Dispensationalism • Calvinism • Presuppositionalism
I spent a little bit of time over the summer working through a personal study on the spiritual gifts and I made a chart that I hope will be helpful to you as you work through this very important and controversial topic!
Fresh off the press, I have written a critique of congregationalism, or congregational polity, and local church membership. Before you assume the worst, please try to wrestle with my ideas and my contentions.
I am in no way implying that we should have no church polity, and I am in no way implying that I reject the local church and the importance of it in the life of the believer. Please don’t start with that assumption.
What I want to do is to show why (a) I don’t think congregationalism is the polity we should follow, whereas I adopt an Elder-Led/Rule model (think John MacArthur), (b) I don’t think we need to implement “local” church membership, since we are already members of the “universal” body of Christ. I believe this has created hurdles and problems in the local church that ultimately hurts non-members.
I expect some push-back and disagreement, but I think it is important for people to voice their thoughts about these two subjects, and since I am very much in-line with Reformed Baptist theology, I certainly want to share my thoughts in a respectful but critical way.
I hope that it will be a challenge to those of you affirm these two beliefs. I hope for those on the fence that you will consider my arguments and my reasoning and land somewhere perhaps where I have, and for those who are fresh to the subject, maybe it will give you something to think about when you enter into discussions with your leaders.
Lastly, a shout-out to my wife who is always supportive and who has been my talking partner for years around these subjects, may it make you proud.
I pray this work will be used for God’s glory.
Another day, another discussion with a Covenantalist. This time, I decided it would be worth recording down the conversation in Word, to show how the discussions tend to go with the Covenantalist.
Continue reading “Discussion with Bret M Theis Jr”I was hoping to make a quick guide for those wanting to know more about the Levitical Offerings made in Leviticus 1-7. I have noticed a lot of confusion as it pertains to the topic, some has assumed that OT sacrifices serve no function, that they are simply shadows that look forward, but this undercuts the OT teaching of the occasion and function of these sacrifices. I hope to clarify some of this with the chart and quotations under the chart.
If there are any obvious concerns or errors with the chart, please let me know.
Featured Blog – Luke Morrison
“Biblical interpretation is a discipline that all Christians perform, even if they do not realize it. Every time a person reads a work, whether this work is a newspaper, novel, or ingredient list, interpretation occurs. Interpretation is needed because words convey meaning when connected with other words. That means words form sentences, sentences form paragraphs, and paragraphs form chapters, which become books. Every author wrote those words, sentences, paragraphs, and books for a reason. Since each author wrote with a meaning attached to each word, sentence, and paragraph, it behooves readers to seek to understand what the author wrote.
Interpretation involves reading those words and discovering the author’s meaning without forcing a belief onto the text because no one wants their writings or sayings taken out of context. Therefore, interpretation becomes critical in everyday life. If interpretation becomes critical in everyday life, it seems that it would be just as critical, if not more critical, in the life of the Christian who strives to read and understand Scripture. The truth of this statement leads to the question this paper seeks to answer: What is the role and function of the original author’s intended meaning in communicating the Scripture’s message to a contemporary audience?
A written debate challenge is being issues to the Reformed Rican (RR) for his repeated assertions that Dispensationalism destroys the Bible, and that we are “as close to heresy as you can get without actually being a heretic.”
It has been difficult for me to find a solid visual tract of the gospel over the years. Often I find the theology a little weak, or the information a bit unclear. I decided to make my own that you can use and share around, or even print. I hope that it is a blessing in the proclamation of the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This document is my attempt to present what I believe is the Orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. I have leveraged several sources for building out my understanding, including creeds, confessions, and books on this doctrine. I have tried to make it easy to understand and accessible with a glossary supplied by R. Letham. I am sure that it isn’t perfect, but I care that it is Orthodox. If I have stumbled in any way here, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know.
Thanks to Mike Riccardi for proof-reading!
SDG
Hot off the press, The Journal of Chafer Theological Seminary! I had the privilege of being published in this journal writing a review of Discovering Dispensationalism.
Continue reading “Pneumatikos – The Journal of Chafer Theological Seminary”It has been my desire for sometime to attempt to harmonize a dispensational position with the law and ethics in scripture. The task is incredibly difficult and complicated at every turn, though I have attempted to present a concise treatment of the subject, there is more work that needs to be done.
My approach to the discussion is to break the eternal law into 3 manifestations (Natural law, Mosaic law, the law of Christ), since it appears to me that all three are connected and interrelated to God. I have attempted to make the case for their ruling factors and how they relate to each sphere. My hope is that this will encourage those who are interested in this subject to formulate their own understanding of law and ethics as they see in scripture. May it be a blessing!
Continue reading “A Dispensational Understanding of the Law and its Guide for Ethics”