Theology

Reformed Preaching: Biblical, Doctrinal, and Practical Joel Beeke is a prolific author, professor, and president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He’s also the pastor of Heritage Reformed Congregation of Grand Rapids, MI. Beeke recently published Reformed Preaching: Proclaiming God’s Word...

According to N. T. Wright, it is now generally agreed that an overall theme in II Corinthians is “Paul’s defense, not of his apostolic ministry in itself, but of the particular style or character of that ministry.” [1] For Wright, these arguments concerning the nature of Paul’s ministry form the...

When we think of the places in Scripture where we find the doctrine of union with Christ, most people, especially Biblical scholars, immediately think of all the material in Paul’s letters. Paul uses the words “in Christ” numerous times point to this union, he also uses the imagery of our baptism...

In 1996 I attended a reformed conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That year was my first as a seminarian and my second as a Calvinist. If I remember correctly it was the first reformed conference I’d ever attended. Although it has been over twenty years ago, I still remember the opening night...

Union with Christ While James enjoys a vacation, Jonathan has the pleasure of speaking with Ian Hamilton about Union with Christ, one of the topics Ian will be addressing at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology in Grand Rapids, MI, March 15th - 17th. Speaking passionately, and quoting a...

While growing up, my church would sing an old gospel song that said Christ “hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock and covers me there with his hand.” It’s a repeated line, clearly intended to be remembered. The lyrics were an obvious play on Exodus 33 where Moses, hearing God’s willingness to...

Everybody loves the Joseph story. Chapters thirty-seven through fifty with the minor exception of chapter thirty-eight seem to be all about Joseph. And that is exactly why we have to remind ourselves that the story is not Joseph’s but Jacob’s story. Genesis 37:2 reminds us that these are the...

For those of us who are pastors, one of our regular responsibilities is to use scripture to minister to the specific needs of our people. This should never merely be spiritual equivalent of offering placebos to those who are struggling – a kind of psycho-spiritual pick-me-up to make them feel...

The writings of French reformer, theologian, and pastor John Calvin are often remembered by the Latin phrase “brevitas et claritas”. Calvin wrote to be understood, and avoided using more words than would be helpful. To get to the point then, in English, the phrase means “brevity and clarity”...

The Bible teaches that God is incomprehensible. God is so far above us as the supreme being and only infinite being that we as finite creatures are never going to be able to know and understand all that there is to Him. Even to say we are like an ant trying to understand the vastness of the Milky...