If you had to summarize the gospel in just one word, what would it be? The question is a tough one. Justification? Redemption? Perhaps the best answer would be “Christ,” as long as we understand that His person and work are both included, and it is His work in particular that constitutes the redemptive act of God whereby He rescues Adam’s fallen race. But there is another word that captures the essence of the heart of the gospel and it has a long tradition of being recognized among Reformed theologians as one of the most important words in all the Bible. It’s the word “propitiation.” It’s due to the presence of this word in Romans 3:25 that...

One of the most common issues I have dealt with in pastoral counseling, especially during my years on the mission field where many were coming to faith, is believers who struggle with doubts concerning their salvation. We know that salvation is God’s gift to us by faith alone. The Scripture tells us, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). But once we have believed in the Lord Jesus, another question inevitably follows: “And how do I know I have believed?” It is this question that gnaws at the consciences of many. To add to this dilemma, we know it is possible to think we have believed when this isn’t the case....

Introduction The practical and experiential holiness of the people of the God is a subject that is most neglected in our day, but most emphasized in Scripture. It is the goal of the Father’s electing love, to the praise of his glorious grace (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:4). It is central to the purpose of the atonement, for Christ died to graciously sanctify his people unto God (Eph. 5:25–27). And it is precisely the thing wrought from the inner depths of the soul to the outer practices of the life in all the redeemed by the blessed Spirit of God (2 Thess. 2:13). This sanctification, accomplished and brought into effective operation in the lives of...

The identity of the ἐγὼ in Romans 7 has been a topic of much debate through the centuries. That debate still rages today. It is not hard to see why, since even Peter admits that Paul writes “some things hard to be understood” (2 Pet. 3:16). One wonders if Peter did not perhaps have Romans 7 in mind (among other passages in the Pauline corpus) when he wrote that, because commentors have long expressed their struggle to give a clear, sound, convincing exegesis of this passage. The purpose of this article is to weigh in on this debate. I will seek to make a case for the traditional Augustinian and Reformed interpretation of the ἐγὼ in Romans...

Matthew 5:17–19 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Fourfold Thesis What: Christ teaches that he does not relax but upholds the righteousness of the Law. How: By denying he has intention to undo...

Background and Contextual Considerations The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans toward the end of his third missionary journey, probably from Corinth.[1] It was just prior to his visit to Jerusalem to deliver the large monetary gift from the Gentile churches as a gesture of love and unity for the sake of the gospel (Rom. 15:25–28). He wrote to church in the capital city of the empire to inform them of his intention to visit and minister to them (Rom. 1:13-15), and to use the Roman church as his base for pioneer missionary work into the western Mediterranean, as far as Spain (Rom. 15:20-28). As providence would have it, Paul would arrive to...

What did the Lord Jesus Christ teach about marriage, divorce, and re-marriage? This post is a sermon on a foundational passage in the Gospel of Mark about this topic. Mark 10:1–12 says, 1 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again. 2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 And Jesus answered and...

The doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son (EGS) has fallen on tough times in evangelical and Reformed circles. Though an indispensable component of classical Christian theism as confessed in the Nicene Creed, much of modern scholarship has dispensed with it in favor of other Trinitarian theories. But rejection of EGS can have significant consequences for the church’s understanding of Christology. Traditionally, the doctrine of EGS sought to convey and safeguard at least two major truths: (1) the Son’s full consubstantiality with the Father (homoousios), and (2) the Son’s distinct personhood (hypostasis). EGS explains how the Son is...

What is the place of suffering in our theology of mission? Does suffering play any vital or necessary role in the advancement of the missionary endeavor as sovereignly determined by the purposes of God? Or is suffering merely a vocationally-occasioned circumstance that ordinarily attends the missionary task? Answering these questions is important because such an answer can have significant practical implications for how the Christian should view the circumstantial suffering that attends his or her mission efforts. Practically speaking, it will inform the attitude by which one perceives mission-related suffering, conditioning one’s response...

If God undergoes emotional changes, then does He experience time? Is He then acted upon by creatures and subject to what transpires in the creaturely realm? Is His Being composed of metaphysical complexity? Consider the relationship between God's impassibility and other incommunicable attributes of the divine nature.Few doctrines in the contemporary milieu of modern evangelicalism have provoked more ‘passionate’ debate than the topic of God’s impassibility. While it may initially seem to be a doctrine of relatively little theological consequence as to whether it is affirmed or denied, a more conversant understanding of the issues...