My friend Nick Smith posted some resources for those working through the relation of the Mosaic covenant within the covenant of grace. Some of the online resources are as follows (Check this link for some additional book recommendations from Nick): The Mosaic Covenant in Reformed Theology
Dr. Michael Horton is an able apologist for the greatly revered (or reviled) Dr. Meredith Kline. Horton’s presentation is accessible while at the same time not compromising the highly nuanced definitions required to navigate through a particular rendering of Covenant Theology. Honestly this book [...]
John Piper on the Particular Benefits Extended to Children of Believers…My Thoughts on Baptist and Reformed Perspectives on Children and Relation to Covenant
Here is an extended quote from John Piper from the following article, “What Did Christ Purchase for Your Children with His Blood?”:
But did the blood of Christ purchase no privileges for the children of believers? Did the blood of Christ not unite families across generations? What about
Book Review of David VanDrunen’s "Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture"
Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture
Copyright © 2010 by David VanDrunen
Published by Crossway Books
PRELIMS: This book was provided by Crossway for my personal review.
First off, Dr. VanDrunen is a credible author on the points in [...]
Hyde, Daniel R.. Welcome to a Reformed Church: A Guide for Pilgrims. Orlando, Fla.: Reformation Trust Pub., 2010. Print.
Reformation Trust provided this copy for a honest review on my part, so here it is:
Rev. Hyde offers readers a primer on the history and doctrine of the Reformed Church, focusing mainly [...]
Galatians 3:15-18 "Christ, the Fruit-Bearing Seed"
“Christ, the Fruit-Bearing Seed”
Galatians 3:15–18 (ESV) — 15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to [...]
Over on Facebook, Pastor Rick wrote:
…if there was continuity in the constituting [of] God’s covenant people, Jesus would never have told Nicodemus that he must be born again. How dare Jesus be so pietistic as to tell a respected “covenant” member that he needs to be born again.
He echoes a question I [...]
My Angst with Dispensational Defiance of Rejecting an Apostolic Hermeneutic of the Old Testament
The cited material comes from Robert L. Thomas’ volume, “Understanding Spiritual Gifts”. Thomas (1999:141), who is an able exegete and professor at the Master’s Seminary, evidences nonetheless a priori commitment to a systematic paradigm that influences, in my estimation, a reading of certain texts, namely Joel 2:28:
Prophets in the future will minister to people [...]
Craig Keener's Argument for the Continuation of "Charismata"
NT scholar Craig Keener makes what I have always found to be a simple and logical conclusion on the implications of Pentecost and Peter’s preaching to the continuing nature of the New Covenant with relation to Spiritual gifts. This excerpt is from his volume, “The Spirit in the Gospels and Acts”. Keener (1997:197-198) contends against [...]
Sweeney, M.A. (2000). The Twelve Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah (vol. 1). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press.
M.A. Sweeney (2000:174) likens the outpouring upon Israel as a reconstitution of His people of sorts, hearkening back to creation and the work of the Spirit amidst the cataclysmic events:
Indeed, the image of [...]
The late Dr. Raymond Dillard, who served as Professor of O.T. at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philly), penned a great commentary on Joel that is included in the McComiskey edited work on the Minor Prophets. I have quoted extensively from it in my thesis research and thought the following couple quotes were quite [...]
In Chapter 3 of America’s God, Noll writes that while Jonathan Edwards ably defended the doctrines of Calvinism in a way that understood the Enlightenment, his conception of the church represented a break with the Puritan ideal.
The Puritan covenant bound society and church under a covenant with God, using [...]
Greetings blog-readers!!! I have not touched on a subject that is very dear to my heart, children. A couple of years ago I took a sabbatical to research the theology of both baptism and children. I came away more intrigued in developing a theology of Children that was faithful to Scripture…albeit [...]
Okay, I know that some are about to stone me for even mentioning Geerhardus Vos and charismatic in the same sentence. It was intended to be provocative, but I must say that Vos’ pnuematological insights align well with a Redemptive-Charismatic hermeneutic. He quotes:
The position of Jesus in the development of pneumatology as between [...]
Dr. Dan Lioy was gracious enough to expound his understanding of the Old and New Covenants. To see the initial post my myself, click: http://endued.wordpress.com/2007/12/21/book-review-part-3-of-dan-lioys-jesus-as-torah-in-john-1-12-chp-3-jesus-as-torah-in-john-1/
Rick,
I also wanted to respond to your comments regarding the new covenant, especially its relationship to the people of God today. My journal article titled “Progressive [...]
Book Review of Cornelis Venema's "Getting the Gospel Right: Assessing the Reformation and New Perspectives on Paul" + My thoughts on "Covenantal Nomism","works of the law", and "justification" as understood by E.P. Sanders, J.D.G. Dunn, and N.T. Wright
This is a tidy primer, assessing the works of E.P. Sanders’ ”Paul and Palestinian Judaism”, J.D.G. Dunn’s “New Perspective on Paul”, and N.T. Wright’s views of Justification.
To be fair to the scholars assessed here, I have familiarized myself with Covenantal Nomism as presented by Sanders, have done some research into “works [...]
Rick’s Book Picks
Kerusso
Queen of the Sciences
Pastoral Ministry
Word, Sacraments, and Liturgy
Christ and Culture and Misc.
Gender, Family, Misc.
Poetry
Photos
Next Question Please
For the Freeloaders
Leftover Topics (but still yummy)
Christian Publishers
Friend's Sites
- "Baseball and Faith" – Steve Cornell
- Alan Burrow (Pastor of The King's Congregation in Meridian, ID) – "Faith Working"
- Ben Howard Photography
- Blazing Hope Youth Family Ranch
- Dr. Sam Storms – "Enjoying God Ministries"
- Joe Lamay – Pastor of Sovereign Grace Fellowship (South Bay, CA) and fellow El Segundo Baseball Alum
- Joel Wilhelm – "A Living Text"
- Jonathan Griffiths (Pastor at Cornerstone Church in Nampa, ID) – "Reflective Musings"
- Michael Mulconery (Elder at Sovereign Grace Fellowship of Nampa, ID) – SGF Sunday School
- My Wife's Blog – "Beloved Stranger"
- P. Andrew Sandlin (Pastor of Church of the King in Santa Cruz, CA)
- Pastor Nick Smith's Blog – "Sylvan Manor"
- Scott Kistler – "Tempora Christiana"
- William Farley (Pastor of Grace Christian Fellowship in Spokane, WA) – "The Raven"


Book Review of Dennis Johnson's "The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption", Plus my Proposal that Covenant Theology and Charismatic Theology Marry Each Other
Johnson, D.E. (1997). The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed.
I am not shocked to see that Dr. Johnson’s first person thanked under “Acknowledgments” is none other than Dr. Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. While I strongly disagree with Gaffin’s contribution to [...]