Category Archives: Reforming

Apologetics, Culture News, Current Events, Evangelism, False Religion, History, Interviews, Islam, Prayer Requests, Promotionals, Reforming, Statistics, Testimonies, Theology

Islam: A Window of Opportunity

This link above will take you to a very good article from my seminary quarterly on the topic of Islam and the opportunity we have, at the present time, to engage the Muslim people in our own backyard with the Gospel. I hope that you will take the time to read it and pray about those Muslims that you know in your own area of influence. Do not take this time lightly or think that you are not qualified to share the Gospel with a Muslim. There are many free resource links (here and here) on my web site that will lead you do a better understanding of the Muslim world and what they’re all about, especially Muslims today.

It would also be nice to hear from anyone in the comments below if you have any experiences with Muslims and sharing the Gospel with them. Please leave your comments below.

Now is the time to engage the Muslim world in our backyard

In Christ and In Defense of the Faith,
Glenn Jones

Apologetics, Biblical Theology, Conferences and Seminars, New Testament Theology, Promotionals, Reforming, Theology

Henry Center for Theological Understanding

The Carl F. H. Henry Center is an excellent online resource for those interested in sharpening their own Theology and finding resources (audio, video, articles, etc.) that are freely available to the public. I encourage you to visit their web site and especially take a look around at their media publications.

From the Director:

Theologians often comment on the low levels of Christian literacy in our pews as well as our pulpits. Likewise, ministry leaders complain about the irrelevance of seminaries. We at the Henry Center are bent on addressing these concerns and the problems they represent. We are committed to bridging the gap between the academy and the church. Gospel labors are too important to be shouldered on one’s own. What is needed is a center for evangelical collaboration, where “experts” of all kinds can work together to engage culture–in the U.S. and around the world.

The Henry Center is such a place. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues–in the church, the academy, and the world. It seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, interpreted theologically as the Word of God. And it pursues these goals collaboratively, bringing ministry practitioners and academics together in creative kingdom partnerships. We exist to glorify our Lord by advancing Christian wisdom in all areas of life and thought, enabling others to apply the knowledge of God and themselves in the rough and tumble of life.

Our work will be much poorer without your help. Won’t you consider praying for the Center and participating with us in its various ministries? We will be grateful for your partnership in the gospel.

Douglas A. Sweeney
Director

Apologetics, Eschatology, History, New Testament Theology, Reforming, Systematic Theology, Theology

How could God command Genocide in the Old Testament?

Justin Taylor of Between Two Worlds has written a powerful and authoritative article for New Attitudes on the the justice of God and the genocide of the Canaanites in the Old Testament. I could not agree more with his seven points. In particular, I think everyone needs to grasp this point, number seven:

7. The destruction of the Canaanites is a picture of the final judgment.

At the end of the age, Christ will come to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:5), expelling them from the land (the whole earth). That judgment will be just, and it will be complete. That is the day “the Lord Jesus [will be] revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might (2 Thess. 1:8–9). Amazingly enough, Paul asks the Corinthians something they seem to have forgotten, if they once knew it: “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? (1 Cor. 6:2).

How does this work? What will it look like? I really don’t know. But God’s Word tells us that God’s people will be part of God’s judgment against God’s enemies. In that way, God’s command of the Israelites to carry out his moral judgment against the Canaanites becomes a foreshadowing—a preview, if you will—of the final judgment.

Read in this light, the terrible destruction recorded on the pages of Joshua in God’s Holy Word become not a “problem to solve,” but a wake-up call to all of us—to remain “pure and undefiled before God” (James 1:27), seeking him and his ways, and to faithfully share the gospel with our unbelieving neighbors and the unreached nations. Like Job, we must ultimately refrain from calling God’s goodness and justice into question, putting a hand over our mouth (Job 40:4) and marveling instead at the richness and the mystery of God’s great inscrutable mercy (Eph. 2:4). At the end of the day we will join Moses and the Lamb in singing this song of praise:

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” (Rev. 15:3-4)

Biblical Theology, Covenant Theology, Dutch Reformed, History, Jounrals, New Testament Theology, Promotionals, Reforming, Systematic Theology, Theology

New Horizons: Herman Bavinck

Jason Button points out that New Horizons, the monthly publication of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, has dedicated the current issue to the life, theology, and legacy of Herman Bavinck. Below are the contents for the October 2008 issue.

