Hebrews 11, The Faith, And The Substance Of The One Covenant Of Grace (Part 2)

What then about Hebrews 11:1? Substance (ὑπόστασις) is attributed to faith (πίστις)—by the way, “faithfulness” does not work here at all as a translation of faith. Steve Baugh is exactly correct when he writes, “My understanding of Hebrews 11 proceeds from the . . . Continue reading →

A Response to Brent E. Parker and Richard J. Lucas (eds.), Covenantal and Dispensational Theologies: Four Views on the Continuity of Scripture (Part 3)

This is the final installment of a three-part review of Brent Parker and Richard Lucas’ new volume of essays wherein theologians representing traditional Reformed covenant theology, progressive covenantalism, progressive dispensationalism, and traditional dispensationalism interact on issues of continuity and discontinuity in redemptive . . . Continue reading →

A Response to Brent E. Parker and Richard J. Lucas (eds.), Covenantal and Dispensational Theologies: Four Views on the Continuity of Scripture (Part 2)

This three-part series reviews the new multi-view collection of essays, edited by Richard Lucas and Brent Parker, concerning the unity of redemptive history as expressed in various forms of covenantal and dispensational theologies. Part one considered Michael Horton’s argument for traditional Reformed . . . Continue reading →

A Response to Brent E. Parker and Richard J. Lucas (eds.), Covenantal and Dispensational Theologies: Four Views on the Continuity of Scripture (Part 1)

At my ordination, I took a vow that I hold the Westminster Standards “as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures,” expressing that these documents summarize the shape of biblical truth most accurately. This “system” of doctrine connects various . . . Continue reading →

What Is And Is Not New About The New Covenant

Because the Baptist tradition(s) operate from a set of assumptions that are, in certain important ways, distinct from those with which the Reformation churches operate regarding the history of redemption it can be a challenge for those of us within the Reformed . . . Continue reading →

Theonomy Imposes An Artificial Worldview

Those who have been swept up with various forms of theonomy (or Christian Nationalism) should reflect deeply on the redemptive-historical role of the Old Covenant civil law as well as on how the Apostles spiritually applied it to the New Covenant church. . . . Continue reading →

Settling In And Standing Firm

It is now around nine months since my wife and I moved to Grande Prairie (GP) in Alberta, Canada where I have taken a call as Minister of Word and Sacrament at Covenant Reformed URC. We are so thankful to the Lord . . . Continue reading →

The Search for A Second Adam: A New Way of Reading Scripture (Part 3)

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we looked at the ongoing search for God’s promised seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent. Though many of the patriarchs and Israel’s national leaders seemed to come . . . Continue reading →

The Search for A Second Adam: A New Way of Reading Scripture (Part 2)

In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the search for the promised seed of the woman, the one who would crush the serpent’s head, the new Adam. As each one of the Patriarchs rises with glimmers of hope, so also . . . Continue reading →

The Search for A Second Adam: A New Way of Reading Scripture (Part 1)

More than anything, the Bible is a great unfolding drama with all kinds of plot twists and and unexpected turns. The big picture that I want you to see has to do with the promise in Genesis chapter 3. God made the . . . Continue reading →

Acts 2:39: What Is The Promise And To Whom Is It Made?

For the promise is to you and to your children and to all those who are far away, as many as the Lord our God shall call. 1 This passage is an important text in the Reformed understanding of the continuity of . . . Continue reading →