Reformed Biblical Theology

5-Part Discussion Handouts for TULIP

Handouts to discuss the Canons of Dordt (or Dort). Includes summaries of the canons for an introduction and overview.

Helpful to use along with a video series, such as Sproul's "What is Reformed Theology?"

In the backdrop of every major Christian doctrine lies cosmology. A wrong view of the origins of creation leads inevitably to a wrong view of the Creator. Do away with the creatorship of God, and thus goes his
sovereignty. Dispose of his creation as free, entire, and ex nihilo, and the doctrines of divine aseity, omnipotence, and infinity lie on crumbling foundations.1 Yet, while many Christians are thoroughly acquainted with the struggle between secular conceptions of cosmology and theistic “intelligent design” postulations or with the controversy regarding the “days of creation,” comparatively few are familiar with the intra-evangelical debate regarding the nature of the creation of the cosmos as it is reported in Gen 1:1-3. Three major views have emerged in this area, each founded on a different construction of Gen 1:1-3 and subsuming numerous diverse views. These are the initiation view, the subordinate clause view, and the summary view. While perhaps more obscure, this is a debate with wide-reaching effects on core doctrines of the Christian faith. It is the purpose of this study to demonstrate that the initiation view is to be preferred for both exegetical and theological reasons.

In the preface, the author clearly articulates both what motivated this project, which began as his PhD dissertation, and his purpose in writing the book. With respect to the former, Waymeyer observes that concomitant to “the remarkable resurgence of reformed theology” within evangelicalism over the past few decades—which he regards as a very positive development—has been a trend toward an adoption of either eschatological agnosticism or amillennialism (vii). In response to the eschatological agnostic, Waymeyer rightly asserts, “Scripture reveals too much about the subject of eschatology for Christians to be content in the dark, especially those who preach the Word and shepherd the flock” (vii). In regard to amillennialism, Waymeyer observes that while those joining the ranks of reformed theology often spend several years studying the scriptural doctrine of predestination prior to self-identifying as Calvinists, they far too quickly embrace amillennialism without much study of the pertinent biblical texts “simply because they see it as an indispensable part of the reformed system” (vii). In response to such trends, Waymeyer calls for careful consideration of his “premillennial response to the most compelling arguments for amillennialism” (viii). He aims “not only to clarify the key differences between these two competing millennial views, but also to provide an exegetical critique of the two-age model of amillennialism” (viii).

God the Father is the author and initiator of our salvation. He restores our communion—lost in Adam—by revealing his love for us in Christ’s atonement for our sins through the Holy Spirit and by imputing to us Christ’s righteousness. He does this by the Holy Spirit by means of bringing about the necessary condition to lead us into repentance and into the obedience of faith, which glorifies the Father for his work of mercy.

