Following is my review of Dr. Richard Barcellos’ book, Better than the Beginning: Creation in Biblical Perspective (2013, Reformed Baptist Academic Press). The review was first published in the Creation Research Society Quarterly journal (volume 54(1), pages 80—81). Subsequent to the publication of this review in CRSQ, the books mentioned in the last paragraph have since become available. Links to those resources are provided.
“Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.” -1 Thessalonians 4:9-12
Pastor and theologian Fred Malone currently serves on the faculty at both Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary and the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies. He was recently interviewed by Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio for two full-length programs. Continue reading…
PETER ROBINSON: “Why don’t the American people see through [elitist nonsense]? Isn’t that the fundamental bet that the Founders made, that voters…ultimately would see through nonsense?”
THOMAS SOWELL: “Yes, but that was before nonsense became a large part of the curriculum of our educational institutions.”[1]
In “And thus all Israel will be saved“, I made mention of Dr. Sam Waldron’s extensive work on the doctrine of eschatology and provided links to three of his books and a sermon devoted to that subject. Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary has now made Dr. Waldron’s entire 17 lecture course on ‘The doctrine of last things‘ available online for free. Continue reading…
The following article is provided by Protestant Revival. Original post can be found here.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity took up a significant part of ecclesiastical efforts in the mainstream churches of Northern Ireland in the latter stages of January. Worshippers of various different hues shared in services with the stated aim of promoting unity between those carrying the banner of ‘Christian’. One might respond to that: ‘Sure, isn’t that great? Would you not want everyone to be united?’ However, these ecumenical meetings are contrary to God’s Word and are rendered as such, in fact, to be anti-Christian. Continue reading…
The following comes from the e-newsletter of the Berean Beacon, the ministry of former Roman Catholic priest Richard Bennett:
This weekend as droves of modern Evangelicals and Catholics together flood the box offices to watch Pope Francis: A Man of His Word, we need to be aware of what is happening on a biblical scale. Continue reading…
Richard Barcellos has just completed a very helpful eight-part sermon series titled, “Knowing the New Testament”. The interdependence of the NT books within the canon is highlighted as well the nature and purpose of each of the book “types” (gospels, history, epistles, prophecy). Notes from part six (“Did the authors of the New Testament epistles know they were writing Holy Scripture?”) are provided here.
As I’ve been slowly trying to work through some material concerning Baptist versus Presbyterian thought on the subject of church-state relations (or the nature of God’s two kingdoms), I’ve been confronted with some puzzling anomalies. Continue reading…
In a previous post (The 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration and Dispensationalism’s continued impact on theology and politics), I addressed some of the problems with what I believe to be faulty reasoning on the part of Dispensationalists (generally speaking) which sets out to maintain the perpetuity of ancient land promises embedded in a now abrogated covenant as well as the tendency to overlook types and shadows in Scripture. Continue reading…
“Let me say it as kindly as I can: if justification by faith alone in the finished work of Christ is the heart of the Gospel message, then C.S. Lewis said nothing about the gospel in all of his writings. In spite of this astounding fact, millions of self-professed ‘evangelicals’ think his writings are wonderful examples of Christian truth. And apparently, evangelical professors cannot get enough of his Anglo-Catholic writings….” -Ronald Cooke[i]
It can, at times, be more than a little frustrating for the Christian to interact with a Roman Catholic over the official teachings of Romanism. I am sure I am not the only who has been met with a startled reaction when, while attempting to refute Rome’s false gospel and abominable heresies, I am confronted with a look of disgust that I would dare misrepresent the teachings of Holy Mother Church. Continue reading…
In light of the arguments put forth in parts 1 and 2, I will offer some questions for consideration: Continue reading…
In part 1, I attempted to show that the threefold division justifies the appeal to the natural/moral law of God on account of its transcendence over temporal covenants, being as they are rooted in Creation and embedded in the image of God. Positive laws are only binding insofar as they are made manifest to a specific people in time and space. We do not need to feel that we are compromising the New Covenant by making reference to the Ten Commandments as they did not find their origination at Mount Sinai.
The following series of posts do not intend to form an exhaustive treatment of the threefold division of the law and and the perpetuity of the Ten Commandments. They are simply an interaction with Thomas Schreiner’s position on these subjects as articulated in chapter/question 14 of his book, 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law.[1] Continue reading…
Previously, in “Continuity and discontinuity in the covenants”, I quoted Pascal Denault on the hermeneutical implications of covenant theology versus that of Dispensationalism. Dispensationalism fails to properly and consistently distinguish between the old and new covenants thereby maintaining a special status for unbelieving ethnic Jews and the modern state of Israel as “the apple of God’s eye” even though the old covenant has been abrogated. Continue reading…
In one of the best books I’ve ever read, Pascal Denault compares paedobaptist covenant theology with that of the seventeenth-century Baptists. Continue reading…
Controversy of the Ages (2017) by Theodore J. Cabal and Peter J. Rasor II has been praised by various Christian scholars and displays some noteworthy endorsements. The book is, for the most part, another episode of old-earth creationists rebuking those who insist that the biblical creation narrative be taken literally (while out of the other side of their mouths offering an interpretation that amounts to little more than a condescending, ‘let’s just agree to disagree’). Continue reading…
A recent conversation with some wise brethren brought to light a few of the difficulties with the binding and loosing of Satan (Revelation 20) within premillennial and amillennial eschatologies. I found the last chapter of Philip Mauro’s 1922 book, The Hope of Israel: What is it? to be helpful on this subject. Continue reading…
Below is a video featuring an excerpt from a sermon on Jude 1-4 by Pastor Ed Moore of North Shore Baptist Church in Bayside, NY. Continue reading…