I was a recent guest on the Distinctive Christianity podcast. The subject was the LDS misuse of 1 Corinthians in support of a number of questionable doctrines, such as the baptism of the dead and celestial marriage.
You can listen here: Kim Riddlebarger on 1 Corinthians
Read MoreMike Horton possesses both a brilliant mind and a passion for the gospel. Both were on display recently.
First up is Mike’s chapel address at Westminster Seminary California on Luther’s theme of “Let God Be God” (to commemorate the Reformation).
Next is the premier episode of his new podcast, “Know What You Believe” (from Sola Media)
These are really worth watching!
To watch and/or listen, follow the link below
Read MoreThe good folks at Ligonier are featuring my article, “The Whole Counsel of God,” in this month’s Tabletalk.
According to Luke’s account of Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 18:23–21:16), Paul arrived in Ephesus in the spring of AD 52. Paul’s three-year ministry in the city bore much fruit. Luke informs us that the word of the Lord was increasing and many people were coming to faith in Jesus Christ (19:20). But the increasing number of Christians in the city also created “no little disturbance” among the city’s merchants (19:23), leading to the riot described in Acts 19:21–41.
Paul soon left Ephesus for Macedonia to meet with the churches that had been founded during his second missionary journey, returning to Asia Minor by way of Miletus, a seaport near Ephesus (20:17). Knowing that he would eventually go on to Jerusalem, Paul summoned the elders from Ephesus to meet with him in Miletus to say goodbye to those men with whom he had labored in ministry for several years and from whom he had to depart.
You can read the article here: The Whole Counsel of God
Read MoreI have been spending a fair amount of time of late working through 1 Corinthians for the Blessed Hope Podcast, (Season Three — “God Is Faithful” A Deep Dive into 1 Corinthians) and for my re-edited exposition of 1 Corinthians in the Lectio Continua Series (Reformation Heritage Books). A couple of things have become very apparent to me.
First, although often overlooked among the Reformed (who seem more at home in Galatians, Romans, and Ephesians—Paul’s doctrinal epistles) I am repeatedly struck by how an occasional letter (like 1 Corinthians) speaks so powerfully to many of the issues the church is facing today—especially since a number of the same issues confronting Christians in a Greco-Roman pagan city such as Corinth have resurfaced before our very eyes. If you haven’t read or studied Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians in awhile I encourage you to do so.
Second, having read much of Calvin’s commentary on 1 Corinthians for these projects, it is apparent that Calvin was very much interested in ecclesiology—a major theme in Paul’s letter. As Tadataka Maruyama points out, at the urging of Farel, Calvin completed this commentary in November of 1545 and saw it published the next year—at a time when Calvin was very much concerned with “the legitimate form of the church,” which, as Calvin argues, was revealed in the two marks of a church, Word and Sacrament. This explains why Calvin’s commentary has such sharp responses to the Anabaptists, Libertines, and Nicodemites of his day—the latter a reference to someone who conceals their true views to avoid persecution or conflict. Antecedents to the teaching of all of these groups can indeed be found in first century Corinth and Calvin made much of this fact in his commentary.[1]
Calvin’s work on 1 Corinthians might just be his best commentary and should not be overlooked. Calvin is feisty in places (as is Paul), at times he manifests a wry sense of humor, and his pastoral heart and wisdom come through in so many instances throughout. We ought to keep in mind that Calvin is doing something quite new when writing this commentary—he is looking to Paul for aid in developing a Reformed (Presbyterian) ecclesiology for the Genevan church while at the same time wrestling with the interconnectedness of like-minded churches in different locales with prominent and independent leaders (Farel, Bucer, Bullinger etc.,). This commentary is a real gem and you can find it here.
To whet your whistle to read and study 1 Corinthians and/or check out Calvin’s commentary here are a number of quotes from Calvin from his commentary[2]. These are but a few brief examples from the first chapter of 1 Corinthians.
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Paul on the Nature and Danger of the Issues Facing the Corinthians
During Paul’s absence false apostles had crept in, not, in my opinion, to disturb the Church openly with wicked doctrines, or designedly to undermine sound doctrine; but, priding themselves in the splendour and magnificence of their address, or rather, being puffed up with an empty loftiness of speech, they looked upon Paul’s simplicity, and even the Gospel itself, with contempt (Volume 1, Page 37).
Note: when Calvin speaks of “false apostles,” we may immediately think of the Judaizers in Galatia. But Calvin quickly clarifies who these individuals were—those enamored with Greek wisdom—and what was driving them, ambition.
