God's child remains the old man's grave-digger until the hour of his own departure.
God's child remains the old man's grave-digger until the hour of his own departure. Nevertheless he dies to him so completely that at last he loses all confidence in him, thoroughly convinced that he is without excuse, an abominable wretch, a reprobate, and a deceiver, capable of all evil. And when occasionally he indulges in scornful mirth at the old man's pride and practises, it is not in boastfulness of his own work or of his fellow men, but glorying only in the gracious work of his God.
When being "Winsome" is a cop-out
"Christians should be known for what they are for rather than what they are against" is about as bad as other folk-Christianity sayings like "God helps those who help themselves." Sometime I think "winsome" is a get-out-of-jail free card that releases the Christian. Folks like Luther and Kuyper were intense, often a little rude and a bit bombastic, but everyone knew exactly where they stood. Having drawn their lines in the sand they...
Lift a glass with Bram!
"You can't raise a generation of bold, brash Calvinists on chocolate milk."
Getting down to brass tacks (coming up with joy)
In John 15, Jesus says, “I have called you friends.” But what does it mean to be friends with Jesus? In the early 1650s, theologian John Owen attempted to answer this question through a series of sermons, eventually compiled as Communion with God. The book is full of truths about having fellowship with God, but Owen’s work is often a struggle for modern readers to understand...
Kuyper and Bavinck vs. Piper and MacArthur
Neo-Calvinisim is not to be confused with “New-Calvinism” (that might also be called “neo-Puritanism”). New-Calvinism was/is a phenomenon that has folks, like John Piper, pointing us back to Jonathan Edwards. A fruit of new-Calvinism is, unfortunately, constant fruit-checking, naval-gazing and lack of assurance. You need only hear a sermon from Paul Washer or John Piper, who often co-mingle the Law and Gospel, or John Macarthur who insists...
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Unity in diversity & God's moral law
I thought it appropriate to offer a synthesis of what the Neo-Calvinist Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck argues about collisions of duties (most often called moral dilemmas or conflicts of moral absolutes). The purpose here is not to offer a position, but to offer the approach of an influential theologian to...
To silence the silent screams of a desperate conscience that longs to be free and forgiven
“It’s called a defiled conscience... everyone knows exactly what I’m talking about when I refer to those occasions when your conscience feels dirty. I’m talking about what you feel and sense deep within as you lie on your bed at night and reflect on the events of the day: the...
Getting at the Fundamentals via a Survey of History
Today we sit down with Greg Parker Jr., editor and translator of the recently released book from Herman Bavinck called “What is Christianity?” and get awesome.
No mere theories, no lofty principles to form society... Just get to Church
"The Cultural Mandate" - who said it first? Of course the idea was in there in both Kuyper and Bavinck, but who coined, and helped further nuance, it? Indeed you know and love/hate Kuyper, you are familiar with Bavinck, and you glean from Vos and Berkouwer... but who is Klaas Schilder (1890 -...
Potential Blindspots in the Big Picture
Listen in as two white guys, not woke, but not asleep, talk about race, place and parenting and what it all means for our Christian life. Jake Meador is author of “What is Christianity For?”
Piper Teaching Justification by Love Rather than by Faith?
Piper had sent out his book requesting it be read by his discerning friends who might comment on his thesis, Numbers of them concluded that he was in danger of teaching justification by love rather than by faith...
by Steve Bishop
by Steve Bishop. Reality is multi-aspectual. Consider a garden and a gardener. A gardener is faced with many decisions when beginning to garden. How many plants will be planted (numerical), what space will the garden take up (spatial), what changes will need to take place – what seasonal elements will...
“Whatever is true of Christ is true of humanity.”
Today we chat with Dr. Ross Hastings, author of “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ: Exploring Its Theological Significance and Ongoing Relevance” and nuance and discuss the implications of the Resurrection. We touch on everything from Atonement models, sanctification, the favor of God to the Cultural Mandate, Participation and Union. D.r...
Common grace is usually associated with the Dutch theologian and statesman Abraham Kuyper. Henry Van Til even described him as the theologian of common grace. Yet it was Herman Bavinck who first to developed the doctrine theologically. Kuyper later produced three volumes on it (1904 onwards). But Bavinck, in his...