Law and gospel (update)
October 29, 2008
Green Baggins has a series of posts entitled, “Is the Law/Gospel Distinction Only Lutheran?”
“The short answer is that the Law/Gospel distinction is found in many important Reformed writers.”
Part 3 (update 10/29)
Books reviewed …
October 29, 2008
At First Things, Franklin Freeman reflects on George Orwell’s strange agnostic righteousness, as described in David Lebedoff’s The Same Man: George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh in Love and War:
“As I read David Lebedoff’s latest book … I began to think of George Orwell as a real-life Dr. Rieux, the hero of Camus’ The Plague, whose heroism suggests that it is possible to be a saint without believing in God.”
Michael Dewalt looks at a scholarly tome: James Dennison’s Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in English Translation: 1523-1552:
“This book is the first of a 3-volume set that James T. Dennison will be working on for the next two years, which sets forth a translation of a number of the Reformed Confessions that have never been in English until today. Some may wonder how this project differs from that of what Phillip Schaff has done in his 3-volume Creeds of Christendom. The answer to that is …”
Trevin Wax reviews The New Media Frontier: Blogging, Vlogging, and Podcasting for Christ:
“The blogosphere is changing the world. Am I exaggerating? Maybe. After all, there are plenty of people who have never seen a blog. Many people give you a blank stare if you ask them what a “blogger” is. But there is no doubt that the way we obtain information in this Internet age is changing, and the blogosphere is a big part of that information revolution.”
Two friends of Scot McKnight, Brittany Bennett and Nick Johnson, share their thoughts on Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals, by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove:
“Here’s the question: Does prayer imply action to work with God for the answer to that prayer? (As long as it is something we can do.) Put directly, does prayer for justice imply a commitment to work for justice?”
And the Irish Calvinist discusses Mark Driscoll’s Death by Love:
“My ears perk up when I hear that a fellow pastor is writing a book that is going to deal with various counseling scenarios that he has encountered over the years and how he dealt with them from the foot of the cross.”
Daily Scroll blogger interview: Hiraeth’s Kim Shenberger
October 29, 2008
A quote from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones introduces Kim’s site:
“It is difficult to define Hiraeth, but to me it means the consciousness of man being out of his home area and that which is dear to him. That is why it can be felt even among a host of peoples amidst nature’s beauty. . . like a Christian yearning for Heaven. . .”
DS: What compelled you to start blogging?
“My first exposure to blogging was about a year before I started blogging myself. I came across the blog, Rebecca Writes, and was hooked. After I had been reading there while, I put two and two together and realized that I knew Rebecca! I had met Rebecca on a Christian discussion board several years before. Rebecca had had an incredible influence on my life and my walk with Christ at that time (still does!). I contacted her and we reconnected. Eventually, with Rebecca’s encouragement, I started my own blog.”
DS: How would you describe the purpose of your blog?
“The name of my blog has a lot to do with its purpose. Hiraeth means a deep longing for home; in my case a longing for heaven. I hope that my blog communicates the day to day joy I experience in this present life in light of my love for Christ as well as a deep longing for the day when I am, along with all believers throughout the ages, glorified together with Christ.
Hiraeth also houses my three other blogs: Hiraeth Warehouse, where I post the lessons I write for my elementary aged Sunday school; Bookworm Bookmarks, a gallery of some of my calligraphy; and Vizslocity, my ‘dog blog’.”
DS: What unique responsibilities do you think Christian bloggers have?
“Oh, I think Christian bloggers have precisely the same responsibilities in blogging as they have for every other aspect of their lives–to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
DS: What are your own favorite blogs or news sites?
“There are many blogs I enjoy tremendously, Rebecca Writes being at the top of the list. I read a lot of the ‘big boys’ like Team Pyro and Reformation Theology, but I’d like to highlight several favorites that I’d love to see receive an even wider audience; Godward Thoughts, While We Sojourn, Lisa Writes, and Lux Venit, to name a few.”
DS: How would you be spending your extra time, if you didn’t blog?