They afterwards, by their ambition, gave occasion for the Church being split into various parties; and, last of all, reckless as to every thing, provided only they were themselves held in estimation, made it their aim to promote their own honor, rather than Christ’s kingdom and the people’s welfare (Volume 1, Page 37).
To rest the rest of Calvin's comments, follow the link below
Read MoreHaving considered the marks of the church, we now move on to consider the attributes of the church.
There are four classical attributes of the church as expressed in the Nicene Creed which are held in common by all major Christian traditions. These are: 1). Unity, 2). Holiness, 3). Catholicity, and 4). Apostolicity. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Reformation churches all confess these same attributes, yet understand them in fundamentally different ways. The Lutherans, for example, add “invisibility” to the four marks expressed above as a polemic against Rome’s claim of the visibility of the true church (Rome claims to be the true church because of its visibility).[1]
James Bannerman, a Scottish Presbyterian, who wrote what many consider to be the definitive volume on Presbyterian polity (The Church of Christ) offers a number of reasons why discussing the marks of the church should be done before considering the attributes of the church. He lists the four attributes of “Unity, Sanctity, Catholicity, and Apostolicity.” But then notes that these “belong . . . to the Christian Church, in consequence of the Church holding and professing the true faith of Christ.”[1] Herman Bavinck also considers the marks before addressing the church’s attributes since, as he contends, it is important to distinguish a true church from a false church since this determination defines how we are to understand the attributes of the church.[2]
To read the rest, follow the link, below
Read MoreCalvin’s Pulpit in St. Peter’s, Geneva
The First Mark of the Church Is the Pure Preaching of the Word
According to Michael Horton, “the church is the creatura verbi or `creature of the Word,’” in the sense that the Holy Spirit working through the preached word (God’s living and active speech–Hebrews 4:12-13) brings the church into existence. This indicates that the church is “always on the receiving end of its existence.”[1]
Horton continues, the Word . . .
always achieves its purpose (Isa. 55:1– “everyone who thirsts”). The proclaimed word is not simply the sermon, but the faith that is announced, confessed, sung, and witnessed to by the church–by those called to special office but also by the whole body in its general office as prophets, priests, and kings in Christ. Even singing in church is a form of proclamation: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16; cf. Eph. 5:19). Nevertheless, it is especially in its official preaching that this Word is a verbum sacramentale (sacramental word).[2]
Reformed theologian Herman Bavinck offers a thorough and helpful summation of the Word as the primary, but not the only mark of the true church.
That the Reformation rightly sought the key mark of the church in the Word of God cannot be doubted on the basis of Scripture. Without the Word of God, after all, there would be no church (Prov. 29:18; Isa. 8:20; Jer. 8:9; Hos. 4:6). Christ gathers his church (Matt. 28:19), which is built on the teaching of the apostles and prophets, by Word and sacrament (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:20). By the Word he regenerates it (James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23), engenders faith (Rom. 10:14; 1 Cor. 4:15), and cleanses and sanctifies [the church] (John 15:3; Eph. 5:26). And those who have thus been regenerated and renewed by the Word of God are called to confess Christ (Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9), to hear his voice (John 10:27), to keep his Word (John 8:31, 32; 14:23), to test the spirits (1 John 4:1), and to shun those who do not bring this doctrine (Gal. 1:8; Titus 3:10; 2 John 9). The Word is truly the soul of the church.[3] All ministry in the church is a ministry of the Word. God gives his Word to the church, and the church accepts, preserves, administers, and teaches it; it confesses it before God, before one another, and before the world in word and deed. In the one mark of the Word the others are included as further applications. Where God’s Word is rightly preached, there also the sacrament is purely administered, the truth of God is confessed in line with the intent of the Spirit, and people’s conduct is shaped accordingly.[4]
To read the rest, follow the link below
Read MoreHere’s the publisher’s blurb:
The first volume of Michael Horton’s magisterial intellectual history of “spiritual but not religious” as a phenomenon in Western culture
Discussions of the rapidly increasing number of people identifying as “spiritual but not religious” tend to focus on the past century. But the SBNR phenomenon and the values that underlie it may be older than Christianity itself.
Michael Horton reveals that the hallmarks of modern spirituality—autonomy, individualism, utopianism, and more—have their foundations in Greek philosophical religion. Horton makes the case that the development of the shaman figure in the Axial Age—particularly its iteration among Orphists—represented a “divine self.” One must realize the divinity within the self to break free from physicality and become one with a panentheistic unity. Time and time again, this tradition of divinity hiding in nature has arisen as an alternative to monotheistic submission to a god who intervenes in creation.