헤르만 바빙크(1854-1921)는 교의학자였지만 중요한 윤리학 작품도 남겼다. 최근에 발간된 『개혁파 윤리학』은 아주 탁월한 기독교 윤리학 저서이다. 바빙크의 『개혁교의학』과 『개혁파 윤리학』은 다음과 같은 밀접한 관련성이 있다. 첫째, 『개혁파 윤리학』은 『개혁교의학』에 나타난 종합적-발생론적 방법론을 사용한다. 둘째, 『개혁파 윤리학』은 교의학과 윤리학의 상호보완적 관계성을 유지한다. 셋째, 『개혁파 윤리학』은 교의학과 윤리학을 밀접하게 관련시키면서도, 교의학을 너무 많이 개입시키지 않고 윤리학에서 꼭 다뤄야 하는 교의학의 내용만을 엄선해서 다룬다. 넷째, 『개혁파 윤리학』의 내용은 『개혁교의학』과 내용상으로 짝을 이룬다. 다섯째, 바빙크는 교의학과 윤리학에서 철학과 깊이 있게 대화한다. 여섯째, 바빙크의 교의학과 윤리학은 초기 근대 개혁파 신학에서 많은 내용들을 인용하고 다룬다. 일곱째, 바빙크의 교의학과 윤리학은 성경을 근거로 주제를 전개하고 결론을 완성한다. 바빙크 사후 100주년을 기념하는 오늘날의 개혁신학이 앞으로의 100년을 건설적으로 모색하고자 한다면, 바빙크라는 거인의 어깨에 올라가서 보다 성경적이면서도, 역사적 자료에 충실하고, 현대 학문과 대화하면서, 오늘날의 교회와 사회의 구체적 문제에 응답하는 교의학과 윤리학을 발전시켜 나가야 할 것이다.
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Herman Bavinck (1854-1921) was a dogmatician, but he also wrote important ethical works. The recently published Reformist Ethics is an excellent book on Christian ethics. Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics and his Reformed Ethics are closely related. (1) Reformed Ethics uses the synthetic-genetic method endorsed in Reformed Dogmatics; (2) Reformed Ethics shows a complementary relationship between dogmatics and ethics; (3) Reformed Ethics intimately relates dogmatics to ethics but carefully selects and treats only the theological topics that should be dealt with in ethics without involving dogmatics too much; (4) the content of Reformed Ethics is paired with Reformed Dogmatics; (5) Bavinck has an in-depth dialogue with philosophy in both works; (6) the two works quote and deal with a lot of material from early modern Reformed theology; and (7) Reformed Dogmatics and Reformed Ethics develop the subjects and complete their conclusions based on the Scriptures. If today’s Reformed theology, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Bavinck’s death, wants to constructively explore the next 100 years, it should climb on his shoulders and develop dogmatics and ethics that respond to specific problems of the church and society while being more biblical and faithful to historical data and conversing with modern academic studies.

The female metaphors for the Old and New Testament saints as related to Yahweh and Jesus Christ are manifold. Strictly correlating the images of the church produces a perplexing picture; yet assuming their compatibility, a full picture emerges of the church as pleroma. She is a chaste virgin, daughter Zion (and her synonym, daughter Jerusalem); yet, she is also a bride, 1 2 betrothed to both Yahweh and to Christ. In addition, she is a fruitful mother, bearing, birthing, 3 4 and bringing her children to strength. As such, she is foreshadowed in Eve, the mother of all-loving, the wives of the patriarchs, and also Deborah, who arose as a mother in Israel, and in the figure Mother Jerusalem in Isaiah. In Galatians 4, she is Sarah, an allegorical covenant-city, 5 whose child through promise is the free Jerusalem above (vv. 23, 26-27). In Revelation 12, she is mother of both the "male child" (vv. 4-5) and "the rest of her offspring" (v. 17), and in Revelation 21-22, she is the fruitful bride of the Lamb (21:9; cf. 22:2). It soon becomes apparent that daughter, bride, and mother are all images representing the one reality of God's people throughout time in relation to God upon the throne and the Lamb. From various 6 relationships comes forth the one telos of humanity, union with the triune God. In this paper, I intend to give specific attention to the royal mother image of the church, not neglecting other feminized images of the church, that coalesce to give us the one city-people-the 1 "Daughter of Zion, used 23 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, is only found in the mouth of the prophets.. 2 "Daughter of Jerusalem is used 5 times by the prophets, four times immediately paralleled with Daughter of Zion and appearing in the same verse. 3 See Isaiah 54; Jeremiah 3, Ezekiel 16, Hosea 2 (indeed the context of the whole of Hosea's prophecy).

Never before in the history of the Western hemisphere has it been so easy to avoid suffering as today. Advances in the medical field as well as multiple ways for distraction are increasingly alienating people from a healthy attitude towards suffering. To some extent, this also applies to Christianity. The Bible, however, testifies to suffering from cover to cover. Next to the sufferings of Christ, the book of Job is a primary example of how God works in his creation through affliction. The purpose of this work is to develop a Reformed biblical theology of Job's sufferings to affirm that Christians should not regard affliction as an alien matter. In the stories of Joseph, Naomi and the Psalms, the sufferings of Job can be recognized as a unifying yet developing theme. That also applies to the New Testament, wherein the method of typology is used to demonstrate this.

