Theology
Theology
Theology
Handling Error in the Church
Martin Downes interviewing Joel R. Beeke: As you reflect back to your days in seminary and early years in the ministry, were there men who started out with evangelical convictions who later moved away from the gospel? How did you cope with that? I can only think of a few...
Theology
The Law of God and Sin
The Puritans often addressed the question, What is the place of the Law in the Christian life? We must consider the Puritans on the nature of the Law, the knowledge of it by man, and the relationship between the Law and sin. Law Is God Exercising His Right to Command...
Theology
Office Bearers by Union with Christ
The Heidelberg Catechism (Q. 31) says Jesus is called the Christ because Christ means “anointed,” and He was ordained by God and anointed by the Spirit for His work as our prophet, priest, and king. What is perhaps more startling is the way the Catechism applies this to us in...
Theology
Calvin as an Experiential Preacher
John Calvin embraced a high view of preaching. He called the preaching office “the most excellent of all things,” commended by God that it might be held in the highest esteem. “There is nothing more notable or glorious in the church than the ministry of the gospel,” he concluded. [Institutes...
Theology
The Preacher
How do we view ourselves as ministers of the Word? Why are we in the ministry? What does our work consist of? The Word “An apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God” (1:1) As an apostle, Paul was called to serve Jesus Christ as His authorized representative or...
Theology
Understanding Union with Christ
Union with Christ is an essential and most wonderful component of the gospel. The believer’s security and acceptance with God depend on his association—indeed, his union—with Jesus Christ. Because believers and Christ are mutually united—believers in Christ (Col. 3:3) and Christ in believers (Col. 1:27; see also 1 John 3:24 and 4:13)—all...
Theology
What Is Faith?
We are often prone to use words without contemplating their meaning. Think of the word grace. We all speak of grace, declare that we are saved by grace, and say that our hope is in grace. But do we ever think about what grace means? I recognized this problem again...
Theology
The Psalms Reveal Christ
The Psalms Reveal Christ in His Sufferings and Glory Though written under the old covenant, the Psalms are extremely relevant for God’s new covenant people. Of the many times that the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, over 40 percent of those quotations come from the Psalms—116 direct quotations.7 The...
Theology
The function of anthropology
A true anthropology is foundational for right and wise ethical decisions. Much of the confusion of our age arises from false anthropologies. Stephen Wellum frames the matter provocatively: “Are we creatures of dignity because we are created in God’s image? Or are we merely animals, by-products of an impersonal evolutionary...
