Losing Patience

Pastoral ministry in an age of remarkable technological advance brings significant blessings and challenges. One of the challenges is to be aware of just how much technology is able to reshape our internal world and to reconfigure our expectations.

Ministering in the midst of so much human efficiency carries with it the temptation to think that God's work can be similarly managed, controlled, manipulated and predicted. Of course this has been clearly with us since Finney, perhaps even before that. This mindset of utilizing "new measures" to achieve certain results went hand in glove with a theology of grace that Pelagius would have been proud of.

Could it be that those who embrace the theology of Augustine, and Calvin, when it comes to divine sovereignty in salvation are immune from this approach? I know that it is counter-intuitive to think that Calvinists forget their Calvinism as they engage in ministry, but the pressure remains to place too much weight on what we are able to achieve at a pace that we can direct.

I'm not arguing for passivity, or the neglect of strategic thinking and the responsible use of people and resources. I am asking whether the technological atmosphere in which we live, move, and have our being, plays at times an unhealthy role in shaping our expectations and norms. All of which seems a far cry from the atmosphere of 2 Timothy.

God's work is not amenable to our timescales. Paul calls Timothy to exercise patience as he corrects false teachers (2:24, knowing that they need God-given repentance), and to follow his example of patience in ministry (3:10). Timothy's ministry is to have the hallmark of complete patience in teaching (4:2). The very image of the hard working farmer itself encourages a long term perspective on Word ministry (2:6).

So for Paul these things go hand in hand. Timothy must be committed to the Scriptures, which means accepting their authority and grounding his ministry in their teaching and application (3:14-17). As he does so he is to take his cue from them as he navigates the shifting positions of his listeners and the wider theological scene (4:1-5). He is not to be overwhelmed if at times it appears that he is preaching "out of season." Paul has called him to stay always on the apostolic track, which has given him a pattern for what to teach and how to live (3:10-12).

This perspective, the deliberate cultivation of patience in the work, is always to be offset against the temptation that we have to think that God's work can be micro-managed by us with immediate success.

Michael Haykin reviews Brian McLaren's "Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices"

You can find it here at the Andrew Fuller centre. Well worth a read. Here's the blurb:

"The first review is Dr. Haykin’s review article on Brian McLaren’s Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices which appears in the current issue (Summer 2008) of The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. As you will be able to tell if you take the time to read the article, it is not a recommendation of McLaren’s use of “Ancient” church history. Instead, you will find a devastating critique of the whole emergent co-opting of the practices of the ancient church by a historical scholar trained in the field of Patristics.

Don’t miss this review, and continue to check back periodically as more reviews will be added every one or two weeks. Future reviews will generally be recommendatory of various works on Baptist history in particular, or church history in general."

Christ the Center Interview: The Emerging Church and Cultural Captivity

The guys at Christ the Center recently invited me to join them on their podcast. The discussion mainly takes up my contribution to the forthcoming book Reforming or Conforming? Post-Conservative Evangelicals and the Emerging Church but we also get to discuss the ministry of Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The link is here. I'm the one without an American accent, you know being a Welshman and all that.

Always a delight when new books arrive

Slightly earlier than expected John Fesko's Justification: Understanding the Classic Reformed Doctrine arrived. I've spent a good bit of time in the last few years reading books on justification and this one looks grand. Here's what Mike Horton has to say about it:

"This book is destined to become a standard work for all those who want a deeper understanding of this crucial doctrine. In addition to providing sound exegesis of relevant passages, Fesko is sensitive to important nuances in historical theology and contemporary discussions."

I have also gotten hold of Dennis Johnson's Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ From All The Scriptures. So far this book has been very profitable reading, more on this in future posts.

And if that were not enough Ben Witherington's Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians volume 1 also arrived. That's to help my reflections on 2 Timothy which I will be preaching through on Sunday evenings.

I've also been helped in preparation by listening to Sinclair Ferguson on 2 Timothy. I listen to some preachers and think "I wish I could preach like that." I listen to Sinclair and think "I wish I could be a Christian like that, I wish I knew God like that man does." There is a big difference between the two.

A strange encouragement

I have often wondered why Paul refers to Jannes and Jambres in 2 Timothy 3:6-9. Here is the text:

For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all,as was that of those two men.

This reference has a strange encouragement for Timothy. In the battle of the gods recorded in Exodus, Pharaoh's sorcerers matched Moses and Aaron on points for a few rounds. Eventually, however, they were outclassed and forced to concede that the finger of God was at work (Exod. 8:19).

It seems that this reference is part of Paul's pastoral counsel to Timothy. In the long run, as with Pharaoh's court magicians, the false teachers will be exposed as bogus. So don't be intimidated by them, neither by their claims or their results. It is a show, a pretense, the appearance of godliness but not the power (2 Tim. 3:5). And no wonder. These men have cut themselves off from the ministry of the Holy Spirit. They oppose the truth (3:8; cf. 2:17-18, 4:15).

Timothy, on the other hand, must fan into flame the gift of God (1:6-7) and by the Holy Spirit "guard the good deposit," the apostolic gospel, that has been entrusted to him.

The battle for truth and error in ministry must be entered into with a long term view. The truth will endure and triumph. There is no need to panic and no need to be intimidated.

Reforming or Conforming? Post-Conservative Evangelicals and the Emerging Church

Details are available at the WTS Bookstore. Here are some endorsements:

"Reforming or Conforming is a serious feast of reflection on theology and ministry, and it offers the reader a rigorous wrestling with some of the issues and problems that arise from trying to derive a doctrine of the church out of the potent cocktail of postmodernism.

These essays touch on some of the major flashpoints in the current conversation about what the church needs to be, think, desire, and do if it is going to be effective in engaging our culture. These authors (some of whom are among the brightest of a young generation of faithful, conservative, classical evangelicals, and some who are already numbered among our tried and trusted scholars), frankly, view the so-called post-conservative and emergent solutions to our present dilemma as dead ends. But they tell you why, with clarity, persuasiveness, and humor.

All of these writers believe that the very first thing the church needs in our time is a doctrine of the church and theology of ministry that is based on the Bible rather than the mood of the moment. If you are skeptical of these neologies being pushed ubiquitously in the churches of "what's happening now" then this book will provide substance to confirm your hunches and to help your understand why the ground is moving under your feet.

