Christ the Center

We turn to pages 250–255 of Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments to consider God’s righteousness—particularly as it is revealed during the time of the Old Testament prophets. Vos speaks of God’s righteousness as “midway between the transcendental and communicative attributes” (250). God is the righteous judge. In human terms, a judge is righteous because he adheres...

All Christian parents are called to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). In Deuteronomy 6:4–9, the Lord commands his covenant people, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall t...

Lane Tipton discusses “ Van Til’s Trinitarian Theology ,” the latest on-demand video course released with Reformed Academy . Designed to equip the student to engage critically central issues in trinitarian theology, this course will focus on the architectonic significance of the Trinity both in Van Til’s theology and apologetics. Special attention will be given to Van Til’s historical and theologi...

Dr. Christopher Watkin joins us to speak about his book, Michel Foucault , published by P&R Publishing in the Great Thinkers series. Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Although he was widely influential during his lifetime, Foucault’s philosophy has come to even greater influence and applica...

Danny Olinger, Lane Tipton, and Camden Bucey discuss Geerhardus Vos’s sermon, “Hungering and Thirsting after Righteousness” from Matthew 5:6. This sermon is included in Grace and Glory: Sermons Preached at Princeton Theological Seminary . Participants: Camden Bucey , Danny Olinger , Lane G. Tipton

Benjamin Gladd, associate professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi joins us to speak about his book,  From Adam and Israel to the Church: A Biblical Theology of the People of God , which is in the Essential Studies in Biblical Theology series from IVP Academic. Dr. Gladd is also the editor of the series. In this particular book, Dr. Gladd examines the...

Dr. William Dennison, pastor of Emmanuel OPC in Kent, Washington, speaks about J. Gresham Machen’s theological method as disclosed through his radio addresses just a few years prior to his death. Machen understood that the modern world and the church were in a state of emergency. While many of Machen’s listeners would have thought about the economic volatility of the depression or perh...

Jonathan Landry Cruse speaks about worship. Cruse has written What Happens When We Worship ( Reformation Heritage Books ). Many churchgoers assume that worship is inherently boring, something we need to make exciting. But Cruse seeks to demonstrate that churchgoing only seems monotonous and mundane because our eyes are blinded to the supernatural wonder that is taking place all around us. In this...

On pages 29–34 of The Defense of the Faith , Cornelius Van Til continues to describe the basic Reformed doctrines that lay the foundation for his apologetic. It is evident even in this introductory material how he considers his project. He is neither seeking to be idiosyncratic nor original (in the sense of developing something foreign or external to confessional Reformed theology). Rather, he is...

Rev. Dr. David Noe joins us to speak about John Calvin, God or Baal: Two Letters on the Reformation of Worship and Pastoral Service ( Reformation Heritage Books ), which includes translations of two letters: We Must Flee the Forbidden Rites of the Wicked and Maintain the Purity of the Christian Faith The Christian Man’s Obligation to Fulfill or Renounce the Priestly Offices of the Papal Church Cal...

Matthew Vogan speaks about David Dickson’s Sermons on Jeremiah’s Lamentations ( Naphtali Press Special Editions & Reformation Heritage Books ). Mr. Vogan is General Manager of Reformation Scotland , a charitable trust whose aim is to promote the restoration of the Christian Church in Scotland by informing, educating and promoting understanding of our Reformed heritage through film,...

We turn to pages 245–250 of Geerhardus Vos’s book Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments to discuss the prophet’s view of God’s holiness. Vos contrasts the concept of holiness found in pagan religions with that of the biblical prophets. The concept of holiness in Scripture is God-centered. It begins with the Lord, his transcendence, and then radiates outward to creation as he...

C. N. Willborn speaks about the spirituality of the church, the doctrine which affirms that the Church is a spiritual institution with spiritual aims. It is not administered according to the kingdom of this world. This has a direct bearing upon the work of the church, which is explicitly described and defined by Christ himself in the Great Commission of Matthew 28. Rev. Dr. Willborn is pastor of&n...

