“Are you supralapsarian or infralapsarian?” This question is one of those unique questions that indicates that someone has been reading something about or from the Reformed Scholastics (i.e., those from the second half of the sixteenth century through the end of the seventeenth), or, perhaps, they have recently been taking a course in theology. Because this is not a common topic of theological conversation, it can be confusing the first time people encounter it (and for a long time afterward). When I find students wrestling with understanding the conversation, I find they are often helped by a ..read more

There are plenty of books one could read to see a number of the patterns in the Tabernacle (replicated in the Temple). As some of you know, I do a daily Bible reading at our church’s building. We just finished up Exodus, and there were a few patterns I was drawing out as we made our way through that book (e.g., early on I made comments on the connection of Moses to Noah, Jacob, and Joseph). One point I made was that the “forming and filling” of Gen 1 is seen in the construction of the tabernacle at the end of Exodus. I wanted to put these down, if only for my own reference later on; it might b ..read more

One fascinating way by which you can be helped in your biblical interpretation is by paying attention to those times when nobody is listening. To explain what I mean, I’m going to give one demonstration of an apostolic hermeneutic and one further example. So, this article should be fairly brief. First Peter 3 In 1 Peter 2:13–3:7, Peter provides a number of exhortations regarding Christian living in relation to others. As chapter 3 begins, he addresses wives and husbands, and to the wives he commands the inward beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit as they submit to their husbands. Then he makes ..read more

I developed a Bible reading plan a couple of years ago that goes through the OT once and NT twice, and includes Psalm readings (it sort of follows the Book of Common Prayer). The plan skips Sundays with the idea being that you might focus on the text of the sermons or select something else. I read through this publicly at our church every day, offering expository, doctrinal, and application comments as we go. having the plan allows people to keep on track if they can only attend occasionally. One sister who’s been attending went ahead and filled in the dates for 2024. To print it, just open it ..read more

I recently read this article by Ray Rhodes about Spurgeon’s view of Christmas celebration. I think what he says from Spurgeon is largely where I’m at (theologically/practically) regarding Christmas celebration. That said, there are some things in the article that would be helpful to clarify. The reason for clarifying these things is that I think it would be easy to misunderstand what is being said. Who are the Puritans? The article postures Spurgeon as a “latter-day Puritan.” The Puritans’ Concern The Puritans often argued against the celebration of Christmas as a “popish invention.” Rhodes an ..read more

In his work defending credobaptism on the basis of Baptist covenant theology, Benjamin Keach notes 13 differences between circumcision and baptism. He admits, of course, that there are commonalities between the two ordinances. Nevertheless, these differences continue to stand. What I found so helpful is that the list collates what have been things I have thought of in a scattered manner in the past. I’m including it here so that, not only may it be a helpful reference for me (tucked away in a Word document on my computer), but it may also help others. You do not need to agree with every point ..read more

I am currently wrapping up a study with several individuals of Stephen Wellum’s The Person of Christ. Like our study of Mitch Chase’s Resurrection Hope, I developed study questions in order to help guide our conversation. See my previous post for the study questions for Chase’s book. The Person of Christ Study GuideDownload ..read more

As we remember the Reformation of the church that began in the sixteenth century, it is worth considering, not just nostalgically, whether the state of the church today is in need of Reformation (hint: it does). We could go through a number of the different types of issues that arose during the preceding centuries and were addressed in the Reformation. We could address any of the “Five Solas,” or Scripture’s authority for ordering our worship and our organization or the importance of the Lord’s Supper. As tempting as it would be to address many of those topics, my goal is to speak to one very ..read more

As of today, I have been serving in ordained gospel ministry for seven years. In fact, I was ordained at Kosmosdale Baptist Church in Louisville, KY, and just this past weekend they invited me back to teach on the covenant of works for their men’s retreat. While I haven’t been consistent in this practice, I have tried in the past to list a few things I have learned in my time in ministry (for example, two years ago I had five things on a list). Here are seven things about ministry for you to remember as you serve in gospel ministry. These are simply reflective thoughts, and I would agree with ..read more

This year marks the anniversary of two institutions that have been a great benefit to Reformed Baptists, in particular, but also to “Calvinistic evangelicalism” more broadly. First, thirty years ago, Dr. R. Albert Mohler began his first year as President of the The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was elected and installed for the express purpose of reforming the seminary due to the many departures it had made from its confessional heritage. I was reading his convocation address as I was thinking about my upcoming sermon on Philippians 4:1, and it struck me just how purposefully he wa ..read more