If you are tugged in the direction of a rethinking of the church in light of emergent critique of evangelicalism, then you need to reckon with the rejoinder provided in these essays."

- Ligon Duncan, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi, President, Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

"Though there is nothing new under the sun, this book is most timely. When so many in the pews are asking questions about the emergent church, great is the need of thoughtful and courageous theological analysis.

These distinguished authors recognize the importance of the ECM's emphasis on mission. They nevertheless warn that the radical, cutting edge represents the latest form of liberal compromise with fallen culture. They point out that in cutting the heart (the cross) out of the gospel, as all forms of liberalism in the past have done, these modern false prophets, if unchecked, will lead many unsuspecting and theologically unprepared evangelicals into serious and soul-destroying heresy."

- Peter Jones, Director, truthXchange, Scholar-in-Residence and Adjunct Professor, Westminster Seminary California

We bless our God for the trials he sends

It is the plain testimony of Scripture that trials in the Christian life are not random, undirected, and totally destructive. Rather they come to us from the hand of One who is both Almighty God and our Faithful Father.

In themselves they are often painful and distressing, sometimes to the body, always to the emotions. They need to be sanctified because they stir up the dirty sediment of indwelling sin, exposing depths of depravity and distrust that perhaps naively we thought we were free from. However, by the searching light of the Word and the sanctifying work of the Spirit, these inward and outward trials become the very means by which we learn to trust our God more deeply, distrust ourselves more thoroughly, and cling to Christ and his cross more desperately than we did before.

For these reasons we bless our God for the trials he sends. His sufficiency and faithfulness and power and grace shine more brightly set against the backdrop of trials.

We bless God the Father because he is sovereign over us and all our ways.

We bless God the Son for his grace in the gospel to rebels like us. His grace is seen in greater heart captivating majesty. Before the cross we are again exposed as sinners without hope in ourselves, but Christ we have been loved from all eternity and saved by grace alone. Our guilt and shame became his. His obedience became ours, his blood has washed us clean and turned aside the righteous wrath of a Holy God that would have condemned us forever.

We bless God the Holy Spirit for his work in applying to us Christ's finished work, and for his sanctifying work through the Word and in our hearts that keeps us turning from sin and trusting our God.

We are at times astonished that we have not been overwhelmed by bitterness, anger, and despondency. Why not? Because in the midst of trials our God has kept our faith resting and relying on Christ, submissive to his will, confident that his wisdom is greater than ours. And so we bless our God for the trials he sends because they make us see in greater measure his grace in the gospel and his grace at work in our lives.

Blogs I love to read

This isn't an exhaustive list by any means, nor one that places blogs in a pecking order. I love to read blogs by those who have gone overseas to serve the Lord.

Here are three:

Alan Davey who blogs at Les Davey De France. Alan was my predecessor in the Church here in Deeside. Three years ago this week he and his lovely family moved to Bordeaux where they serve as UFM missionaries. You can read his prayer letter here.

Andy Shuddall who blogs at Kiwi Chronicles. Andy and his family moved from the UK to New Zealand three years ago to serve in student ministry with TSCF. Andy is a former colleague from student ministry days in the UK and I rejoice at the grace of God in his life. Do pray for him as he is currently recovering from a brain injury.

Ben Carswell who blogs at From the Ends of the Earth. Ben also now serves in New Zealand with TSCF, before that I was his boss in student ministry with UCCF Wales. Ben and Jen will soon be celebrating their first wedding anniversary. Do pray for him as he is involved in campus outreach.

Under Pressure (2): Unchanging ministry in changing times

The Church faces external pressure in the form of persecution and internal pressure in the form of false teaching.

Elsewhere I have written that persecution is comparable to The War of the Worlds, that unsubtle assault on humanity by aliens. Heresy, on the other hand, is like The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The truth of the gospel is taken over subtlely by an alien world-view. The outward appearance remains in the form of orthodox words, but the content is replaced by quite different ideas. Both persecution and heresy are instruments in the hands of Satan to oppose God and the gospel.

Here's how Cyprian of Carthage expressed it:

There is more need to fear and beware of the Enemy when he creeps up secretly, when he beguiles us by a show of peace and steals forward by those hidden approaches which have earned him the name of the 'Serpent'...He invented heresies and schisms so as to undermine the faith, to corrupt the truth, to sunder our unity. Those whom he failed to keep in the blindness of their old ways he beguiles, and leads them up a new road of illusion.

This second, and internal, pressure also faces Timothy. Paul speaks to this in his second letter. Persecutors and false teachers are under the sovereign control of God, but they are not under the control of Paul or Timothy. We may wish that we never had to face heretics in the church. We may even begin to wonder why we have to deal with them. Why are they permitted to hinder the progress of the gospel? Why are they allowed to sow confusion and upset faith?

How should Timothy hold to a proper God-ward confidence under the pressure of the presence of false teachers?

By having confidence in God's sovereignty in salvation

Paul's answer to this is to direct Timothy to God's sovereignty in salvation. The Lord knows those who are his (2:19). This is a solid foundation for ministry. And those whom God knows, and brings to salvation in Christ by grace and through faith alone, will show the evidence of this by displaying the fruit of holiness (2:20; following 1:9). This is Paul's direct theological response to the infiltration of error in the church. Whatever damage it does, it simply cannot destroy this foundation. The Lord will save all his people.

By showing humble patience in correcting opponents

In 2:24-26 Paul spells out for Timothy the same kind of point that he makes in Ephesians 6:12 ("For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood..." Compare Ephesians 6:11 and 4:14). Correcting opponents cannot be done by merely human strength and wisdom. There is a spiritual conflict that Paul wants Timothy to be conscious of. What will secure a right response from those in error? Notice how Paul frames this scenario. Such men are:

*Senseless captives caught in the devil's snare to do his will (2:26)

*In need of God given repentance (which highlights the moral nature of error) without which they will never know the truth (2:25)

*Therefore Timothy must be humble, patient, gentle and not quarrelsome as he corrects them (2:24)

This is the atmosphere in which Timothy is to stand his ground and correct those in error. It is an atmosphere that calls for prayerfulness. It is also calls for wisdom because Timothy must avoid being dragged into time wasting, profitless disputes (2:14 and again in 2:23).

