Salvation Archives - Page 2 of 4

The @RTSCharlotte Women’s Bible Study is Back

April 24, 2017

From 2014 to 2016, I taught a weekly Bible study on the RTS campus for women in the Charlotte community. We studied the book of Romans over the course of two years.

It was so encouraging to see the enthusiastic response from these women who were eager to learn more about the message of Romans. All 42 sessions are available on HD video (along with handouts) on the RTS Charlotte website here.

After taking a year off, we are kicking off the study again this coming fall. This time we will be studying the book of Hebrews. This is a fantastic book for many reasons, but most of all because it magnifies the supremacy of Christ in all things.

If you are in the area, we would love to have you join us. Or feel free to pass this info along to anyone you know who might be interested.

The format of the study will be similar to the prior years, but please see the details below: [Read more…]

The Achilles Heel of the New Perspective on Paul

April 18, 2017

As most readers know, there has been a long scholarly debate over what is known as the New Perspective(s) on Paul (NPP). This approach argues that “justification” in Paul does not mean what many Christians (especially Reformed folks) have always believed.

In short, NPP advocates (e.g., N.T. Wright, James D.G. Dunn) argue that when Paul mentions “justification by faith” he is not referring to a doctrine about how one gets saved but to how membership in the covenant community can be obtained without the standard Jewish boundary markers laid out in the law of Moses (food laws, circumcision, Sabbath observance).

In other words, justification is less about soteriology and more about ecclesiology. It is not about how a person becomes a Christian but a declaration that they have become a Christian. [Read more…]

Here is My @TGC Conversation with Nancy Guthrie about How to Teach the Book of Romans

December 15, 2016

When it comes to understanding the gospel of salvation by grace alone, there are few books more foundational than Romans.

It was Romans that Martin Luther was reading when the light clicked on regarding justification: “The righteous shall live by faith” (1:17). And it was Romans that Augustine read when he heard the child’s voice say tolle lege: “So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (13:12).

That very verse led to Augustine’s conversion.

The impact of Romans has been felt in every generation of the church. And, of course, we can’t forget Martin Lloyd-Jones’ legendary series preaching through Romans on Friday nights at Westminster Chapel in London. Before it was all done, his series spanned 11 years and 372 sermons.

And I have personally been immersed in Romans over the last few years as I have taught a weekly RTS Charlotte women’s Bible study on the book. You can watch all 42 HD videos of the series here.

For all these reasons, I was excited to talk in October with my friend Nancy Guthrie about how to teach the book of Romans. Nancy has been doing a fantastic audio series entitled “Help Me Teach the Bible” where she interviews pastors and scholars on various books. I was privileged to be a part of it.

You can read about my interview on the TGC website here. To listen, here is part 1 of my conversation with Nancy, on Romans 1-7: [Read more…]

Taking Back Christianese #5: “Just Ask Jesus into Your Heart”

October 18, 2016

Some of us grew up in churches where it seemed every Sunday included an atlar call. Congregants were invited to walk the aisle and to make a “decision” for Christ.

During these occasions, very specific language would be used to explain how a person becomes a Christian. “Just ask Jesus into your heart,” was the common refrain, usually followed by an appeal to Rev 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him.”

Thus, we come to the next installment in the “Taking Back Christianese” series. Our purpose here is to evaluate the phrase, “Just ask Jesus into your heart.” Like most of the phrases in this series, it can have both positive and negative aspects, depending on how it is used. [Read more…]

This Book Really Needed to Be Written and Finally Someone Has Done It

September 12, 2016

Every once in a while a book comes along that meets such an important need that it makes you wonder, “Why hasn’t someone done this before?” Richard (Dick) Belcher, OT Professor and Academic Dean at RTS Charlotte, has written just such a book: Prophet, Priest and King: The Roles of Christ in the Bible and Our Roles Today (P&R, 2016).

Of course, in the Reformed world, the idea that the work of Christ can be divided into his three “offices” (prophet, priest, and king) has a long lineage. Although it appears in a number of places in the early fathers, the Reformers were the ones who expounded on it more fully. Examples include John Calvin, John Owen, John Flavel, Thomas Boston, and Thomas Goodwin. It is also discussed in the Heidelberg Catechism (31-32).

So, it is a wonder that more hasn’t been written on it (at least in a full-length work) until now.

[Read more…]