Twee maanden na het begin van de coronacrisis heeft de Amerikaanse ds. C.M. McMahon een actuele, bijbelse wake-up call  (coronawekker) voor de kerk geschreven. In een tijd waarin weinig meer gerekend wordt met Gods regering en voorzienigheid, houdt de scribent een diepgeestelijk betoog waarin hij wijst op de geestelijke oorzaak van de plagen in de wereld. Het is de pandemie van de zonde. De echte ramp die zich voltrekt, is volgens hem, het aantoonbare geestelijke verval van de kerk.
Het is niet zomaar dat kerkdeuren gesloten werden. De (gedeeltelijke) leegstand van de heiligdommen, het heilig avondmaal dat weggenomen werd, moeten ons in het licht van Leviticus 26 veel te zeggen hebben. Christus zendt de kerk Zijn plagen uit liefde om hen geestelijk terecht te brengen. Het enige gepaste antwoord van de kerk daarop, moet zijn: verootmoediging, schuldbelijdenis en bekering (Numeri 16:47-50; 2 Samuel 24:14, 25).
De auteur gelooft, overeenkomstig Gods Woord, dat God een lichamelijke plaag kan genezen met een geestelijk middel. Hij is immers een Arts voor lichaam en ziel.

Abstract: T. F. Torrance, in the midst of early modern ecumenical dialogue, presented an ecclesial ontology robustly informed and determined by Christological categories. This is nowhere more evident than in his interpretation of the biblical image of the church as the “body of Christ.” In contrast to mystical interpretations of the image, Torrance argues that the “body of Christ” should be understood as an incarnational analogy. Christ’s humanity, resurrected and ascended, is the “essence” of the church. The church becomes what it already is in Christ by conforming to the newness of his humanity. In this way, Torrance constructs a powerful Protestant and ecumenical account of the church’s being-in-becoming. The uniqueness and ecumenical purchase of Torrance’s proposal are here demonstrated.

When does the Sabbath begin?  In the most comprehensive article to-date on the subject, Fentiman demonstrates from Scripture that the Sabbath has always been from dawn-to-dawn since Creation throughout Scripture, without exception.  ‘Morning’ in Gen. 1 is more accurately translated as ‘dawn’, the phrase signifying that each day of Creation ended with dawn, with the next day beginning therefrom.  The Old Testament speaks of days starting from the morning or dawn in over 30 verses. The Israelites kept the Sabbath morning to morning in Ex. 16 and the rest of Old Testament history is consistent with this reckoning.  The New Testament throughout its pages likewise reckons days to start in the morning. The Temple in the New Testament counted the hours of the day from 6 A.M.  The disciples’ buying of spices in the evening after the death of Jesus is shown to be inconsistent with an evening-to-evening reckoning of the Sabbath.  The Resurrection accounts assume continuity with the Old Testament reckoning, when Christ rose from the dead.  Christ celebrates the Lord’s Day in Jn. 20:19 with the disciples in the evening of the 1st day of the week, which the apostles continued to practice in Acts 20:7-11.  The corruption of the Sabbath by Jewish traditionalism, keeping it from evening to evening, likely started in the inter-Testamental era and was preserved in their Talmuds.  A very full survey of the inter-Testamental and extra-Biblical literature is surveyed on the issue, as well as reformed history.  Make your heart assured on this Scriptural subject and make the Sabbath a delight (Isa. 58:13-14)!

In the past decades, worship is infamous for its wars over forms. This is mainly due to many Christians confusing worship with music. These Christians come in various persuasions from a libertine end all the way to the other end. In retaliation, some Evangelical theologians respond by saying that what matters is the heart and, hence, implying indifference on forms presumed to be preferential. Many have since written articles on worship wars and on biblical worship in the spectrum of whether or not forms matter. What seems to be the consensus among Christians who uphold the authority of the Bible is that acceptable worship must come from a sincere heart and involves all of life. Therefore, this paper seeks to biblically evaluate the relationship between the essence and forms of worship to constitute true worship.

This syllabus is the plan for a four-day intensive "block course." The course was delivered August 27–30, 2019 at Common Ground Theological Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, for 35 students. The syllabus includes an annotated bibliography.

This course had two broad goals:
* to introduce students to the book of Ezekiel—its situation in covenantal history, its authorship, its original audience, its structure, and its central themes; and
* to interpret key passages of Ezekiel theologically and christocentrically, making interpretive principles explicit so that students may interpret any passage from Ezekiel theologically and christocentrically.