By demonstrating an unswerving commitment to orthodoxy

Paul urges this in 1:13. Timothy must "Hold fast the pattern of sound words." This is a moral and spiritual commitment to the truth. It is what you are meant to do with truth. By way of contrast the false teachers Hymenaeus and Alexander have "strayed concerning the truth" and have done so by letting go of the orthodox truth of the resurrection (2:17-18). And Paul has made the danger of error transparent. It will spread like a cancer. It is destructive, soul destroying.

Timothy can't control the existence of false teachers. Paul is clear, they will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived (3:13) and drawing followers after them (4:3-4).

How should Timothy respond?

He should keep going in the same direction, following the apostolic doctrine and pattern of life and ministry (3:14). Continue in what you have learned is Paul's admonition. The apostolic teaching and pattern of life are themselves rooted and anchored in the Holy Scriptures, the solid foundation for an all-round ministry (3:15-17).

What do you do in the face of false teachers?

You:

*Lift your thoughts to God and Christ the Judge of all (4:1)

*Preach the Word at all times (4:2)

*Keep you head and keep going (4:5)

And you commit to identifying, training, and appointing men who will replicate this pattern (2:2).

Warfield on the Two Natures of Christ

Here is Warfield on the Chalcedonian definition:

"The final statement...was arrived at, externally considered, through protracted and violent controversies, during the course of which every conceivable construction of the biblical data had been exploited, weighed, and its elements of truth sifted out and preserved, while the elements of error which deformed it were burned up as chaff in the fires of the strife.

Out of the continuous controversy of a century there issued a balanced statement in which all the elements of the biblical representation were taken up and combined. Work so done is done for all time; and it is capable of ever-repeated demonstration that in the developed doctrine of the Two Natures...and in it alone, all the biblical data are brought together in a harmonious statement, in which each receives full recognition, and out of which each may derive its sympathetic exposition.

This key unlocks the treasures of the biblical instruction on the Person of Christ as none other can, and enables the reader as he currently scans the sacred pages to take up their declarations as they meet him, one after the other, into an intelligently consistent conception of his Lord."

B. B. Warfield, "Recent Christological Speculation," in The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield vol. III: Christology and Criticism, p. 264-5

And here is the Chalcedonian definition (451 AD):

Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

The cost of the Kenosis theory

A brief extract from Warfield:

"Kenoticism differs from Socinianism fundamentally, however, in that Socinianism took away from us only our Divine Christ, while Kenoticism takes away also our very God. For what kind of God is this that is God and not God alternately as he chooses, and lays off and on at will those specific qualities that make God the kind of being we call "God"...

It really ought to be clear by now that there cannot be a half-way house erected between the doctrines that Christ is both God and man and that Christ is merely a man. Between these two positions there is an irreducible "either or," and many may feel inclined to adopt Biedermann's caustic criticism of the Kenotic theories, that only one who has himself suffered a kenosis of his understanding can possibly accord them welcome."

B. B. Warfield, "The Twentieth-Century Christ," in The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield vol. III: Christology and Criticism, p. 376

Under Pressure (1)

Timothy was a man under pressure when he read his second letter from the apostle Paul. He was facing the perennial pressures that authentic preachers and churches have found themselves under.

The external pressure came in the form of persecution. Verbal and physical persecution is painful. Paul knows this better than anyone, so he writes:

"Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God." (2 Tim. 1:8)

Here is the key perspective from which Timothy must look upon persecution.

What will keep Timothy from buckling under the pressure of persecution?

Objectively it is because of Christ's resurrection, his abolition of death and the grave, and his bringing life and immortality to light through the gospel (1:10).

Believers have the promise of life, eternal life, in Christ Jesus (1:1). They know that Christ has been raised (2:8), and that if they endure they will also reign with him (2:12). Moreover the hardship that Timothy is being called upon to endure (1:8, 2:3) will not eliminate gospel preaching and the securing of the salvation of all God's people (2:9-10).

Subjectively it is because God has given not a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind (1:7). This is why Timothy must stir up the gift that he has been given.

Timothy will be enabled to face persecution and hardship (the inevitable consequence that accompanies godly living for Christ's sake, 3:12) by calling to mind that he will one day face Christ, the judge of the living and the dead (4:1).

And he who knows now, before God, that the Lord Jesus will judge all men, will no longer be able to face those same men now with the fear that dreads the harm that they can do and silences the preaching of the gospel.

It is a solemn thought that God can sustain his people when they suffer for the gospel so that they will not be ashamed of the testimony of their Lord. It is a solemn thought that Jesus Christ will make his enemies a footstool for his feet.

The second, and internal, pressure facing Timothy came in the form of false teaching. I'll deal with this in a later post.

Spurgeon on Law and Gospel

Here's a great quote from Charles Haddon Spurgeon:

"The doctrine of the covenant lies at the root of all true theology. It has been said that he who well understands the distinction between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace, is a master of divinity.

I am persuaded that most of the mistakes which men make concerning the doctrines of Scripture, are based upon fundamental errors with regard to the covenant of law and of grace. May God grant us...the power to instruct, and...to receive instruction on this vital subject."

This is not yet your grandfather's Calvinism

After reading several reviews I finally decided to read through Collin Hansen's Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists.

The book is obviously intended to be impressionistic about the younger generation of Calvinists within evangelicalism in the United States. As well as interviews with several prominent speakers and authors (John Piper, Al Mohler, Lig Duncan, Mark Driscoll, Joshua Harris, C. J. Mahaney etc.) there are plenty of reflections with young people connected with the ministries of those men (either attending, studying at, or working for Mars Hill, Bethlehem Baptist, RUF, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, etc.).

In many ways the book fulfills what George Marsden once said about history being the story of personalities, wider movements, and institutions. The mediating structures in this case between the key personalities and the wider movement are largely conferences, books, and the multi-media distribution of the teaching ministry of the larger churches. Perhaps the last of those three is the most influential.

The book is something of an apologetic for the positive transforming impact of a reformed understanding of salvation. Story after story is given of the humbling, God exalting, missions motivating, church planting, power of God's sovereign grace in the gospel.

Calvinism transforms lives. It is the solid rock on which the suffering saints stand, and it is when these notes are struck again and again that passionate songs of praise pour out from grateful hearts.

Another standout feature is the legacy of great men long dead whose writings continue to feed the souls of the leaders and followers of this movement, most notably Jonathan Edwards and Charles Spurgeon.

