The state of Maine made national headlines earlier this summer when the Supreme Court decided by a 6–3 vote that residents could apply vouchers for private Christian schools, not only secular ones. Religious liberty advocates praised the ruling in Carson v. Makin, though its greatest impact will be felt in states with larger Christian populations.
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A Long Day for the High Priest: Finding John 17 from Leviticus 16
John 17 is a prayer by Jesus in an upper room in a house in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover. That is, the setting is alive with elements of Jesus’s own Jewish roots. The chapter is known as the “High Priestly Prayer” because in it, Jesus intercedes for His disciples and for the soon-to-be established church. As He prays, He knows He’ll soon suffer physically as only those who were crucified could ever comprehend. In addition to that, and far worse, He knows He’s about to undergo agony on a spiritual level beyond anything you and I can imagine.
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The church of Maria Gern in Berchtesgaden, Germany.
A Personal Reflection on Reformation Day
Therefore, let us celebrate together, even with our secondary and tertiary differences, what God has done to preserve His bride until He returns for her!
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Watts and Wesley: A Tale of Two Hymn Writers and the Christmas Carols that Remain with Us
As a general rule, those who study Christianity’s growth and expansion—missiologists—know that a given culture has truly embraced the faith when its people compose their own songs for worship. Similarly, hymns that remain popular centuries after their composition are often traced to times of reformation and revival. Two well-known Christmas carols in the English language are Joy to the World, written by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), and Hark the Herald Angels Sing, by Charles Wesley (1707-1788).
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A Friend Who Sticks Closer than…a Hobbit? What the Inklings Teach Us about Friendship
In the age of social media, the notion of friendship has taken on new meanings. Many people have "friends" whom they have never met, nor do they know them on any personal level. While most of us would agree that such a relationship does not constitute a friendship in the true sense of the word, the term itself has broadened in application over time to now include nearly any individual one has met and not found deplorable. This expanded use is not necessarily a bad thing, provided one understands varying degrees of friendship.
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Melito of Sardis’ Christ-Centered, Historical-Grammatical Hermeneutic
Guest Post by Stephen Lorance
In a recent paper presentation of Irenaeus’ textual worldview I sought to articulate his Christ centered hermeneutic, which includes, as Patristic scholar John Behr notes, an understanding that Christ “by being explained ‘according to the Scriptures’, becomes the sole subject of Scripture throughout.”[1] At the conclusion, a student from a mainline seminary asked a piercing question. Specific to his context, this student wanted an apologetic for classmates and faculty that have conflated meaning with the historical-grammatical at the expense of the theological. In essence, living in a historical-grammatical world, how could he argue that a Christ-centered interpretation doesn’t run roughshod over the “literal interpretation?”
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The Famous Five: The Abiding Relevance of the Solas of the Reformation
Five. What does that term elicit in your mind’s eye? If you are diet conscious you may think of your five-a-day intake. If you live on the east coast near the Canadian border you may think of the Great Lakes. If you are in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day you may think of the Books of Moses. If you were raised reading Enid Blyton you will undoubtedly think of Julian, Dick, Anne, Georgina (George), and their dog Timmy — The Famous Five. Today, I want to draw your attention to another Famous Five – The Five Solas – and their abiding relevance to contemporary life.
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Church Covenants, not Baby Dedications: A Lesson From Baptist History
Who doesn’t love a baby dedication service? Cute babies wiggle, cry, and coo while their parents self-consciously attempt to maintain a level of decorum. After the parents utter a brief vow filled with biblical language, they all scurry back to the nursery. Though mom and dad appreciate the communal recognition, most parents would confess that the blue Bibles, pink flowers, and paper certificates that mark the day lacked transformational power. So why do Baptists do the dedications?
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Expect Great Things. Attempt Great Things.
Sermons can have a powerful individual effect. It is under the hearing of these sermons that people are saved, instructed, and grow in their faith. People will leave the church building saying, “It’s like he was preaching to just me” or “ I needed to hear that today.” However, some sermons go beyond personal effect. Some have the power to move a denomination and, in turn, leave a lasting change in the world.
This is precisely what happened to the Particular Baptist denomination of England when Andrew Fuller and William Carey delivered two powerful sermons to their local association in the early 1790s. God used these two sermons, and these two men, to change the course of history and usher in what we now call the modern-missions movement.
