Falling Short of God's Glory
The phrase "fall short" means all sorts of things, depending on the context; it does not have one consistent meaning throughout the Bible. When you find phrases like "fall short" and "miss the mark"…
Physical Description of Paul
The Bible does not provide a description of Paul, though many have speculated that he had problems with his eyes. These speculations have been based on his apparently large handwriting (Gal. 6:11)…
Unnatural Acts
In the context of Romans 1, these verses seem to refer only to homosexuality. Although bestiality and other sexual sins are condemned in other portions of Scripture, they are not the topic of…
Anti-Christ a Human?
Only John mentions the idea of antichrist (1 John 2:18; 2:22; 4:3; 2 John 7), and his letters antichrist does not seem to be any particular individual. There are also some textual variants that…
Where Did Paul Write Philippians?
The Bible does not tell us precisely where Paul was when he wrote Philippians. Scholars have generally argued for one of three localities: Caesarea, Ephesus, and Rome. The traditional view that he…
Have the Gifts of the Spirit Ceased?
There are four major views on the continuation or cessation of the charismatic gifts: Cessation: The most common position is that the "spectacular" or "sign" gifts (prophecy, miraculous healing…
Holy Children of Unbelievers
Various branches of the church have struggled over this issue for centuries. Here's my take on it: Everyone who is part of the visible community of the people of God (i.e. the church in our day…
E.P. Sanders and N.T Wright
1. I'm unaware of any particularly Reformed responses to E.P. Sanders, but I'm not sure one is necessary. I'm also not sure a thorough response is necessary. Sanders has basically only one point…
Romans 7:14-25
There are differing interpretations of Romans 7:14-25 in the Reformed tradition, as well as in Christianity at large. Some teach that Paul is speaking of himself prior to his salvation, so that the…
Women in Authority
These are really controversial issues nowadays. Here are my two cents: On the issue of women's ordination, I don't believe Paul's stance in 1 Timothy 2:11-15 was culturally conditioned. Rather, it…
Israel's Fate
You raise an important question in light of these two texts which, on the surface, might appear to contradict one another. The short answer is that we believe that no one is saved apart from Christ…
Women Should Remain Silent?
1 Corinthians 14 probably does not teach that women cannot teach or lead in prayer in church. Rather, the context suggests that this instruction pertains to orderly worship, with particular regard to…
Can Christians be cursed?
Most people tend to refer to "discipline" rather than "curse" when God sends bad things into the lives of believers as a result of their sin. Richard chose different vocabulary in those lessons…
Paul's Occupation
Paul was a tent-maker by trade (Acts 18:1-3), and of course an apostle.
Unmarried Women Speaking in Church
When Paul says that women should remain silent in church and learn from their husbands at home (1 Cor. 14:34-35), I believe he is speaking with regards to the prophecies their husbands speak in…
Restrainer's Identity
It is very hard to guess who or what the "restrainer" mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 is (or was), but we can rule out some possibilities. It cannot be the prayers of the church, since there will…
Prayers for the Dead
Praying for people after they die does not make a difference with regard to their eternal state. The Bible gives us no indication that they have an opportunity to repent after they die; it suggests…
Did Christ Deny Paul's Prayer?
I'm also of the opinion that Paul didn't get what he prayed for. If he had gotten it, his second and third prayers would have been unnecessary. In fact, Paul himself seems to state fairly directly…
The Perfect
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul stated rather directly that the imperfect understandings Christians gain through gifts of prophecy, tongues, and knowledge would disappear at the coming of "the perfect" or…
What is the ordo salutis?
Ordo salutis is Latin for "the order of salvation" which deals with the logical sequence of stages involved in the salvation of a believer - election, effectual calling, regeneration, justification…
The Seed of Abraham
Calvin is right that the Jews have a good objection, and that most Christians don't have a good response. But I disagree with his solution. It seems pretty obvious to me that Paul argues from the…
No Partiality with God
One of Paul's main goals in Romans was to reconcile Jewish and Gentile believers in the church. To do this, he argued first that both Jews and Gentiles were guilty before God and in need of…
PCA Diaconate
Well, I should clarify that a bit. The PCA believes that it has given deacons "authority", and this is one of the arguments it uses against ordaining deaconesses. What is "inappropriate" is the…
Atonement in Romans 5:6
There are many, many passages in Scripture that describe the people for whom Jesus died. Included in those descriptions are many passages saying that he died for sinners. Limited atonement asserts…