The book also picks up on what should seem obvious, that what is nick named Calvinism is none other than Biblical religion. Not just God exalting theology, the kind that passes the litmus test described thus by Martyn Lloyd-Jones,

"In every view of salvation the place given in it to the glory of God provides the ultimate test. The proof that it is truly scriptural is that it gives all the glory to God."

but also one that simultaneously humbles the human heart in its presence, bends the knees, subverts pride, and makes God's bitterest enemies his closest friends. This is not just orthodoxy, it is orthodoxy that transforms lives.

The encounter with Calvinism often begins not with Calvin, or Edwards, or Spurgeon but with Moses in Exodus, with Jesus in the gospels, or with Paul's letters. Testimonies are provided throughout the book of young people who encountered Calvinism in the preaching, or the reading, of the Word of God. And they met it when they saw that the things of first importance, and how they impact a life in conversion, are shaped by Reformed adjectives. Depravity is total, grace is irresistible, election is unconditional.

Is there more to Calvinism than this? Of course there is. However, for many who are new to Reformed theology, it is met not in its grand historic vision or presentation (as found in the great churchly statements of the Heidelberg Catechism or the Westminster Confession) but in relation to the power of God in salvation. This of course is also the common bond between Calvinists who hold to historic Reformed views across the board and those who embrace a Calvinistic view of salvation only.

I think this observation on an emphasis that runs throughout the book explains why this isn't yet your grandfather's Calvinism. There is more to the Reformation heritage, much more, and this needs to find its way into the rest of the story after p. 156. And I'm sure that there is more going on because once you follow the Calvinist trail of literature and history it leads to the rich pastures of the confessions and catechisms, and of covenant theology.

One criticism of the book is the failure to signal just how much today's resurgence relies on and remains connected to the continuing work of grace that has kept God's people believing in his sovereignty. The representation of Calvinists outside of the current resurgence relied more heavily on negative stereotyping and caricature than was healthy. Even though there is some attempt to signal connections to the past there isn't a sufficient indication of how the last few generations have held to and been transformed by the same truths.

Then again the book is impressionistic and focussed narrowly and deliberately on certain influential figures and centres. As a result the book tends towards reports of Baptists (with illuminating stories about the struggles over Calvinism in the SBC) more than Presbyterians. Although RUF and Ligon Duncan do feature it would have been helpful to take a close up look, for example, at First Presbyterian Jackson or Tenth Presbyterian in Philadelphia just as Mars Hill or Covenant Life Church were covered.

Westminster and Evangelicalism

Here is the text of Dr. David B. Garner's recent post at the WTS website:

Westminster and Evangelicalism
David B. Garner
Vice President for Advancement
Westminster Theological Seminary (PA)

What is evangelicalism? Who are evangelicals? Because evangelicalism has experienced a metamorphosis, the answer to these questions is more complicated than one might guess. In the term’s early use in 18th and 19th century in North America, where evangelicalism was more narrowly defined by revivalism and its associated emphasis on personal conversion, evangelicalism became identified with the largest Protestant movement in North America.

In the wake of the infiltration of theological liberalism into the mainline churches and the massive immigration of foreigners of diverse religious background, the virtually ubiquitous force of evangelicalism tempered, yet its arteries extended so as to influence a wide panorama of churches and para-church groups. Accordingly, the Institute for Study of American Evangelicals (ISAE) at Wheaton College defines evangelicalism as “a wide-reaching definitional ‘canopy’ that covers a diverse number of Protestant groups”.

On the current North American landscape, evangelicalism embraces, among others, Baptists, some Lutherans and Episcopalians, independents, Mennonites, Charismatics (Protestant and Catholic), Dutch Reformed, and Presbyterians. As evidenced by the vote to retain Clark Pinnock and John Sanders in the Evangelical Theological Society in 2003, the big tent of evangelicalism now extends from rigorous conservatism to forms of open theism and inclusivism.

With the expansion of its stakes in recent decades, this evangelical tent now covers such associations as the Christian Coalition of America (a political advocacy group), L.E.A.R.N., Inc. (a pro-life group), Evangelicals Concerned, Inc. (a pro-homosexual group), and the Evangelical Environment Network (an environmental advocacy group).

Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) shares appreciation for traditional evangelicalism’s emphasis on the inerrancy and authority of the Scripture. At the same time, WTS remains committed to its confessional heritage and standards; the Westminster Standards have been and remain our doctrinal standard.

No matter how much evangelicalism morphs, the parameters of Westminster Reformed Orthodoxy guide and preserve the Seminary’s theological commitments on Scripture and any other doctrinal matter on which the Westminster Standards speak. Wherever and whenever strands of evangelicalism agree with the Westminster Standards, WTS happily identifies with evangelicalism. However, when any form of evangelicalism (or any other theological approach) runs contrary to historic Reformed orthodoxy and methodology, WTS consciously separates itself from evangelical identification.

Is WTS an evangelical institution? If by that we mean our resolute commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ revealed in the inerrant Word of God, and to the five solas of the Reformation – faith alone, scripture alone, grace alone, Christ alone, all to the glory of God alone – then we grant a strong affirmative. Indeed, the bond of Christian unity makes such not an option or a work of supererogation, but a basic Christian imperative.

But if we mean sharing theological common ground with inclusivists, open theists, and any other self-professing evangelicals who deny or compromise the unique authority of divine Scripture, we grant a strong denial. Rather, in view of our Reformed heritage and commitment to the Westminster Standards, we unequivocally affirm our commitment to Reformed orthodoxy.

These confessional parameters guide, preserve, and promote our approach to theological education, ministerial formation, and academic study. They summarize in brilliant, short compass, the teaching of scripture. They keep us accountable in all that we do to our ecclesiastical constituency. And they focus our hearts and minds upon the gracious God who has preserved his church, and his gospel, from generation to generation.

Knowing the Times: Carl Trueman

Carl Trueman has posted a clear, helpful, and irenic essay entitled "Knowing the Times: Recent Controversies in Context" here. (HT: Justin Taylor)

A brief extract on "The ever broadening boundaries of evangelicalism":

In his new book, The Courage to be Protestant, David points to the increasing doctrinal minimalism of evangelicalism. Where once a raft of doctrines were assumed, now evangelicalism is defined almost by institutions and ethos rather than by theological confession.

