The All-Dominating Center of Scripture (Ridderbos)

 I've been enjoying Herman Ridderbos' Studies in Scripture and Its Authority.  It's a collection of six essays Ridderbos wrote on Scripture, including "The Christology of The Fourth Gospel" and "The Biblical Message of Reconciliation."  Here's a nice paragraph from "The Inspiration and Authority of Holy Scripture": ...Scripture is not a book of separate divine oracles, but …

Apart from the Law Sin is Dead

 Romans 7 is a rich text that has some very deep truths about sin and the law.  Some phrases that stick out to me are these: "Sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind..." and "...when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died" and finally "...sin, taking opportunity …

The Man of Sin Sitting in the Temple of God

2 Thessalonians 2:4 - a statement about the Man of Sin - is no easy verse to interpret: "He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship.  He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God" (NLT).  There are various explanations of …

A Closed Canon

   In 1934, Walter Bauer argued that there was no clear line between heresy and orthodoxy in the early church, but since the orthodox were stronger, their views eventually prevailed in what we now call the New Testament (a sort of survival of the fittest).  Bart Ehrman has taken this thesis and run with it.  …

Ushering In The Kingdom?

  I’ve heard of church (and para-church) mission statements and flyers that talk about bringing God’s kingdom to this city or that city by cleaning up neighborhoods, reforming city hall, and getting rid of gangs.  While I’m certainly not against those things, I’d argue they are not “kingdom work.”  I’m not comfortable with this type …