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Alcohol and Christian Liberty: Pastoral Lessons from C. H. Spurgeon
Starting in America in 1826 and quickly exported to England, the temperance movement began as a reaction against alcohol excesses. In the coming decades, two camps emerged. The moderates advocated for responsible drinking, while the teetotalers called for complete abstinence. In 1855, public perception moved from the moderates to the teetotalers, because Anglican priests shifted from backing the former to the latter. Moreover, supporters began the Band of Hope in 1846 to convince juveniles to abstain from alcohol for life. By 1887, the youth societies grew to a million members.
In this context, Spurgeon navigated the controversial waters between the moderate and teetotaler camps, both of whom sought relief from the societal ills caused by drunkenness. As pastors, we can glean four lessons from how Spurgeon reacted to the debates on Christian liberty and alcohol consumption.
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Jesus’ Other Word from the Cross
On Good Friday, as we turn our attention to the cross and often attend to the “words” Jesus spoke from it, one saying recorded in John has always brought me pause:
John 19:26-27 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”
Jesus’ appeal of forgiveness for his enemies, his cry of forsakenness, and the exclamation, “It is finished!” these have always opened up the richness of the gospel! But what are we to do with this strange, even difficult word?
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Sovereignty alongside Responsibility: Revival in the Theology of Andrew Fuller
“Revival” is a loaded word that evokes a variety of divergent images. For the historically-inclined, Jonathan Edwards’ (in)famous “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” sermon may come to mind. Contemporary readers may recall Billy Graham’s evangelistic crusades as a 20th-century image of revival. Though revival has maintained dominance in American religious life even to the present, it was equally formative for evangelicalism in Britain from the 1730s extending into the 19th century.
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Martin Luther’s “Table Talks” In Relation to His Theology of Discipleship
At its core, discipleship is one life impacting another for the glory of God. Martin Luther understood this concept well. For Luther, as it should be for all believers, the goal of every relationship was increased Christlikeness. Luther also recognized the critical link between hospitality and discipleship, and lived out his theology daily. He and Katie opened their home to relatives, renowned visitors, and his students.
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Warning the Complacent and Comforting the Anxious: William Perkins on Faith and Assurance
William Perkins (1558-1602) was a prominent Reformed theologian in the final decades of Elizabeth’s reign. He can be rightly described as a ‘Puritan’, though he didn’t describe himself that way. A Puritan was essentially anyone who thought that Elizabeth’s official religious settlement (1559) ought to be one step in a process of ongoing reform. In contrast, Elizabeth herself stubbornly resisted any change to her church for her entire 44-year reign.
By the 1590s it was clear that Elizabeth’s church would not formally change anything. However, some reformers, such as William Perkins, believed that the solid Reformed theology of the existing religious settlement outweighed its shortcomings. More importantly, the most important reforms could take place within the existing church structure and theological confession. The most important reform is always the human heart.
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Augustine, Aquinas, and our God of Love
I recently completed the comprehensive exams for my academic program. (Don’t worry, they were even more ‘fun’ than they sound). At the end of the verbal portion, one of my professors asked a surprising question: “How do you teach the trinity to your children?”
We had spent the last hour analyzing the East/West divide on the Trinity, parsing the importance of the periochoresis and filioque, and discussing how the divine monarchy informs present and past Trinitarian debate. But his last question, though out of line with the conversation, pressed to the heart of the matter.
In it was a subtle reminder that the Trinity is not an academic concept to be picked apart by ‘professionals’ in a sterile environment; rather the personal reality of our God engages our entire life, even our most fundamental relationships, and it is God’s personal identity we are called to teach to our children (Deut. 6:7).
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John Smyth: The Danger of Haste
John Smyth won fame from himself when he established the first English Baptist Church in 1608. Yet, few Baptists know of Smyth’s contribution to the Baptist faith because he undermined his own legacy, rapidly changing his theological convictions.
Read MoreThe Martyr’s Cause: John Foxe and Our Gospel Embassy
On Easter 1555, the zealous English evangelical[I] William Flower burst into a rage in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster, when he noticed a priest administering the Mass – a rite that Flower saw as the epitome of Roman Catholic idolatry. Immediately, he struck the offending priest with his woodknife, cutting him on the head, arm and hand. Blood from the priest’s wounds, according to the martyrologist John Foxe,[ii] sprinkled onto the consecrated host of the sacrament, which the priest was carrying in a chalice. Immediately, Flower was arrested and, after his trial, was burned at the stake as a heretic.
Read MorePacker's Dusty Discovery at Oxford in North Gate Hall
During J. I. Packer’s second year of undergraduate studies at Oxford, he was invited to serve as the junior librarian at the Christian Union student organization. Having been converted only a year earlier, Packer was new to the Union but, as he would soon discover, so were a recent donation of books.
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