If it is taught at a seminary calling itself evangelical, for example, or published by a press which has evangelical roots, then it is within the range of evangelical thought, even if it involves a low view of scripture, rejection of penal substitution, or even a question mark over the Trinity.

Further, Mark, in his book, Is the Reformation Over?, points out that many evangelicals, perhaps most, now reject justification by grace through faith as understood by the Reformers, a doctrine which has historically been one of the distinguishing hallmarks of evangelical Protestantism.

Strange times, indeed, when even the basics can no longer be assumed; but we must acknowledge that we stand at a point in history where the purview of evangelical thought is not determined by historic Christianity but is rather a function of the breadth of the beliefs of the faculty who serve at evangelical seminaries, the commissioning editors who work for evangelical presses, and the ministers who fill evangelical pulpits.

And this on "Confession and accountability":

So what is the significance of these recent events? As Academic Dean and as Vice President for Academic Affairs, I believe this lies above all in two specific areas.

First, it is now clear that Westminster is to be committed to a doctrine of scripture that reflects what is taught in the great confessions of the Reformation, and which has nurtured the confessional evangelical church for centuries. As evangelicalism in general broadens out, as it loses its connection with its confessional Reformation past, as it becomes increasingly vacuous at a doctrinal level, the leaders at Westminster have decided that that is not the path this institution will go down.

We will not accept that the Reformation creedal heritage is no longer relevant; we will not accede to the indefinite broadening of evangelicalism’s doctrinal horizons; nor will we subscribe to the modifications of the doctrine of scripture which are such a necessary part of that broadening. Rather, we will stand where we have always stood, on the great solas of the Reformation: Christ, scripture, grace, faith, and, above all, God’s glory. We are not, and will not be, a seminary which repudiates the great catholic legacy of the Reformation and of subsequent confessional evangelicalism.

Second, it has been made clear that Westminster professors are to be held accountable to more than just the canons of their chosen academic guild or the current trends of thinking in their various subdisciplines or even their friends and colleagues on Faculty. Accountability in times of crisis, of course, is always a painful experience.

There is a human cost on all sides which press releases, theological statements, and minutes of meetings rarely, if ever, convey. While theology is indeed a great hobby, it is too often a nightmare of a profession. Yet those who teach must be held accountable for their teaching, however hard that may be; and, for too long at Westminster, too little attention has been paid to what we as Faculty teach while too much, perhaps, has been paid to what others outside of our church constituencies think of us.

Against Heresies: the interviews

Christian Focus will be publishing a series of interviews that I did with senior ministers and seminary professors on handling truth and error in the church. I hope that the interviews will benefit all church members, but they will be especially useful for pastors, elders, and seminarians.

Several of the interviews were posted on the blog in 2007 (but are no longer available). There will also be new interviews in the book on justification and the New Perspective, with Ligon Duncan, plus others on inerrancy and hell.

The line up includes Carl Trueman, Mike Horton, Mark Dever, Tom Schreiner (on penal substitution), Scott Clark, Ligon Duncan, Derek Thomas, Joel Beeke, Kim Riddlebarger (on errors and the end times), Iain D. Campbell, Guy Waters, Ron Gleason, Gary L. W. Johnson, Tom Ascol, Geoff Thomas, Conrad Mbewe, and Sean Lucas (plus a few others that I'm very excited about but can't announce just yet).

The collection is topped and tailed with two chapters that I have written, a short primer on heresy and "What really matters in ministry" (directives for church leaders from Acts 20).

There's no release date as yet for the book.

Approaching justification

How should we study the doctrine of justification?

With full recongition of the holiness and justice of God, of our own guilt and inability to be justified by our own works, and with the sure hope that in Christ God has provided a perfect righteousness and a full atonement for sin. We need the clear knowledge that by faith alone, resting and relying on Christ alone, God will freely pardon all our sins and accept us as righteous in his sight.

Any other approach to this great subject, any pathway that reflects an academic detachment, or that places the stress on our own ability, is spiritually disastrous.

How should we study justification?

On our knees. But with our eyes lifted away from ourselves and toward Christ.

Herman Bavinck puts it so well:

To correctly assess the benefit of justification, people must lift up their minds to the judgment seat of God and put themselves in his presence.

When they compare themselves with others or measure themselves by the standard that they apply to themselves or among each other, they have some reason perhaps to pride themselves in something and to put their trust in it.

But when they put themselves before the face of God and examine themselves in the mirror of his holy law, all their conceit collapses, all self-confidence melts, and there is room left only for the prayer: "Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you" (Job 4:17-29; 9:2; 15:14-16; Ps. 143:2; cf. 130:3), and their only comfort is that "there is forgiveness before you, so that you may be revered" (Ps. 130:4).

If for insignificant, guilty, and impure persons there is to be a possibility of true religion, that is, of genuine fellowship with God, of salvation and eternal life, then God on his part must reestablish the broken bond, again take them into fellowship with him and share his grace with them, regardless of their guilt and corruption.

He, then, must descend from the height of his majesty, seek us out and come to us, take away our guilt and again open the way to his fatherly heart. If God were to wait until we--by our faith, our virtues, and good works of congruity or condignity--had made ourselves worthy, in part or in whole, to receive his favour, the restoration of communion between him and ourselves would never happen, and salvation would forever be out of reach for us.

This is why so much depends on the benefit of justification, and it is rightly denominated the article on which the church either stands or falls. For the fundamental question that arises in this connection is this: What is the way that leads to communion with God, to true religion, to salvation and eternal life: God's grace or human merit, his forgiveness or our works, gospel or law, the covenant of grace or the covenant of works?

If it is the latter, if our work, our virtue, our sanctification is primary, then the believer's consolation ends, and they remain in doubt and uncertainty to their last breath. Then Christ is violated in his unique, all-encompassing, and all-sufficient mediatorial office, and he himself is put on a level with other humans, with ourselves. Then God is robbed of his honor, for, if humans are justified on the basis of their works, they have reason to boast of themselves and are, partly or totally, the craftsmen of their own salvation.

Herman Bavinck, RD Vol. 4, p. 204-5

Forgiveness is not natural

Here is Bavinck on justification:

"...by it we understand that gracious judicial act of God by which he acquits humans of all the guilt and punishment of sin and confers on them the right to eternal life.

