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Introduction Has God made himself known only in the Bible and/or Jesus? Are there any other ways in which He has revealed himself to us? If so, how? What is the nature, extent, and value of that revelation and how does it compare with the knowledge we have of God through Christ and Scripture? Does everyone inherently know God? If so, in what way(s)? These are just some of the questions we will treat in this brief paper. Our use of the term “revelation” comes from the Greek term ajpokavluyi" (apokalupsis) and means “to uncover, reveal, disclose,” or “make known”...

I will here make some observations on offenses, what distinctions are to be made between them, what kind are to be avoided and what disregarded. This will afterwards enable us to determine what scope there is for our liberty among men. We are pleased with the common division into offense given and offense taken, since it has the plain sanction of Scripture, and not improperly expresses what is meant. If from unseasonable levity or wantonness, or rashness, you do any thing out of order or not in its own place, by which the weak or unskillful are offended, it may...

Earlier this week, the Dallas Observer published a cover story about a former minister who was recently convicted of sexually abusing children in Mississippi. According to the article, prior to this offender getting caught for these crimes, he served as a youth minister in a Dallas area megachurch. The story reports that while serving in that position, a minor who had been part of the youth group stepped forward and disclosed to another pastor on staff that this individual had sexually abused him. The article reported that instead of reporting the youth minister to the police, the megachurch allowed him...

Evangelistic Calvinism, Why the Doctrines of Grace Are Good News is written by John Benton, and published by the Banner of Truth Trust, as a booklet of 31 pages. The questions this booklet addresses are: Does Calvinistic preaching - that is, true scriptural preaching - hinder the proclamation of the love of Christ to a dying world? Is it a stumbling block that prevents sinners being saved? The author answers these questions in terms of the Five Points of Calvinism - the response of the Synod of Dort to the Arminian errors which caused such division in the Dutch Church...

Do you want to know how to make a Calvinist angry? Do you want to know how to offend a whole room full of them? Just bring up the old line about Reformed theology being incompatible with evangelism. We have all heard it, we have all read it, we have all rejected it. It’s the word on the street, though, that Calvinists make poor evangelists. Many people are firmly convinced that there is a deep-rooted flaw embedded within Reformed theology that undermines evangelistic fervor. Most blame it on predestination. After all, if God has already chosen who will be saved,...

From time to time we hear some telling us that evangelical Christianity must retool our sexual ethic if we're ever going to reach the next generation. Some say that Millennials, particularly, are leaving the church because of our "obsession" with sexual morality. The next generation needs a more flexible ethic, they say, on premarital sex, homosexuality, and so on. We'll either adapt, the line goes, or we'll die. This argument is hardly new. In the early 20th century, this was precisely the rhetoric used by liberal Protestant Harry Emerson Fosdick and his co-laborers. Fosdick was concerned, he said, for the...

Senior pastor of Lakewood, Joel Olsteen, is a 5'4" blonde woman from Fargo, North Dakota.

The Sabbath in the Age to Come God created the Sabbath for mankind and there will yet come a time when all mankind will keep God's Sabbath. God created the Sabbath for mankind (Mark 2:27), and there will yet come a time when all people will keep God's Sabbath. The Bible speaks of God's Kingdom as being established on earth when Jesus Christ returns to rule as "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Revelation 11:15; 19:11-16). In addition to ruling over sons of God who will be changed to spirit beings and rule with Christ in the Kingdom of...

My friend Michael Horton often comments on the phenomenon of “cage-stage Calvinism,” that strange malady that seems to afflict so many people who have just seen the truth of the Reformed doctrines of grace. We’ve all known one of these “cage-stage Calvinists.” Many of us were even one of them when we were first convinced of God’s sovereignty in salvation. Cage-stage Calvinists are identifiable by their insistence on turning every discussion into an argument for limited atonement or for making it their personal mission to ensure everyone they know hears—often quite loudly—the truths of divine election. Now, having a zeal...

While Joe Carter is yet again telling me what I should do, this time how to think about October 31st, Protestants (and others) in Hillsdale will be observing Reformation Day with a book talk by (all about) me on Calvinism. What follows is an excerpt: Calvinism (Why not Lutheranism?) One of the stranger features of religion in the United States is the level of comfort that Americans seem to have with Calvinism even though it is a version of Christianity that many, along with H. L. Mencken, place in their “cabinet of horrors” – the Baltimore journalist put it on...

A young deer near Grand Rapids Michigan will be celebrating October 31 differently next year I would venture to guess. First, a little history for those of you who did not grow up in a Dutch Reformed community: The Dutch Reformed tradition frowned on the day of Halloween. Our parents taught us that witches, ghosts and goblins were not a healthy thing to be celebrating. Halloween origins are traced back to the Celts many years ago. The Celts believed that in the season between fall and winter, the veil between this life and the next was at its smallest. They...

How can you evangelize if you’re a Calvinist? Every once in a while someone will challenge me, specifically about how I can believe in the Reformed view of salvation and be into evangelism. Many know, that entails a view of God’s sovereign election and predestination. In plain English that means that God in the end gets to decide who will come to believe. Isn’t there a contradiction between that and evangelistic zeal? Truth be told, I’m not an argumentative Calvinist and would really rather talk about the other JC if given the chance. But I do believe in Calvin’s view...

* Disclaimer: The following should not be considered legal, financial or tax advice. Every individual situation is unique and you are encouraged to consult with your tax and financial advisor before year end. There's a lot of hype, confusion and speculation related to the so-called "fiscal cliff" America is facing as the calendar rolls over from 2012 to 2013. At the Presbyterian Lay Committee, we're getting questions from donors and churches alike about what they might anticipate in terms of the impact on charitable giving. The answer all depends on what happens between now and the end of the year...

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8Consistent readers of this blog know that I am deeply committed Evangelical. Especially in the area of soteriology (i.e., theology of salvation), I am convinced that the Evangelical understanding of how we are saved is the biblical message. Without question during the Middle Ages, the church in the Western world lost the New Testament understanding of salvation of faith alone through grace alone in Christ alone. Anglican theologian, Alister McGrath elaborates: The late Middle Ages saw...

Below is a set of theses from the late Dr. Marquart, posted here in honor of the Reformation. Originally written for class and perhaps a conference, they speak of what exactly Sola Scriptura means and what it means for the church. Blessed Festival of the Reformation! Verbum domini manet in aeternum. The two focal points of the Reformation conflict were the Gospel’s core content (justification) and the Gospel’s authority (Scripture alone—sola scriptura).“Sola scriptura” means to assert the sole authority of Christ over His church, to the exclusion of all other powers and authorities. IESOUS KYRIOS (Jesus is Lord, I Cor....

That’s the title of an interesting and thought-provoking post by Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition. Justin embedded a video interview left on the cutting-room-floor of the forthcoming documentary Hellbound. In the video (embedded below), Justin grapples with a question I often receive — is a God who only saves some of His children a moral monster?I’m not going to pretend to be a theologian and wholeheartedly recommend watching Justin’s response (as well as reading his blog), but I will make an observation or two through the prism of my legal training. First, much of what we believe is right...