Common in Reformed circles, in my experience, is a strange phenomenon. If you ask a group of Reformed believers: “Does baptism save a person?” The answer will almost always be a resounding, and at times unnecessarily aggressive “No!“ If placed in the form of a true/false question we see something like this: “True or False: ‘Baptism… Continue reading Baptism now saves you… or “What’s the deal with 1 Peter 3:21?”

But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. Jeremiah 10:10, ESV What does it mean exactly when we say that the God we worship is the living God, or when the Bible describes Yahweh… Continue reading The Living God

Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have… Continue reading The Life is in the Blood

Back in September, the inaugural Paideia Center reading groups began. For those who are unfamiliar, this is a project championed primarily by Reformed Theological Seminary and involves groups around the country reading classic works on a given topic and having monthly discussion groups as well as an annual conference. This year —conspicuously timed given recent… Continue reading Gregory Hates Facebook Debates

The pastor ought to have two voices: one, for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves. The Scripture supplies him with the means of doing both. – John Calvin The Holy Scriptures are not only true —and necessarily so— but they are the primary means by which the… Continue reading The Witness of The Word

I’d like to start by clarifying that this idea isn’t original to me. I received a lot of inspiration for this from Joe Thorn on the Reformed Pubcast in the episode where he was discussing his testimony.[ref]http://reformedpubcast.com/episode-109/ around the 29-minute mark[/ref] His testimony itself is quite interesting, but the part that stuck with me is… Continue reading The Blessing of a Boring Testimony

The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid. – Martin Luther If you’re ever at a loss of words when trying to articulate any given theological topic, I find the best place to turn is to the historic Reformed Confessions. The men who penned the words in the Confessions agonized for countless hours over… Continue reading Is The Bible Reliable?

One of the trips I remember taking with my parents was to Crater of Diamonds in Arkansas. Where most of the world’s diamonds are mined deep out of the earth, here, in a little spot just outside of Murfreesboro, these precious gems are scattered about in a simple plowed field and can be found with… Continue reading “Have I been with you so long…”

I am very pleased to bring to you a series of posts by a good friend of mine named Chris Lilley. I met Chris while we were students at Bethel University in Arden Hills, Minnesota. Both of us were students in the Biblical and Theological Studies program, and Chris was a year behind me. I… Continue reading Why I’m no longer a Theistic Evolutionist (Introduction)

As of late, I have added the popular Roman Catholic call-in show Catholic Answers Live to my podcast retinue. The reasons are plenty, but the two primary reasons are 1) it is good to get a theology you are critical of directly from a reputable source (rather than just reading critical treatments) and 2) it is… Continue reading Papacy, Prosperity, and Catholic Answers Live