Certainly there can be no peace of mind and conscience, no joy in one's heart, no buoyant moral activity, or a blessed life and death, before the guilt of sin is removed, all fear of punishment has been completely eradicated, and the certainty of eternal life in communion with God fills one's consciousness with its consolation and power.

But this benefit--the complete forgiveness of sin--is so immense that the natural human intellect cannot grasp and believe it."

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics Volume 4: Holy Spirit, Church and New Creation, p. 179

Reflections on pastoral ministry

My friend David Strain is about to take up a pastorate in the US. As the Strain family prepare to leave these shores David has written the following reflections. They are both honest and searching, and I found them a really valuable read. I hope that you benefit from them too:

So after almost five years of life and ministry in London my family and I have departed London City Presbyterian Church, for a short time of vacation with family in Scotland before moving on to serve at Main Street Presbyterian Church in Columbus Mississippi.

Here are some lessons I hope I have begun to learn through my time in London:

1. In ministry in a local church, always prioritise spiritual change over structural or organisational change. Without the former who can bear the latter?

2. The gospel really is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe. Ministers can’t save anyone. Grasping this truth is the only thing that keeps me climbing the pulpit steps.

3. Churches turn corners spiritually when they pray together. If they don’t, generally speaking, they won’t.

4. Ministry never clashes with family time unless ministers let it. It is vital to keep on plugging away at getting the balance right.

5. In Britain in general, and in the Free Church of Scotland in particular, we suffer from ADD (Affirmation Deficit Disorder). I hope that it has been good for my pride to serve in a context where affirmation does not come easily.

6. While single sermons can have great power to effect change, nothing compares to the drip feed effect of sustained exposure to the teaching of whole books of scripture over a period of years. A huge change in my thinking after 5 years in London has been to expect, as the ordinary pattern, incremental spiritual growth in people through a steady diet of gospel truth over the long haul, rather than cataclysmic life transformation through a single sermon.

7. Being a pastor is not an inoculation against spiritual decline in my own soul.

8. It is vital that I guard against becoming a sermon factory, churning out a manuscript in time for the Sunday deadline. The nurture of my own soul is almost as important to the welfare of my family and my flock as it is to myself.

Peter Enns leaves Westminster Theological Seminary

The administration and Prof. Peter Enns wish to announce that they have arrived at mutually agreeable terms, and that, as of 31 July, 2008, Prof. Enns will discontinue his service to Westminster Theological Seminary after fourteen years.

The administration wishes to acknowledge the valued role Prof. Enns has played in the life of the institution, and that his teaching and writings fall within the purview of Evangelical thought. The Seminary wishes Prof. Enns well in his future endeavors to serve the Lord.

Prof. Enns wishes to acknowledge that the leaders of the Seminary (administration and board) are charged with the responsibility of leading the seminary in ways that are deemed most faithful to the institution’s mission as a confessional Reformed Seminary.

Prof. Enns expresses his deep and sincere gratitude to the Lord for his education and years of service at Westminster Theological Seminary.

(HT: Green Baggins)

Global ministries and the local church (1)

The speed and ease with which teaching is placed in the public domain creates particular challenges for Christians and local churches.

International ministries are not a new phenomenon (one thinks here of the distribution of Spurgeon's sermons), but technological advances do mean that we are able to access the preaching of the most prominent church leaders across the globe with an astonishing ability. Within our grasp are world class resources, and incredible buffet of Bible teaching. Time and space are transcended by technology.

But with this ability comes great responsibility. I don't think that I need to accent the benefical aspects of this profusion of riches that technology has brought within our reach. What ought to concern us is the wise use of these means, and how they relate to the primary means that God has given us for our growth in grace, the ministry and fellowship of the local church.

My guess is that our internal spiritual life is on the way to being reshaped by the availability of web based materials. The benefits seem obvious to us, the costs, however, are considerably more hidden.

Downloadable sermons remove the necessity of making the preaching ministry of the local church essential in Christian growth. If I so wish I can listen to the weekly preaching of a considerable number of preachers. Is this a good thing? Well the sheer riches of expository preaching on offer ought to do me a lot of good. However, should I not remind myself that on the whole I'm listening to this as a detached individual?

I don't mean by that a detachment from the desire to believe and obey the truth, I mean a detachment from the local church. I can easily listen to the preaching of the Word of God outside of the context of a congregation, a real life group of people at all sorts of levels of knowledge and maturity, with whom I am bound up in God's sight.

Preaching is a corporate act. Going to church is not like a trip to the movie theatre where I can listen in as an individual with no meaningful connection to the people around me.

God adresses his gathered people through his Word. We listen as he speaks to us of his covenant of grace. He takes us as his people, binds us to himself as "our God," renews us, and sends us out as his servants in the world.

There is an obligation to hear the Word, respond to the Word, and to apply the Word together, that downloadable preaching cannot even begin to touch. It actually fails miserably at this point, because it can never do what the ministry of the local church, ordained by God, is designed to do.

Am I making downloadable sermons the primary means of my growth to the neglect of listening to, believing and obeying, God's Word together with his assembled people? Am I dishonouring God and his church through bypassing the ministry of the local church in my pursuit of maturity?

Some current theological trends

At the end of August I'm giving an evening lecture on "Current Theological Trends" to a group of part time ministerial students. I have been asked to deal with the doctrine of Scripture, with particular reference to Peter Enns and Andrew McGowan, and the Federal Vision.

Whilst there is a wealth of material available on both subjects I would be interested in hearing from anyone engaging with these issues on the ground. Best to use the email address in the righthand sidebar.

A sympathetic and merciful High Priest

When we are tempted dark thoughts come to us about how God views ours temptations. We might begin to imagination that he despises our weakness ("surely if I was a strong Christian I wouldn't have these thoughts"). Or we might think that he is angry with us. We probably are troubled by the thought that he is distant and aloof, that somehow his help is far away.

These thoughts, however real they seem, are in fact a lie. Our Father reassures us that the Son of his love, whom he appointed as our Saviour, is able to help us when we are tempted.

Christ has been set apart and sent to be a merciful and faithful high priest. He has made atonement for our sins, removing the condemnation that we rightly deserve. Not only is this so, but he also knows what it is like to be tempted (see Hebrews 2:17-18).

It is not too much to say that he is full of sympathy for his tempted people. He knew the pressure of temptation in a way that we will never know.