This first volume traces the development of a utopian view of the human individual: a divine soul longing to break free from all limits of body, history, and the social and natural world. When the second and third volumes are complete, students and scholars will consult The Divine Self as the authoritative guide to the “spiritual but not religious” tendency as a recurring theme in Western culture from antiquity to the present.
Mike’s been working on this for some time. I was privileged to read an early draft. This a profound and an important work. This is the first of three volumes. You can order it here: Michael Horton, Shaman and Sage
Read MoreTo watch/listen to the podcast (YouTube), follow the link below
Read MoreJohn Wesley’s vexing book, A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (London: Epworth Press, 1952), is an altogether miserable read, and known by its critics for its glaring imperfections (pun intended). Written in 1766, you can find it in its entirety here: A Plain Account of Christian Perfection.
John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of Methodism, was for a time an evangelical luminary—people in such circles often spoke of him on a par with the Protestant Reformers. But Wesley has fallen out of favor of late—no doubt due to the rigorous obedience tied to his “Methodist” system. The Methodist church which he helped to found has for the most part gone the way of all flesh, making the news recently for a whole bunch of reasons completely beyond the foresight of the movement’s founder. Wesley is, no doubt, turning in his grave over the path the Methodists have taken to full apostasy.
In the evangelicalism in which I was raised, Wesley was held in high esteem largely because of the story of his dramatic conversion at Aldersgate St. in London in 1738. He was “strangely warmed”when hearing the “preface” to Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans read aloud. It is often quipped that it is too bad Wesley didn’t go on to read the entirety of Luther’s commentary. Anyone who reads Wesley’s A Plain Account discovers a mass of confusion and contradictions as he affirms one thing, and then quickly backtracks on much of his prior teaching so as to define and defend his doctrine of “Christian perfectionism,” also called “sinless perfection,” or “entire sanctification.”
On occasion, when I mention his perfectionism, people will often challenge me, saying something like, “it can’t be that bad.” No, in fact, it is worse. When I tell them what Wesley actually taught in A Plain Account they simply can’t believe it. So, I keep my Kindle close by to show the quotations replicated below. I recently addressed Wesley’s take on election and good works to make much the same point—Wesley was an Arminian in his soteriology and taught a very confusing, and conscience burdening doctrine of Christian perfectionism.
To read the rest (and excerpts from the book) follow the link below
Read MoreOne of my favorite sections from Calvin’s Institutes is his summation of Christ alone, wrapping up his brief exposition of the Apostles’ Creed (Institutes 2.16.19). Calvin writes,
We see that our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ (Acts 4:12). We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else. If we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that it is “of him” (1 Cor. 1:30). If we seek any other gifts of the Spirit, they will be found in his anointing. If we seek strength, it lies in his dominion; if purity, in his conception; if gentleness, it appears in his birth. For by his birth he was made like us in all respects (Heb. 2:17) that he might learn to feel our pain (cf. Heb. 5:2). If we seek redemption, it lies in his passion; if acquittal, in his condemnation; if remission of the curse, in his cross (Gal. 3:13); if satisfaction, in his sacrifice; if purification, in his blood; if reconciliation, in his descent into hell; if mortification of the flesh, in his tomb; if newness of life, in his resurrection; if immortality, in the same; if inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom, in his entrance into heaven; if protection, if security, if abundant supply of all blessings, in his Kingdom; if untroubled expectation of judgment, in the power given to him to judge. In short, since rich store of every kind of good abounds in him, let us drink our fill from this fountain, and from no other. Some men, not content with him alone, are borne hither and thither from one hope to another; even if they concern themselves chiefly with him, they nevertheless stray from the right way in turning some part of their thinking in another direction. Yet such distrust cannot creep in where men have once for all truly known the abundance of his blessings.
Amen and Amen!
Read MoreMonergism.com is an invaluable resource. John Hendryx, the proprietor, has been providing great free resources for over a decade. Here’s the purpose statement from the “about” section of the Monergism.com website if you are not familiar with them.
Monergism.com is a free, comprehensive online theological library comprised of Reformed Christian resources designed to bring glory to Jesus Christ alone. The directory consists of original and aggregated content from around the world emphasizing the good news that salvation is God's free gift for guilty sinners, not a reward for the righteous.
John sent out the following request earlier this week. Monergism.com is well worth supporting. Check out the links provided at the end of the request if you wish to sample the sort of resources they provide.
You can read John’s request and check out their free resources by following the link below
Read MoreI am thrilled to see this remarkable volume now available in print. I was privileged to read a draft copy of the manuscript and found it both comprehensive and well-written. Dr. Perkins is one of the rising, young, scholar-pastors in the Reformed tradition, and it is my hope that this volume introduces him to a wide audience. This is a book which belongs on your bookshelf, but only after it is thoroughly dog-eared and heavily highlighted. This is good stuff.