Since  Christ the Center  began nearly thirteen years ago, we have taken time to look back on the highlights of the year. Continuing the update to our tradition from last year, here this year’s top ten clips from  Christ the Center  as determined by  YouTube  views. Ep. 633 – What Is Christendom? with David VanDrunen Ep. 655 – 1689 Federalism and Reformed...

One of the highlights of the Christmas season is singing the Christmas hymns. Singing songs about the nativity of Jesus is one of the oldest traditions in the Christian church, and dates to the beginning of the New Testament church—even to the birth of Christ himself. Luke includes four such songs: Mary’s (1:46–55), Zechariah’s (1:68–79), Simeon’s (2:29–32), and the Angels’ (2:14). In this ep...

Harrison Perkins discusses the theology and historical context of James Ussher with particular attention to the development of the confessional understanding of the covenant of works. Ussher was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and significant church leader. Perkins is the author of Catholicity and the Covenant o...

Cory Brock describes how Herman Bavinck interacted with and appropriated the theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher throughout his academic career. There is a significant shift toward a more pronounced and direct use of Schleiermacher later in his life. But any appropriation of Schleiermacher by Bavinck may surprise people. Schleiermacher (1768–1834) is recognized as the father of modern liberal the...

Dr. G. K. Beale speaks about the use of irony in redemptive-history, which is the subject of his book Redemptive Reversals and the Ironic Overturning of Human Wisdom (Crossway). The Bible is full of ironic situations in which God overturns the world’s wisdom by doing the opposite of what is expected―people are punished by their own sin, the persecution of the church is the catalyst for its growth,...

Dr. Robert Cara, Provost and Chief Academic Officer of Reformed Theological Seminary and Hugh and Sallie Reaves Professor of New Testament at RTS Charlotte, discusses the covenant theology evident in the letter to the Hebrews. God has one plan and purpose for his people throughout history, and he mediates this relationship through successive covenants, ultimately finding eschatological fulfillment...

In this episode of Vos Group, we turn to Vos’s sermon, “The Wonderful Tree,” in the collection of his sermons, Grace and Glory: Sermons Preached at Princeton Seminary . Preaching on Hosea 14:8, Vos describes the nature of religion as consisting of what God is for man and of what man is for God. Hosea features what God is for man in the metaphor of an evergreen cypress, offering l...

Dr. Bradley J. Bitner, associate professor of New Testament at Westminster Seminary California, speaks about constitution and covenant in ancient Corinth and how these inform Paul’s argument to the Corinthians. Dr. Bitner has written a thorough study of the subject titled, Paul’s Political Strategy in 1 Corinthians 1–4: Constitution and Covenant (Cambridge University Press). In 1 Corin...

Lane Tipton, Carlton Wynne, and Camden Bucey discuss pages 25–29 of Cornelius Van Til’s book, The Defense of the Faith . In this section, Van Til details the doctrine of God that structures his apologetic thought. A Reformed apologetic seeks first to understand the nature of the God it seeks to set forth and defend. In Van Til’s estimate, we must ask “what kind” of a God we believe in before...

Dr. Carl R. Trueman joins us to speak about his significant new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution (Crossway), in which he addresses the factors undergirding modern culture’s obsession with identity. Sexual identity in particular has dominated public discourse since the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Sup...

Dr. John Bower speaks about constructing a critical edition of the Westminster Confession of Faith using four historical authoritative texts and several other sources. Bower has done a tremendous service to the church and the academy. Both will benefit greatly from his careful scholarship. With Chad Van Dixhoorn, Dr. Bower is co-editor of Principal Documents of the Westminster Assembly published b...

We turn to pages 243–244 of Geerhardus Vos’s book Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments to discuss the prophet’s view of God’s relation to time and space. In terms of God’s relation to time and space, two relations occur. What we have to affirm first of all is that God is everywhere present in all of his fullness. But Vos speaks of a special relation to Zion (on earth)...