I once watched the effects of the storm tossed waves as they battered the sea wall at Scarborough. At one point the wall had given way due to the relentless force of the waves. Sadly that is our experience under the force of temptation. We give way to the pressure, wave after wave of it, and sin against our Lord. Christ, however, knew the pressure of temptation to a degree that we will never know. Unlike us he never gave way, never gave in, never collapsed under the force of temptation. But he knew the power of temptation crashing against his soul.

As strange as it may seem, this sinless Son of God is the only one who can truly help us under the weight and power of temptation. He is filled with sympathy and mercy toward us, and he can help us (see Hebrews 4:14-16). When we do sin we need to know that he intercedes for us (1 John 2:1-2).

We should go to him, and we should pour out our hearts before him. Will you do so when you are tempted?

We are at times afraid of others knowing about the temptations that face us. We are afraid of what they will think of us, and of how they will regard us, we feel so ashamed. Don't be afraid to go to Jesus Christ. He is more holy than you can possibly imagine, and yet he is more merciful than your mind can take in. Know that God appointed him for you. Know that he is sympathetic, merciful, faithful, and able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through him because he ever lives to make intercession (Hebrews 7:25).

You can't deal with temptation, but he can help you. You can't deal with your sin, but he can by his death. Come to Jesus Christ.

Approaching God

The litmus test of our understanding and application of the gospel is in our approach to God. It is only at this point that our true conception of the divine majesty and holiness, our own depravity and uncleanness, of God's justice in condemning our sin and the sole sufficiency of Christ's work to save us, is revealed.

A diminished view of any of these truths, along with a diminished effect of them upon our souls, will leave us satisified to approach God on other terms than those of his gospel of free grace in Christ alone.

How we actually answer the following questions reveals a lot about our grasp of the gospel. What do I believe is necessary for God to receive me? For God to hear me? For God to accept me?

Stated positively, only the obedience and blood of Christ, the perfect sacrifice of himself in our place, can satisfy the demands of divine justice and reconcile us to God. Because of his perfect and sufficient sacrifice for sin (which we benefit from by resting and relying on Christ alone), we are assured that all our sins and lawless deeds God will remember no more. Through Christ we have continual access to God, and may approach him with boldness and confidence, with full assurance of faith.

Stated negatively:

1. Moralism of any kind can never be the right way for sinners like us to approach a holy God. No acts of atonement that we make, no prayers or offerings, no repentance, can remove the guilt of our sin and reconcile us to God. It is Christ's sacrifice alone that brings us continually to God. In the words of the hymn "my guilty conscience seeks no sacrifice beside/his powerful blood did once atone and now it pleads before the throne"

2. Heightened emotional states are no safe basis for access to God. Music can have a powerful effect on our emotions, but it cannot form any part of our understanding of how we may draw near to God. Loose language about entering God's presence at this point is deadly. It makes us look to the acts of sinners in conveying the divine presence. If churches only understood the book of Hebrews and how it teaches us to draw near to God I'm sure that these errors would be swept away.

3. Mysticism is also a rival to the high priestly finished work of Christ for us. Mystical experiences are not to form the basis of our approach to God. In this way as techniques are offered for how to pray, the focus falls upon us and our actions and not upon Christ and his work.

The dangers of moralism, emotionalism, and mysticism, vie for our allegiance as the means by which we will approach God. They will always be more attractive and plausible to us in proportion to our own experiential grasp of Christ's person and work. To the extent that God has exposed to us our true moral guilt before him, and our utter inability to deal with our own sin, we will turn away from all human acts of morality, religion, techniques, feelings, music and mystical experiences as in anyway able to help us. Our only hope will be in Christ our great high priest, and in him we will find a refuge to make our hearts truly rejoice.

Essential Listening: American Pelagianism

Grab a coffee and listen to the latest program from The White Horse Inn.

Richard Baxter's guide to the reading of a book (or a blog)

When reading ask onself:

1. Could I spend this time no better?

2. Are there better books/blogs that would edify me more?

3. Are the lovers of such a book/blog as this the greatest lovers of the Book of God and of a holy life?

4. Does this book/blog increase my love to the Word of God, kill my sin, and prepare me for the life to come?

[From the Banner of Truth Magazine, July 1958]

The Erosion of Inerrancy in Evangelicalism by Greg Beale

This new book by Greg Beale caught my eye. Published by Crossway, it will be available in late November and weighs in at 256 pages. Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Examines recent postmodern efforts to redefine the traditional evangelical view of scriptural authority and counters with sound logic that resoundingly supports inerrancy.

Due to recent popular challenges to evangelical doctrine, biblical inerrancy is a topic receiving an increasing amount of attention among theologians and other scholars. Here G. K. Beale vigorously and even-handedly examines the writings of one leading postmodernist, Peter Enns, whose writings challenge biblical authority. In resounding support of inerrancy, Beale presents his own set of formidable challenges to the postmodern suppositions of Enns and others, citing contradictions, dichotomies, oversights, and faulty reasoning.

This book repeatedly demonstrates the implausibility of compromise or striking a balance in the matter of inerrancy—not merely as a debate between academics, but as an issue that affects the entire body of Christ. How can the Bible be historically inaccurate while still serving as the authoritative word on morality and salvation? Beale concludes that it cannot, and his work will aid all who support biblical inerrancy in defending their position against postmodern attacks.

Christ's intercession for us

I'm preaching a short series of evening sermons on Christ as Prophet, Priest and King.

Whilst preaching last night on "Christ our High Priest" I read the following words by Louis Berkhof:

It is a consoling thought that Christ is praying for us, even when we are negligent in our prayer life; that He is presenting to the Father those spiritual needs which were not present to our minds and which we often neglect to include in our prayers; and that He prays for our protection against the dangers of which we are not even conscious, and against the enemies which threaten us, though we do not notice it. He is praying that our faith may not cease, and that we may come out victoriously in the end.

Perhaps this is a dimension of Christ's priestly work that we think of too little. And yet to know that he loves us so much and cares for us so well is simply beyond comprehension, and words seem so inadequate to express our thankfulness for such a great Saviour. The Belgic Confession, Article 26, captures something of the wonder of the Christian heart as it contemplates the intercession of Christ:

We believe that we have no access to God except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor: Jesus Christ the Righteous.

