The summer of 2016 was a strange season for the evangelical internet. For a few heated months, the blogosphere—usually preoccupied with cultural hot takes or political infighting—became an impromptu lecture hall for Patristic theology. The debate concerned the Trinity, specifically the doctrine of Eternal Functional Subordination (EFS), later rebranded as Eternal Relations of Authority and Submission (ERAS). At stake was a… Continue reading The High Cost of Historical Revisionism
Author: Tony Arsenal
A Will in Bondage: On the Nature of Human Freedom (WCF 9.1–9.5)
We have traversed the high peaks of Christology in Chapter 8, beholding the Person and Work of the Mediator. Now, the Confession turns its gaze inward to the human condition. If Christ has purchased redemption, how do we receive it? Can we simply choose to follow Him by our own natural power? The subject of… Continue reading A Will in Bondage: On the Nature of Human Freedom (WCF 9.1–9.5)
The Shame of the Patriarch: Sin and Prophecy in Noah’s Tent (Gen. 9:18–29)
Loved ones, we have spent several weeks looking at Noah as a hero of the faith. We saw him stand alone as a righteous man in a violent generation. We saw him build the Ark in obedient silence. We saw him offer a pleasing sacrifice that established a covenant of peace for the entire world.… Continue reading The Shame of the Patriarch: Sin and Prophecy in Noah’s Tent (Gen. 9:18–29)
Apatheia or Ordered Affections? A Christian View of Emotion
In our last article, we walked through the forest of virtue. We saw that the Stoic “stumps” of Wisdom, Justice, Courage, and Temperance are noble but dead until they are grafted into the living root of the Holy Spirit and watered by Faith, Hope, and Love. Now we must descend from the high ground of… Continue reading Apatheia or Ordered Affections? A Christian View of Emotion
Topic 1, Question 2: Whether there is a theology and its divisions
We established in our previous article that “theology” is a valid and necessary word. It is the label we put on the box containing the truth about God. But a label is one thing; the contents are another. A skeptical man might look at the thousands of years of church history, the endless shelves of… Continue reading Topic 1, Question 2: Whether there is a theology and its divisions
The Work of Redemption: On the Office of Christ the Mediator (WCF 8.5–8.8)
In the first half of Chapter 8, we beheld the person of Christ: the God-Man, divinely appointed and equipped for the work of mediation. But a mediator is not appointed merely to be something, but to do something. Who is He, and what did He accomplish? Having established His identity, the Westminster divines now turn to the efficacy, scope,… Continue reading The Work of Redemption: On the Office of Christ the Mediator (WCF 8.5–8.8)
The Rainbow and the Redeemer: Debating the Nature of the Noahic Covenant
Loved ones, in our exposition of Genesis 9, we took a specific theological stance regarding the Noahic Covenant. We argued that God made this covenant fundamentally with Noah (as a believing federal head) and that it functions as an administration of the Covenant of Grace. In this view, the preservation of the physical world is not… Continue reading The Rainbow and the Redeemer: Debating the Nature of the Noahic Covenant
The Warrior’s Bow in the Clouds: God’s Covenant with a Washed World (Gen. 9:1–17)
Loved ones, the storm has passed. The waters have receded. Noah has stepped out onto a renewed earth and offered a sacrifice of propitiation, and God has promised to preserve the natural order despite the evil of the human heart. Now, in Genesis 9, God speaks. He addresses the survivors of the catastrophe and establishes… Continue reading The Warrior’s Bow in the Clouds: God’s Covenant with a Washed World (Gen. 9:1–17)
The Four Stumps and the Three Trees: Cardinal vs. Theological Virtues
In our last article, we examined the Dichotomy of Control, refining it from a cold tool of resignation into a warm discipline of trust in Divine Providence. We established that the Christian life is not about detachment, but about entrusting the “sphere of results” to a Sovereign Father while fiercely attacking the “sphere of responsibility.” But… Continue reading The Four Stumps and the Three Trees: Cardinal vs. Theological Virtues
Topic 1, Question 1: Should the word “theology” be used in the Christian schools, and in how many ways can it be understood?
In the landscape of modern evangelicalism, and even within our own Reformed circles, there is a temptation to view technical language with suspicion. You have likely heard well-meaning brothers say, “I don’t need theology; I just need the Bible.” Perhaps you have heard the sentiment that “doctrine divides, but ministry unites.” There is a rugged… Continue reading Topic 1, Question 1: Should the word “theology” be used in the Christian schools, and in how many ways can it be understood?