[HT: James Grant]

Apologetics, Lectures, Mp3s, Promotionals, Reforming, Seminary, Systematic Theology, Theology

Worldwide Classroom at Covenant Theological Seminary

Justin Taylor reports:

A new website for Covenant’s Worldwide Classroom:

Learn from wherever you are in the world. The free courseware available on this site includes every class you need to help you in life, ministry, discipling and equipping others, and taking your faith deeper and mind to greater degrees of Biblical understanding. Our hope and prayer is that no matter where God has stationed you in his Kingdom or how he has gifted you to serve, you will find that these resources encourage and strengthen your ministry. You may download, use, and share this courseware at no charge for non-commercial purposes.

The seminary itself also has a new website, and also “a new Living Christ360 website, which is the media ministry of the Seminary with daily broadcasts and devotionals from Bryan Chapell.”

Dutch Reformed, Promotionals, Reforming, Theology

Herman Bavinck ONLINE

JT says:

Tony Reinke has started a new website, hermanbavinck.org, dedicated to an important Dutch theologian whose rich writings have great relevance for our own debates today.

The goal of the website: “Maintain a fresh and uncluttered corpus of books, articles, lectures, news, information, and discussions on the life and writings of Herman Bavinck (1854-1921).”

Various tabs include:

Culture News, Current Events, Debate, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Politics, Protology, Reforming, Theology, Videos

Is Sarah Palin sinning b/c she’s running for VP?

3 Comments

I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue. Please leave your comments below.

But for starters, watch this ABC video broadcast where reporters came to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky and interviewed students about their views on Palin as VP and women in the pastorate.

I personally do not believe that there is a problem with Sarah Palin running for VP. There’s a fundamental difference between the role of government and the role of the church. The government, as it exists today, is a function of the old creation order of sin and judgment on sin (Romans 13). The church is the government of the new creation order, which consists of life, redemption, and renewal (Romans 8). As we participate in these two spheres which exist in the overlap of the ages (the already and not yet), we must remember that they are distinct from one another and never to be confused. In the new creation, or regeneration, God is calling His people, the church, to once again fulfill the created order and the rolls for man and woman in the worship and glory of God. Given this reality, the church has a higher calling to be a witness in the world to the way Christ and his bride, the church, function together in union and communion. Simply put, the government is not the church and the church is not the government.

What are you thoughts? Leave them below in the comments section.

Audio Books, Books, Mp3s, Promotionals, Reforming, Theology

Free Audiobook: Spurgeon’s All of Grace

Every month Christianaudio.com gives away a free audio book. For the month of October, they are giving away Charles Spurgeon’s All of Grace. This is a classic work on grace in the Christian life. Go here and add it to your cart. Use the coupon code OCT2008 to receive the free download.

Here is some more about the book:

Charles Spurgeon is one of the great preachers in the history of Christianity. Spurgeon also communicates brilliantly through the written word, and his giftedness to proclaim the doctrine of grace shines in his little gem, All of Grace. Many Christians believe that this small book presents better than any other non-canonical work the gospel of salvation alone by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This short book is one of the bright jewels in post-apostolic writings on grace.

All of Grace is a prefect companion for Christians who wish to refresh their confidence in the grace of God. This book also makes an excellent introduction to those who are exploring the Christian gospel. Whether you are new to Christianity or a long-time believer, All of Grace will capture your attention and interest page after page.

[HT: James Grant]