Reformed Forum

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...

These are the books on our radar for April 1, 2021. Kuyper, Abraham.  On Business and Economics  (Lexham; Acton Institute, February 2021). From the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in Public Theology series. 192 pages. $29.99. Hardcover with jacket. Selvaggio, Anthony T.  Considering Job: Reconciling Sovereignty and Suffering   (Reformation Heritage Books, February 2021). 184 pag...

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...

Whether you are a scholar, pastor, theological student, Bible study teacher, or someone engaged in serious personal study, it is  critical  to document your sources. Regrettably, most people don’t do this well. Along with many best practices, there are tested tools   used by many scholars in a wide range of disciplines. One of these is Zotero . At root, Zotero is a citation manager. But it does mu...

Occasionally the New Testament provides a direct connection to the words of the Old, pointing like a bright beacon to the person of Christ. We find that is the case as we look at the story of God’s ladder from Genesis 28. Angels ascend the ladder with a message for God from Jacob and descend from heaven with a message from God for Jacob. Participants: Mark A. Winder

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...

Ryan Noha brings his collection of Van Til books to the studio for show-and-tell. Join us for a surreal Reformed home shopping network experience. This was recorded in the summer of 2020 along with our course Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til . Participants: Camden Bucey , Lane G. Tipton , Ryan Noha

This week on  Theology Simply Profound , Rob and Bob continue a discussion of John Bunyan’s,  The Pilgrim’s Progress ,  Book 2 . In this episode, we discuss how Bunyan brings Christiana and Mercy up to and through the Wicket Gate where they meet the Gatekeeper who forgives sins. Participants: Rob McKenzie , Robert Tarullo

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...

In this review, we consider CM, Christian Meditation: What the Bible Teaches about Meditation and Spiritual Excercises by Edmund P. Clowney and published by Regent College Publishing. Writing in 1977, Edmund P. Clowney addressed the growing popularity of transcendental meditation (TM). TM started to develop roots in America in the 1960s and took off in part due to high-profile endorsements, includ...

Although Jacob and Esau both show themselves unworthy to inherit the covenant promises, we see, through two theological paradigms—the offspring and the land—that God Almighty will lead his people to the land of promise. Participants: Glen Clary , Mark A. Winder

This week on  Theology Simply Profound , Rob and Bob continue a discussion of John Bunyan’s,  The Pilgrim’s Progress ,  Book 2 . In this episode, we discuss Christiana’s interaction with Mrs. Timorous and Mercy as she and her children make their way to the Wicket Gate. She continues to learn that “the bitter is before the sweet.” Participants: Rob McKenzie , Robert Tarullo Mentioned in this...

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 Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Center 1000 Live in Au...

A Book on Notetaking? It’s Not What You Might Expect Amazon showed me Sönke Ahrens’s How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers about twenty times in sponsored posts before I finally broke down to see what it was all about. I decided to retrieve a sample chapter on my Kindle. I couldn’t put the book do...

Matthew’s account of the visit of the Magi is not exactly the story as we know it from our cultural Christmas traditions. The response of these wisemen to the birth of Jesus is what the response of Herod should have been, and what our response should be, namely, worship. Participants: Joel Fick , Mark A. Winder

This week on  Theology Simply Profound , Rob and Bob continue a discussion of John Bunyan’s,  The Pilgrim’s Progress ,  Book 2 . In this episode, we discuss how Christiana is convicted of her sins, repents, and begins her pilgrim journey . . . “the bitter is before the sweet.” Participants: Rob McKenzie , Robert Tarullo Mentioned in this episode: Christ the Center 1000 Christ the Cente...

Michael A. G. Haykin, “‘The Best Friend in the Worst Time’: Pandemics in Church History” The Banner of Truth Magazine, No. 689, February 2021, pp. 4–8. We are prone to think we are the only people ever to experience something like our present pandemic. This last year and last, we have heard the phrase “in these unprecedented times” so often that it has become a cliché. In five brief pages, Michael...

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...

In today’s episode we look at Matthew’s account of the genesis of Jesus. In this account of his birth story Matthew draws our attention to the particular perspective of Joseph, the comforting message of the angel, the wonder of the virgin birth, the glory of the Immanuel promise, and the significance of the name of Jesus as the one who saves his people from their sins. Participants: Joel Fick , Ma...

This week on  Theology Simply Profound , Rob and Bob continue a new series of discussions on John Bunyan’s,  The Pilgrim’s Progress , Book 2 . In this episode, we discuss some of the literary genius of John Bunyan as he begins his companion story of Christiana and her four boys’ journey to the Celestial City. Participants: Rob McKenzie , Robert Tarullo

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...

Camden Bucey reviews Stewards of Eden: What Scripture Says About the Environment and Why It Matters (IVP Academic, 2020) by Dr. Sandra L. Richter , the Robert H. Gundry Chair of Biblical Studies at Westmont College. In this book, Dr. Richter addresses humanity's role as stewards of creation—those entrusted to care for that which God has placed in their charge. In exploring this theme, Richter addr...

This week on Theology Simply Profound , Rob and Bob begin a new series of discussions on John Bunyan’s, The Pilgrim’s Progress , Book 2. On this episode, we open this series discussing how and why Bunyan wrote a sequel to the first book. Participants: Rob McKenzie , Robert Tarullo

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...

Hosea ministers in Israel between the time of the conquest of Canaan and the exile. In chapter nine of his prophecy, he tells of the coming judgment-exile of Israel into the land of the uncircumcised. But there is hope! God will preserve a remnant—elect exiles—for his own glory and as his chosen portion. For Christ was exiled in his death because of our sins, so that we who were once far off may b...