Reformed scholarship in the field of biblical theology (Vos, Kline, Horton, Gaffin, Beale, etc.,) has done great work in advancing our understanding of the nature of covenants in the ancient world, as well as explain how these breakthroughs ought to inform the way we read and understand our bibles in light of the broad course of redemptive history. For some time, the Reformed scholarly pendulum has swung in the direction of biblical theology, but with this volume we may begin to see the pendulum swing back in the direction of a more systematic approach, hopefully to a place of balanced equilibrium.
To read the rest, follow the link below
Read MoreThe Following is taken from “For Freedom,” my exposition of Galatians prepared for listeners to the Blessed Hope Podcast (scroll down to the link under the Blessed Hope tab)
If anything is worth defending it is Christian freedom. In the face of the threat to such liberty posed by the Judaizers, Paul issues a stern warning to the Galatians– “for freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). Anyone who seeks to be justified by obedience to the law of Moses, through receiving circumcision, through the keeping of Jewish dietary laws, or in observing the Jewish religious calendar, will fall from grace and come under God’s curse (Galatians 5:4).[1]
Paul has already pointed out that those who seek to be justified on the basis of works of law (Galatians 2:16), or place their confidence in what Paul identifies as the basic principles of the world (stoichiea) will find themselves in eternal danger (Galatians 4:3). In Galatians 5:1-12, Paul contrasts the Judaizing campaign of enslavement to the law with Christian liberty in Christ. This is yet another important plank in his case against the Judaizers.
In the first four chapters of Galatians, Paul issues several responses to Judaizing legalism. In chapter 5, we move into what some identify as the “practical section” of Paul’s Galatian letter, when the apostle takes up the practice of Christian liberty and exhorts the Galatians to defend it.[2] While Paul does change focus a bit from those redemptive historical events which culminate in the death of Jesus and justification through faith, here he describes the Christian life in light of the gospel revealed to him by Jesus Christ.[3] The apostle continues to set out sharp contrasts between opposing positions. Readers of Galatians are now well aware that Paul is fond of antithesis (contrast) as a rhetorical critique and he uses it repeatedly.
To read the rest, follow the link below:
Read MoreReformation Heritage Books has republished my Lectio Continua series exposition of First Corinthians. The second edition is in the NKJV, and updated (slightly). You can order it here: First Corinthians -- Lectio Continua
Thank you, RHB!
Read MoreThe following recommended reading lists can be found under the “Books Reviews and Recommended Reading” header above. I thought it might be useful to gather them together in a single blog post to point out what I’ve already made available (with more to come!)
The first group of links feature books which I think Christians investigating Reformed theology and the Reformed tradition will find helpful. These are not scholarly tomes, but deal with matters which people learning about Reformed theology tend to have questions—the sort of thing you might read if new to the subject, want more information, or if you wish to find a book to give to someone asking questions.
What to Read About the End Times
What Should I Read to Learn About Covenant Theology
What Should I Read to Learn More About Infant Baptism
What Should I Read to Learn About the Lord’s Supper
What Should I Read to Learn About the Westminster Confession
What Should I Read to Learn About the Three Forms of Unity
To see additional recommendations and reviews, follow the link below
Read MoreHere’s the link: Discussing Eschatology With Peter Bell and Nick Fullwiler
Read More1n 1555, John Calvin asked the following of the Magistrates of the city of Bern regarding the celebration the Lord’s Supper:
Please God, gentlemen, that both you and we may be able to establish a more frequent usage. For it is evident from St. Luke in the Book of Acts that communion was much more frequently celebrated in the primitive Church, until this abomination of the mass was set up by Satan, who so caused it that people received communion only once or twice a year. Wherefore, we must acknowledge that it is a defect in us that we do not follow the example of the Apostles (John Calvin, Letter to the Magistrates of Berne, 1555).
The practical issues surrounding the nature and frequency of the Lord’s Supper have been with us from the earliest days of the Reformed tradition.
The purpose of this essay is to offer a rationale for the frequent (weekly) celebration of the Lord’s Supper. To accomplish this, I will: 1). Address the idea of the Supper as spiritual nourishment by surveying the biblical evidence which speaks to nature of the Supper, then 2). Consider biblical evidence for frequent celebration of the Lord’s Supper, and then 3). I will briefly address common objections to frequent celebrations of the Supper, before 4). I will wrap up with a discussion of the pastoral benefits of frequent communion.
