John Stevens recently drew followers of his Facebook page to a quote from Sinclair Ferguson Within Reformed theology there has always been a diversity of viewpoint on various issues. Being aware of this saves us from naively (but dogmatically!) saying, “The Reformed view is…..” when all we are entitled to say is, “The view held… Continue reading Is there such a thing as “The Reformed view”?
Category: Theology
Preaching: what and how.
This is one of the additional chapters to “How do you know?” That I mentioned I was planning It is impossible to talk about the Doctrine of Revelation and how we know about God, Creation, Humanity and New Creation without talking about preaching. What is preaching? It’s important though to be clear about what we… Continue reading Preaching: what and how.
Heads, bodies, submission and BDAG: Andrew Bartlett’s response to my article on Ephesians 5
Heads, bodies, submission and BDAG: Andrew Bartlett’s response to my article on Ephesians 5 Below is Andrew’s response to my latest article. I try to send Andrew an advanced draft of what I’m about to say and keen-eyed observers will notice that I amended the first comment he picks up on, prompted by his comment. … Continue reading Heads, bodies, submission and BDAG: Andrew Bartlett’s response to my article on Ephesians 5
More mangled Bible reading in support of Paedobaptism
This article attempts to argue that infant baptism is mentioned in the Bible by reference to the way Paul describes those who passed through the Red Sea as baptised into Moses (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). It relies on some pretty woeful interpretation of Scripture. First, what Paul does is he takes the events of the Exodus… Continue reading More mangled Bible reading in support of Paedobaptism
Only one person gets to impute their righteousness
I’ve recently picked up again on discussions about paedobaptism. One of the things that came through in responses that although I suspect still a minority, there are a significant number of people who believe that the baptised child does have faith, not merely might have faith. It is worth noting that the two things are… Continue reading Only one person gets to impute their righteousness
Responding to the full argument of the Evangelical Times article on reformed charismatics
I’ve recently engaged with an article from Evangelical Times where the author claimed that he needed to escape from the so called Calvinistic charismatics.. As mentioned before, I did contact ET and make two requests, first that they would publish a response giving the New Frontiers/Reformed Charismatic side of things to enable a fair hearing. … Continue reading Responding to the full argument of the Evangelical Times article on reformed charismatics
More on sin, desire and the normal Christian life
This week I’ve introduced a discussion to the blog around sin and desire first in reference to how we approach Romans 7 and secondly by beginning to look at a particular doctrinal controversy around “concupiscence” or desire. Significant to the conversation is what John has to say both in 1 John 1:8-9 and 1 John… Continue reading More on sin, desire and the normal Christian life
Theological debate is not always binary
I’ve noticed a tendency in terms of contemporary hot potatoes to assume that, or at least act as though, the debate is binary. I’m thinking specifically of the complementarian/egalitarian, EFS and Concupiscence debates. What I mean is this. Often a specific theological position is developed in response to a perceived error, this may not be… Continue reading Theological debate is not always binary
Why paedobaptism cannot count as a mark of the church
It is usually said that the marks of a true church are the preaching of God’s word and the sacraments properly administered. The Church of England’s 39 articles puts it this way: The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure Word of [1]God is preached, and the Sacraments… Continue reading Why paedobaptism cannot count as a mark of the church
Ruined authors to retrain: Clickbait Evangelical scholarship
David and Jonathan Gibson have edited a new book called “Ruined Sinners to reclaim”, it’s part of their series on the Doctrines of Grace and follows on from “From heaven he came and sought us” on Definite Atonement. Paul Smith has reviewed the book in Evangelical Times and notes: This book on total depravity (the… Continue reading Ruined authors to retrain: Clickbait Evangelical scholarship
Faithroots 