“That’s easy! I’d be sitting at my drawing board working on a piece of calligraphy! Or walking my dogs. Or preparing a Sunday school lesson or Bible study lesson. Or cooking, reading, or gardening. I have many interests; I only wish I had more free time!”
Review: A New Inner Relish: Christian Motivation in the Thought of Jonathan Edwards, by Dave Ortlund
October 28, 2008
Reviewed by John Hendryx at Reformation Theology:
“I was not planning to read this one at all but casually picked it up off our store bookshelf the other day to skim through. Having been immediately captivated by it, I read further and found that I could not put it down. … Ortlund does a great job of explaining why motivation is a critical component of our faith, influencing every aspect of our sanctification and lay at the heart of Edward’s theology.”
New ESV Study Bible decidedly Reformed
October 21, 2008
… according to John Hendryx, a contributor to the Reformation Theology blog. On two key issues, regeneration and hermeneutics, the writers of the ESV Study Bible notes take a decidedly monergistic, covenantal stance, Hendryx finds.
FYI
- What is monergism?, from the Monergism.com website
- Theopedia entry on covenant theology
So long, five solas
October 17, 2008
(Not really.) Pastor Scott Thomas discusses a more succinct way to communicate a Reformed view of salvation, with some help from J. I. Packer: “One-Point Calvinism“:
“As a church planter, I received more arguments over our position of Reformed Theology than I did everything else combined. It angered the most faithful of Christians and confused others.”
Ordo who?
October 15, 2008
At Sharper Iron, John Davis discusses the ordo salutis, as outlined by Calvinists, Arminians, and himself.
Free audiobook: Spurgeon’s All of Grace
October 15, 2008
From Christian Audio, during the month of October.
About the work:
“Charles Spurgeon is one of the great preachers in the history of Christianity. Spurgeon also communicates brilliantly through the written word, and his giftedness to proclaim the doctrine of grace shines in his little gem, All of Grace. Many Christians believe that this small book presents better than any other non-canonical work the gospel of salvation alone by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This short book is one of the bright jewels in post-apostolic writings on grace.”
(HT: Foolish Galatian)
Meet William Guthrie (1620-1665)
October 13, 2008
The chapter on Guthrie from Beeke’s and Pederson’s Meet the Puritans has been posted (courtesy of Reformation Heritage Books) at Timmy Brister’s Provocations and Pantings:
“Under Guthrie’s twenty-year ministry in Fenwick, the town received a fresh outpouring of the Spirit. The new church was filled. Hundreds of people became regular attenders, were reborn, and grew in the grace and knowledge of Christ Jesus. Matthew Crawford, who was the minister at Eastwood, said that Guthrie ‘converted and confirmed many thousand souls, and was esteemed the greatest practical preacher in Scotland.’”
ATTN: Reformed Charismatics
October 9, 2008
Jeff Fuller (The Reformed Evangelist) announces a new show called G3:
“Hosts Jeff Fuller and Chris de Vidal begin broadcasting our newest internet radio show Gospel, Gifts, & Grace October 12th at 4:00pm ET. Listen live or download the podcast as Chris and Jeff tell you who they are, how they met, and what you can look forward to in future shows.”
Audio: D. A. Carson, Making Sense of Suffering
October 6, 2008
Posted by Justin Taylor at the reformation21 blog (HT: Irish Calvinist).
Audio: lecture on Andrew Fuller (1754–1815) by David Prince
October 4, 2008
Click here for Prince’s message (HT: Pastor Steve Weaver).
And be sure to visit the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, overseen by Dr. Michael Haykin.
Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism
October 2, 2008
Read an excerpt of this new work by Joel Beeke, President and Professor of Systematic Theology and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. Buy a copy from the Monergism bookstore.
R. C. Sproul: “The Pattern of Prayer” (updated)
October 2, 2008
Online at the Ligonier Ministries blog:
This is a continuation of excerpts from Sproul’s small book, Does Prayer Change Things?, that Ligonier is making available.
How do Calvinists evangelize?
September 29, 2008
Tim Challies discusses the respective role of the believer and the Holy Spirit in evangelism.