The key take away from this essay is that nature of the Lord’s Supper defines (or at least it should) its frequency. What the supper is–a spiritual feeding–ought to provide the rationale for when and how often we celebrate it.
To read the rest, go here: On the Nature and Frequency of the Lord's Supper
Read MoreThe Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation
Many churches which trace their theological ancestry back to the Protestant Reformation, commemorate Reformation Day. October 31, 1517, is the traditional date when Martin Luther, a young biblical scholar and troubled son of the Roman church, nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in the city of Wittenberg. Professor Luther sought to challenge the Roman church’s understanding of the sacrament of penance. The act of posting written theses (objections) was simply the way in which professors of that day called for academic debate.
Luther was as surprised as anyone when his 95 Theses gave voice those to countless German peasants who felt that the Roman church had grown increasing greedy, corrupt, and indifferent to their needs. When the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel came through Germany selling indulgences–which supposedly shortened the time that a sinner spent in purgatory–ordinary Germans were outraged. How dare Rome send an emissary into Germany to sell indulgences at a time of great economic hardship, especially when the proceeds from the sale went to pay for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome–a grand church which no German peasant would ever see.
While German peasants hated the Roman church because of the church’s arrogance and indifference, for Luther, the issues were theological. When Luther’s theses were published and quickly disseminated across much of Germany, it soon became clear that this was not just a debate about a fine point of doctrine (penance), but a fundamental challenge to the nature of religious authority as understood by the Roman Catholic Church. This was, in fact, a direct challenge to Rome’s teaching on good works, merit, faith, and the nature of the gospel. It was not long before Protestantism was a wide-spread movement and a burgeoning theological threat to the Roman church–especially in northern Europe. Although Protestantism soon separated into Lutheran and Reformed branches, the Protestant objections to Rome quickly crystalized around the so-called “five Solas” of the Reformation. These five “onlys” include: Scripture alone, grace alone, Christ alone, faith alone, and glory to God alone.
The Roman church believed Scripture was God’s word. But Rome didn’t see Scripture as the primary ground of religious authority–there was also church tradition as an equal authority. The Roman church believed in grace, but defined grace as a substance dispensed through the sacramental system of the church, and that such grace must be energized by the human will in order to be effective in matters of salvation. Rome militantly defended the deity of Christ and his sacrificial death for sins. But Rome taught that the merit of human good works must be added to the merits of Christ in order for sinners to be made right with God (justification). Rome also taught that faith was an essential Christian virtue, but understood that simple faith must be formed into an active faith which then produced those Christian virtues and good works which merited (earned) favor from God. While in theory the Roman church gave all glory to God, in practice, Rome’s theology spread glory around to Mary, the papacy, the church, the saints, and even to human good works.
What has separated Protestantism from Rome since 1517, is not Scripture, grace, faith, Christ, or glory to God. What caused the great divide between Protestants and Catholics was the Protestant insistence upon that little adjective “sola” or “only.” Scripture alone. Grace alone. Christ alone. Faith alone. Glory to God alone.
To read the rest, follow the link below
Read MoreSince it is the 100th anniversary of the publication of J. Gresham Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism, and it is being widely read again, let us consider these words of warning from Machen. This comes from Christianity and Liberalism (Eerdmans, 1981) 152.
Christianity will indeed accomplish many useful things in this world, but if it is accepted in order to accomplish those useful things it is not Christianity. Christianity will combat Bolshevism [and we can substitute any “ism” here]; but if it is accepted in order to combat Bolshevism, it is not Christianity: Christianity will produce a unified nation, in a slow but satisfactory way; but if it is accepted in order to produce a unified nation, it is not Christianity: Christianity will produce a healthy community; but if it is accepted in order to produce a healthy community, it is not Christianity: Christianity will promote international peace; but if it is accepted in order to promote international peace, it is not Christianity. Our Lord said: “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” But if you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness in order that all those other things may be added unto you, you will miss both those other things and the Kingdom of God as well.
But if Christianity be directed toward another world, if it be a way by which individuals can escape from the present evil age to some better country, what becomes of “the social gospel”? At this point is detected one of the most obvious lines of cleavage between Christianity and the liberal Church. The older evangelism, says the modern liberal preacher, sought to rescue individuals, while the newer evangelism seeks to transform the whole organism of society: the older evangelism was individual; the newer evangelism is social.
It should not be lost upon us as to how much current cultural transformationalists or Christian nationalists sound like the progressives of Machen’s day.
Read MoreHere’s the Great Lakes Reformed Conference website with audio from all speakers and the Q & A session: Audio from the Great Lakes Reformed Conference
To see the conference participants, follow the link below
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