rituals, many of which were part of daily life in the Greco-Roman world.

The apostle opens this letter by declaring, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” The Christians throughout the provinces mentioned were persecuted because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Although hated by their neighbors because of their Christian faith, Peter tells them they can take great comfort in the fact that they are loved by God who has chosen them in Jesus Christ, “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” Foreknowledge is not merely God’s knowledge of what will happen in the future, but refers to God’s intimate knowledge of the individuals whom he has chosen to save through the merits of Jesus Christ. God knows each of these people personally. He knows their trials and their suffering.

Resident Exiles

These “elect exiles,” as Peter identifies them, are chosen by God and said to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of “obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood.” Although Peter’s audience are now exiles in their own land, God has called his elect out from pagan darkness into the wonderful light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The primary meaning of “sanctified” as used here by Peter means to be set apart by God for his purposes. In this case, those called by God through the gospel are sprinkled with the blood of Jesus (the guilt of their sins is washed away) and are set apart for obedience to Jesus, the one who saves them from their sins.

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I PeterKim RiddlebargerMarch 1, 2023The Salvation of Your Souls Comments

“The OC — A New Burned Over District” -- the Context for "The Jesus Revolution"

I have not yet seen the film, but I will. I’m not sure how Kelsey Grammer will translate from Frazier Crane to Chuck Smith, but I will keep an open mind.

I did, however, compose a series of blog posts in 2013 on the religious buzz generated throughout Orange County, CA, by the large evangelical ministries based here in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, including: TBN, Robert Schuller and the Crystal Cathedral, Chuck Swindoll of the Fullerton Evangelical Free Church, the Bible Answer Man (Walter Martin), and the newbie at the time, Rick Warren and Saddleback. A significant part of my series included a look at Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel (a retrospective from my later Reformed perspective).

I was a close observer of this remarkable time (mostly), and a small participant in some of it. My family owned a Christian Bookstore at Knott’s Berry Farm, smack-dab in the middle of a loud Christian buzz which is now but a faint hum.

In any case, here’s my take on that era, including my perspective on Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel: The OC -- A New Burned Over District (originally written in 2013 and updated and republished here 2021).

B. B. Warfield on "Antichrist"

One of the most thought provoking discussions of “Antichrist” comes from B. B. Warfield. In one of his last essays written for publication before his death in February of 1921, Warfield addressed the matter of the biblical use of the term “Antichrist” as found in John’s epistles. The Lion of Princeton acknowledges that there is a broader use of the term (the so-called theological use, i.e., “the Antichrist”), which he describes as a composite photograph made up of John’s “antichrist” (found in his epistles), Paul’s “man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12), and the beast and false prophet from the Book of Revelation (chapter 13). Warfield finds the evidence for such a composite photograph of an Antichrist far from compelling.

In this essay (re-printed in B. B. Warfield, “Antichrist” in Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield, Vol. 1, ed John E. Meeter (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1980), Warfield addresses John’s use of the term “Antichrist” in his epistles. Warfield asks and answers the question, “to what does John refer when he speaks of Antichrist?”

Warfield begins with an important qualification—the context for John’s warning about this foe.

We read of Antichrist nowhere in the New Testament except in certain passages of the Epistles of John (1 John ii. 18, 22; iv. 3; 2 John 7). What is taught in these passages constitutes the whole New Testament doctrine of Antichrist. It is common it is true, to connect with this doctrine what is said by our Lord of false christs and false prophets; by Paul of the Man of Sin; by the Apocalypse of the Beasts which come up out of the deep and the sea. The warrant for labeling the composite photograph thus obtained with the name of Antichrist is not very apparent . . . .The name of Antichrist occurs in connection with none of them, except that presented in the passages of the Epistles of John already indicated; and both the name and the figure denoted by it, to all appearance, occur there first in extant literature.[1]

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B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerFebruary 25, 2023Warfield on Antichrst Comments

The Basics — God's Attributes

God’s Attributes

Much can be known about God from the created order. Through our interaction with the world around us, we know that God is eternal, all-powerful, and good (cf. Romans 1:20). Yet, whatever we learn about God through nature (general revelation), will always be limited by the character of revelation given through finite, created things. In addition, such revelation is inevitably corrupted by human sinfulness (Romans 1:21-25). Therefore, whatever sinful people learn about God through the natural order will be grossly distorted, and ironically, ends up serving as the basis for all forms of false religion and idolatry–a theme developed by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:18-32. John Calvin was absolutely right when he spoke of the minds of sinful men and women as “idol factories” (Institutes, I.11.8). And it is because of this general revelation—the truth of which is suppressed in unrighteousness—that the entire human race stands condemned before God (Romans 1:20).

Since sinful human curiosity often leads to speculation about God’s hidden essence, it is important to remind ourselves that we can know nothing about God unless and until he condescends to reveal himself through the “two books” of nature and Scripture. In the Word of God, we find a number of divine “attributes” (or perfections) ascribed to God. So, rather than speculate about God’s hidden essence (which often ends up in idolatry), we must worship and serve God as he reveals himself to us through his Word. We can define these attributes as those perfections which are ascribed to God and which are evident in God’s works of creation, providence, and redemption.

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The BasicsKim RiddlebargerFebruary 22, 2023God's attributesComment

“God's Eternal Decision” -- Article Six, First head of Doctrine, the Canons of Dort

Article 6: God’s Eternal Decision

The fact that some receive from God the gift of faith within time, and that others do not, stems from his eternal decision. For “all his works are known to God from eternity” (Acts 15:18; Eph. 1:11). In accordance with this decision he graciously softens the hearts, however hard, of his chosen ones and inclines them to believe, but by his just judgment he leaves in their wickedness and hardness of heart those who have not been chosen. And in this especially is disclosed to us his act—unfathomable, and as merciful as it is just—of distinguishing between people equally lost. This is the well-known decision of election and reprobation revealed in God’s Word. This decision the wicked, impure, and unstable distort to their own ruin, but it provides holy and godly souls with comfort beyond words.

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The doctrine of election is a difficult concept, especially for Americans operating with the presuppositions of modern democracy–our personal choices determine our future and that any proper understanding of fairness is tied to equality. Despite its difficulties, election is a doctrine which is widely taught throughout the pages of Holy Scripture. If God gets all the glory when undeserving sinners are saved, and if men and women are blamed for not believing, how are we to understand this? What about the question of “fairness?” Is it fair for God to decide to save some, but not all?

In Article Six, the authors of the Canons deal with the implications raised by the fact that our salvation only comes about because of something good in God, and not because of anything good that God finds in us, his sinful and rebellious creatures.

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