He therefore was made man, uniting together the divine and human natures, so that we human beings might have access to the divine Majesty. Otherwise we would have no access.

But this Mediator, whom the Father has appointed between himself and us, ought not terrify us by his greatness, so that we have to look for another one, according to our fancy. For neither in heaven nor among the creatures on earth is there anyone who loves us more than Jesus Christ does.

John Murray on necessary inerrancy

In reading John Murray's article "Inspiration and Inerrancy" (Collected Writings of John Murray 4: Studies in Theology, p. 25) I came across a helpful rejoinder to a recent criticism over the presumptive nature of inerrancy. Here's the criticism (from The Divine Spiration of Scripture):

The basic error of the inerrantists is to insist that the inerrancy of the autographa is a direct implication of the biblical doctrine of inspiration (or divine spiration). In order to defend this implication, the inerrantists make an unwarranted assumption about God. The assumption is that, given the nature and character of God, the only kind of Scripture he could 'breathe out' was Scripture that is textually inerrant. If there was even one mistake in the autographa, then God cannot have been the author, because he is incapable of error.

Notice, the argument is not that God, being all powerful, is able to deliver a perfectly autographic text. On that matter there is no disagreement between us, since I am happy to affirm God's sovereign power. Rather the argument of the inerrantists is that God is unable to produce anything other than an inerrant autographic text. In other words, I agree with the inerrantists that God could have brought into being inerrant autographic texts, had he chosen to do so, but I reject their argument that he must have acted in this way. (p. 113-4)

Perhaps the most striking problem with the rationalistic implication concerning inerrancy is that it limits God. It assumes that God can only act in a way that conforms to our expectations, based on our human assessment of his character. It assumes that whatever God does must conform to the canons of human reason...In opposition to these inerrantist assumptions, we must surely argue that God is free to act according to his will. (p. 118)

And here is John Murray's analysis of the issue:

To predicate verbal inspiration and infallibility of the Scripture is the same as to speak of its inerrancy. Something cannot be infallible if it contains error of judgement or representation.

We are not to suppose that some syllogism as the following:

God's Word is inerrant
The Bible is God's Word
Therefore the Bible is inerrant

is necessarily a priori and arbitrary, or that it involves our imposing upon Scripture preconceived canons and determines beforehand what is possible or impossible for God. The syllogism is based upon certain presuppositions which are derived from the Scripture, respecting God, the Bible, and God's Word. The fundamental presupposition of the syllogism is that God is truth and that he cannot lie. Who is to say that such a great tenet is arbitrarily a priori?

The Calvin 500 Blog

Yesterday marked John Calvin's 499th birthday. Thanks to Scott Clark for the head's up on the Calvin 500 blog. The photo is from a trip to Geneva back in 2005.

So next year is Calvin's 500th. It will also mark 400 years since the death of Arminius and the Latin publication of the Racovian Catechism, that poisonous publication of the Socinians.

The Life of B. B. Warfield

More from the Riddleblog here. My friend Jeff Waddington sent me this picture of Warfield's handwritten graduation address from 1914.

Bible Overview

My friend Steve Levy has written a Bible Overview that will be published by Christian Focus this September. Details are here. You can pre-order at Amazon (UK) here.

Here are some commendations:

"That it is well written and easy to read is good for starters; but the heart of the situation is the sheer happiness of meeting someone who is so in love with the bible, so sensible in his approach..."

Richard Bewes

"That it is well written and easy to read is good for starters; but the heart of the situation is the sheer happiness of meeting someone who is so in love with the bible, so sensible in his approach..."

Alec Motyer

"My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will use this lively and stimulating book by Steve Levy to remove the veil from many minds."

Stuart Olyott

"Steve has a fever for the Bible and is desperate to infect you! Let him."

Dale Ralph Davis

Ligon Duncan on Covenant theology

I'd just like to recommend Ligon Duncan's two sessions on covenant theology over at Sermon Audio. Really helpful on lots of levels and a good place to start if covenant theology is somewhat new to you.

Themelios is back

Good to see that the theological journal Themelios is no longer in suspended animation. The iPaper version is available here. Themelios is now under the general editorship of Don Carson, and is under the banner of the Gospel Coalition.

The journal was previously under the ownership of RTSF/UCCF in the UK, my esteemed former employers. I had the privilege of working as the RTSF staff worker among theology students from 1998-2000 and then leading the UCCF campus ministry in Wales from 2000-2005.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Reading Warfield

Now there's a thought. Where should you begin? Kim Riddlebarger has some excellent advice here.

Magic and Ministry

I've been listening to Sinclair Ferguson's reflections at 60. Loved his comment about pastoral ministry and seminary teaching. He said that when you are a seminary professor people look at you as if you are a magician sawing a body in half. But if you are a pastor, you are the body in the box.

Recovering the Reformed Confession

Scott Clark's new book will be available for pre-order soon, and is out in November. More details at the Heidelblog.

Easy listening: Reforming or Conforming?

The boys at Christ the Centre interview Gary L. W. Johnson about the forthcoming book Reforming or Conforming?

Easy Reading: Carl Trueman on Young, Restless, and Reformed?

Must reading from Carl here.

Loved the ferrets and the ending:

"There's a lesson here for those Reformed types who are always fretting about how their theological heritage can possibly speak to the present day: don't panic; God's truth is still powerful; just do what you are supposed to be doing. Machen's worrier children don't need to hammer their swords and spears into candlesticks and incense bowls. The old theology still speaks afresh to a new generation."

Interview with Philip Eveson

My friend Guy Davies has interviewed Philip Eveson, the recently retired principal of London Theological Seminary.

The knowledge of Christ

Whilst re-reading an excellent essay on Old Princeton I came across this superb quotation from Charles Hodge:

"The knowledge of Christ," he argued, "...is not the apprehension of what he is, simply by the intellect, but also a due apprehension of his glory as a divine person arrayed in our nature, and involves not as its consequence merely, but as one of its elements, the corresponding feeling of adoration, delight, desire and complacency."

From Paul Kjoss Helseth "Are Postconservative Evangelicals Fundamentalists? Postconservative Evangelicalism, Old Princeton, and the Rise of Neo-Fundamentalism" in Erickson, Helseth and Taylor [eds], Reclaiming the Center: Confronting Evangelical Accommodation in Postmodern Times, p. 233