A Complementarian parachurch group, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), recently published a statement of affirmations and denials regarding biblical sexuality, The Nashville Statement. This brief post will express my thoughts on the statement itself, as well as the manner in which it was put forward. Praise for the Nashville Statement Despite the… Read More Thoughts on the Nashville Statement
How should we think about arguments regarding human authorship of certain passages or books of Scripture based on style and word choice? Here is an example of this argument against the authenticity of the Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53-8:11): “its writing style is very different from what we find in the rest of John (including the… Read More Textual Criticism: Stylistic Arguments
Daniel Featley, Dippers Dipt, Article 4. Concerning the calling of Pastors. ANABAPTIST. That there ought to be no distinction by the Word of God, between the Clergy and the Laity; but that all who are gifted may preach the Word, and administer the Sacraments. THE REFUTATION. This prodigious error, which may be easily convinced not… Read More Difference Between Ministers and Laymen
A Discourse For The Comfort of Childbearing Women Stephen Charnock, Works, vol. 5, pp. 399-414. “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety” (1 Timothy 2:15). I shall not take my rise any higher than verse 12, where the apostle orders that a woman should… Read More Discourse For The Comfort of Childbearing Women
Some of the response to our previous article about Same Sex Attraction revealed that many people misunderstand what James 1:14-15 is saying, and, in fact, some even seem to have a Roman Catholic understanding of desire and temptation. This post will set forth the correct interpretation of this passage and then provide responses to the… Read More Misconceptions About Desire and Temptation (James 1:14-15)
Some otherwise conservative Christians are beginning to take a compromising stance on homosexuality. They claim that only homosexual behavior is sinful and that same sex attraction (SSA) is a “sign of brokenness” similar to feelings of grief or sadness, or as one proponent put it, that having SSA is being “born in a broken condition… that does… Read More Is Same Sex Attraction Sinful?
What is Original Sin? Original sin is both the lack of original righteousness and the inclination or disposition to sin. The imputation of Adam’s guilt can be thought of distinctly from original sin, but the two are integrally related; imputation is forensic, while original sin is habitual and inherent. WCF 6:2. By this sin they… Read More Original Sin: What It Is And How It Is Propagated
“The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture…” (Westminster Confession of Faith 1:6). What does this phrase mean and how may it be proved from Scripture? Westminster… Read More Are Only Explicit Scripture Proofs Valid?
Although “the authority of the holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the Author thereof; and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God (1 Thes 2:13; 2 Tim… Read More The Authority of Scripture and the Testimony of the Church
“First, We distinguish between a private brotherly teaching, admonition, exhortation of one another and an authoritative public teaching. The first grounded on charity is the common duty of all Christians, by the royal Law of love, and prescribed to all, even to women, by the Law of God under pain of sin, and this especially… Read More 8 Reasons Only Ministers May Preach
Purely Presbyterian 