I have often said that one aspect of the American political system that is sensible is term limits for the president. It is no great surprise to anyone that Tony Blair has today announced his intention to resign as prime minister at the end of June. In so doing, he has achieved a rare thing in British politics — leaving power at a time of his choosing and at a moment which many feel will place him in a good... Read more
When one discusses the atonement, one objection is that it is unjust for someone who is unconnected to us to die in our place. Paul seems to anticipate that objection, and in chapter 6 he makes plain that it is no mere “legal fiction” that has taken place. Because what God declares to be the case actually is the case, we see that we can be considered to have both died with Christ and have been raised with Him. Thus,... Read more
Romans 4 elaborates on how it is faith that saves us. Without the cross being something truly efficacious in which to have saving faith, I can’t see how that can be true. The cross has done something — it is no mere demonstration! Romans 5 begins with “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” A touchstone of our view of the atonement is this — is it merely our... Read more
Here are some key thoughts from the seminar Tim is giving at the Basics Conference, currently ongoing at Alistair Begg’s church in Cleveland, Ohio. (HT Russell Smith)Tim begins his seminar by describing the way blogs communicate: Blogs are a more PERSONAL means of communication. The tone is informal and conversational, as opposed to books and magazines, which are more formal. Blogs are an INSTANT form of communication. Blogs are a TIME-STAMPED form of communication. They are organized by dates. Blogs... Read more
My knee operation has been completed. I have been told that they have successfully removed the torn cartilage that was sticking into the joint. Thanks for your prayers! I’m hopeful the recovery will be swift. Read more
I have recently shared my own definition of Penal Substitutionary Atonement, as well as that given by the authors of Pierced For Our Transgressions. For the next few posts I will be giving a brief overview of some of the key passages in the Bible that help us to understand what Jesus accomplished on the cross. I will begin with a bird’s eye view of the book of Romans. We have already quoted from the early chapters of Romans, which... Read more
Tomorrow I will be going under a general anaesthetic. I have had increasing knee pain since just before Easter. Turns out I have a tear in the posterior horn of my medial meniscus cartilage on my right knee (for all you medics out there). Anyway, I feel like a professional footballer having to have an arthroscopy to repair it. This is, of course, the closest I will ever get to being a professional footballer! Anyway, I would appreciate your prayers... Read more
In today’s MLJ Monday, the Doctor is urging us to not despise the experience God seeks to offer us. I have written a number of similar posts from his writings before, but I thought this one was well worth sharing — if only because it so strikingly challenges us today. “. . . in a most extraordinary way we seem to be excluding experience altogether. The slogan is, ‘Take it by faith.’ Of course, that is essential in your conversion... Read more
Over at Coffee and Bible, I came across this — the whole article is well worth a read. (HT Dave Bish) Penal substitution has to be “central” for me because I read my bible. That may sound like a ridiculously blank statement, so I’ll explain what I mean. When I read my bible, I am presented with a God who gets angry. This is not all of who God is, or necessarily the main thing, but it’s there in black... Read more
At the beginning of this series of “Resurrection Sunday” posts I bemoaned the relative lack of books on the subject. One of my readers was kind enough to remind me that, of course, N. T. Wright has written on the resurrection. I thought the following quote was definitely worth sharing with you: “For Paul, the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the heart of the gospel (not to the exclusion of the cross, of course, but not least as the... Read more
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