Some people class past events as belonging to simple providence. They believe that whatever happened in the past, whether theft or adultery or murder happened without God's intervention. Therefore, they ask, "Why should the thief be punished for robbing a person for whom the Lord chose to punish with poverty? Why should the murderer be … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 1.17.5 | God Uses Evil, but is Not Stained with Evil
Theology
Blogging the Institutes | 1.17.4 | Providence Does Not Rule Not Human Choice
Regarding future event, king Solomon easily reconciles human choice with divine providence. While Solomon derides anyone who would presume to do anything without God, as if they were not ruled by his hand, he also says, "A man's heart devises his ways but the Lord directs his steps" (Prov 16:9). What Solomon means is that … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 1.17.4 | Providence Does Not Rule Not Human Choice
Blogging the Institutes | 1.17.3 | Providence Is not a Cover for our Own Sin
People who have learned of God's providence will neither grumble against God for adversity nor blame him for their own wickedness as Homer's Agamemnon does, "Blame not me, but Jupiter and fate!" On the other hand, they not be like the youth in Plautus who slip into despair as if they lives are hurried away … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 1.17.3 | Providence Is not a Cover for our Own Sin
Blogging the Institutes | 1.17.2| Providence Denied by Some, but Proved by Scripture
Only those who worship God with reverence will make good use of the doctrine of God's providence. That's why so many people rage against the doctrine, even though they give more weight to their own reasoning ability that to God. Some people criticize us for believing that God's revealed will can be known from the … Continue reading Blogging the Institutes | 1.17.2| Providence Denied by Some, but Proved by Scripture
Leaders Think Culture
I've done things in my life that I'm not proud of, and after the fact, I have thought to myself, "That's not me." Maybe you've had a similar experience. We can probably all relate to those times when we surprise ourselves by how bad we can be. What motivates us to do those things? While … Continue reading Leaders Think Culture
Doug Moo on the New Covenant in Paul
In NT scholar Doug Moo's article, "Every Spiritual Blessing," he seeks to provide the "general contours of Paul's concept of salvation" (135). In other words, Moo wants to sketch out the basic framework that Paul used to explain what Christ had done for the church. Moo first begins explaining the idea of "new creation." New … Continue reading Doug Moo on the New Covenant in Paul
Peter Gentry on the New Covenant
Peter Gentry exposits the new covenant as found in Jeremiah in his book, Kingdom through Covenant. After placing the classic new covenant text of Jeremiah 31:31-34 in its literary structure, Gentry proceeds to walk through the various elements of the covenant. Gentry contends that the phrase "days are coming" refers to a time in the … Continue reading Peter Gentry on the New Covenant
William Dumbrell on the New Covenant
William Dumbrell has an extended discussion on the new covenant in his OT survey, The Faith of Israel. Dumbrell points out that while Jeremiah 31:31-40 doesn't explicit speak in global terms, the emphases of the text affirms "an international context" (144). The new covenant brings with it a new creation and a New Jerusalem, the … Continue reading William Dumbrell on the New Covenant
Tom Schreiner on the New Covenant
Tom Schreiner unpacks the new covenant in the final chapter of his book, Covenant and God's Purpose for the World. Schreiner begins making the point that the new covenant can be described various ways in the Old Testament without actually using the exact phrase, "new covenant" (89). Sometimes other descriptions for the new covenant are … Continue reading Tom Schreiner on the New Covenant
COVID One Year Later: A Testimony to God’s Faithfulness
It's been about a year of COVID. To put the year in perspective, this past Sunday (March 14th, 2021) was the first time that LBC was all together for one service in person indoors since March 15th, 2020. That date will forever be burned into my memory because it was the weirdest Sunday service I've … Continue reading COVID One Year Later: A Testimony to God’s Faithfulness