William Perkins on Keeping it Catholic
Perkins goes to great lengths to show the various blasphemies and errors of Tridentine theology. This Puritan pulled no punches.
According to Perkins, a Reformed Catholic is “anyone that holds to the same necessary heads of religion with the Roman Church; yet so as he pares off and rejects all errors in doctrine whereby the said religion is corrupted.”[4] For Perkins, doctrines such as justification, sanctification, and the sacraments are clear points for paring, yet there... Continue Reading
Psalm 24 and the Aesthetic Fullness of the Earth and World (Part 2)
There is much beauty in nature, but aestheticians have identified an experience that goes beyond savoring a sunset.
The eighteenth-century British philosopher and statesman Edmund Burke, in speaking of the sublime, identified it as “astonishment,” that is the “state of the soul, in which all its motions are suspended, with some degree of horror. In this case the mind is so entirely filled with its object, that it cannot entertain any other.” And,... Continue Reading
Hospitality: Gods Workroom for the Weak
The Power of Christ in Hospitality
You might not think you have much to offer in terms of hospitality. You aren’t a Michelin Star chef, your house would never be photographed for a magazine, and you’re not even close to having all the theological answers. However, none of these things are required for true hospitality. Only Christ is needed, and because... Continue Reading
Psalm 121: A Liturgy for Times of Distress
The Lord Encourages Us to Trust Him
Psalm 121 moves from questioning to proclaiming. For most of our distress-filled days, we also go back and forth between doubting and trusting. In this Psalm, God gives His people words to communicate both uncertainty and faith. This passage provides the freedom to acknowledge our struggles, but it also encourages us to have confidence in... Continue Reading
The Wise Virgins Were Prepared Because They Trusted and Rested in the Bridegroom
Know, trust, and rest in Him who is faithful towards all His servants.
Saving Faith receives the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation and it rests in Him alone for salvation. He who has saving faith is satisfied with Christ and looks nowhere else for the way of everlasting life. Saving faith does not look to Mary or Paul or any other Christian now living or that ever has lived. Saving... Continue Reading
Love the Church Like Christ Does
Jesus sees his bride through a lens of love, not disdain; beauty, not disgust.
Jesus doesn’t lament the church he has rescued or look for another to capture his attention. Christ welcomes the church as his beautiful treasure and joy. The church isn’t just about organization, leadership, function, and vision. Jesus sees more. His gaze reveals the beauty of our Father, the sufficiency of his cross, and the fulfillment... Continue Reading
Sing Hallelujah!
Praise the LORD is the Hebrew word Hallelujah.
It is fitting for us to praise God. We who fear his name, who trust in his salvation, who love him for who he is and what he’s done, it is fitting for us to praise him to bless him and to worship him in everything we say and do. And then to tell others... Continue Reading
“Hear, O Israel”
“The Shema,” calling attention to its opening demand that Israel hear and heed the call and command of the one true and living God.
Reading, hearing, and expositing Scripture is part and parcel of biblical religion, which is why our Islamic friends call us “the people of the book.” God did not say, through Moses, “See, O Israel,” or “View, O Israel;” he said, “Hear, O Israel.” Further, God expressly and comprehensively6 prohibited the religious use of images. Generations later,... Continue Reading
The Perspicuity of Scripture
The Bible is clear in its teaching about salvation and its basic principles for pleasing God.
There are some things in the Bible that can be tricky to grasp. But that doesn’t mean that they’re impossible to grasp. And the perspicuity of Scripture assures us that even when they are hard to grasp, the Author intends His words ultimately to be understandable by anyone. What do people mean when they talk about the perspicuity of Scripture? I just... Continue Reading
A Missing Component in Our Discussions About Doing Justice
It’s often easy to mistake knowledge about God for knowing God.
Some common ways God reveals himself in a dynamic way are through prayer and Scripture reading, but there’s also a connection between our ethical actions (doing justice, for example) and our knowledge of God. We gain an even better understanding of God as we participate with him in his mission, a part of which is... Continue Reading
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