This course should help students to discern the organic connection between Ezekiel and the person and work of Christ, and therefore between Ezekiel and the Church for the sake of application. With the help of the Spirit, this course should also help students individually to gain a greater assurance in God’s faithfulness and unchanging promises, a clearer hope in the consummation of the Redeemer’s finished work, and a deeper love for the triune God.

40 essays by Ronnie Hsia, Ulrich Leinsle, Marius Reiser, Thomas Marschler, Trent Pomplun, Jean-Louis Quantin, William O'Brien SJ, Stefania Tutino, Carl Trueman, Andreas Beck, Willem van Asselt, Eric Carlsson, Stephen Hampton, Benjamin Mayes, Robert Kolb, Risto Saarinnen, Ola Tjorholm, Sarah Mortimer, Jeff Bach, Keith Stanglin, Hartmut Lehmann, Jonathan Strom, Craig Atwood, Stephen Burnett, Emanuele Colombo, Aza Goudriaan, Carolina Armenteros, Eric Watkins, Maria Rosa Antognazza, Stephen Gaukroger, Jonathan Israel, John Henry.

by Edward Klink and Darian Lockett.

BT1. A Historical Description
BT2. The History of Redemption
- BT2D. Dallas School - Dallas Theological Seminary
- BT2C. Chicago School - Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
  - BT2SL. Sydney & London School - Moore Theological College & Oak Hill Theological College
- BT2P. Philadelphia School - Westminster Theological Seminary
BT3. A Worldview-Story
BT4. A Canonical Approach
BT5. A Theological Construct

Sources:
https://www.zondervan.com/p/biblical-theology/five-ways/
https://www.zondervan.com/p/biblical-theology/bibliography/
https://www.booksataglance.com/book-reviews/understanding-biblical-theology-a-comparison-of-theory-and-practice-edward-w-kink-iii-and-darian-r-lockett/
https://www.9marks.org/review/understanding-biblical-theology/
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/5-ways-of-understanding-biblical-theology/

The promise of Jeremiah 31:34 that “all of them will know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them” has been of crucial importance for the paedo- vs. credobaptism debate. However, there has been little discussion of what the quantifier means based on Jeremiah’s repeated and thematically linked uses. Throughout his prophecy, Jeremiah consistently uses this quantifier in reference to a group about which something is pervasively, though not exhaustively, true. Therefore, the quantifier in Jeremiah 31:34 should not be understood as presenting subjective knowledge of the Lord as the necessary condition of New Covenant membership to the exclusion of infant membership in that community and infant baptism as the sign of membership.

This is my Masters degree thesis. I examine the opposing views of Richard Gaffin and Andrew Lincoln on the implications for the Sabbath command from the argument in Hebrews 3--4. This is situated in the larger history of Christian interpretation of the Sabbath command and a concern for the redemptive-historical trajectories of the biblical storyline. I conclude with my own exegesis of the passage, arguing the weekly Sabbath command was a typological sign which pointed to the spiritual rest secured by Christ. The weekly command therefore is abrogated because of Christ's work.

Was Jesus’ death alone substitutionary for sinners or was His perfect obedience to the Law (also referred to as Christ's active obedience) substitutionary as well? While this paper looks at the two representative men, Adam and Christ, in Romans 5:12–21, it will specifically focus in on verse 18 where Christ’s one act of righteousness results in justification of life to all men. The deciding issue is a matter of hermeneutics. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate that strict adherence to the literal Historical Grammatical-Hermeneutic will only render a meaning of substitutionary death.

At the heart of the Reformation is the doctrine of justification by faith. John Calvin writes: “Justification is the main hinge on which salvation turns." Is justification merely a legal fiction? Is it fundamentally a relational doctrine? Much debate has happened across the history of the church, and recent years has brought about lively dialogue which stems from a theological movement called the New Perspective on Paul. After first discussing the concept of justification in Paul’s letter to the Romans (3:21-26), we will then turn to the scholarly debates in which I will offer a definition that approximates combining both, and afterwards the basis and means of justification are discussed with a focused attention given to the benefits to the believer including time factors, fruits and assurance (4:1-5:11; 8.28-30, 36-39).

“Faith is a divine work of salvation ‘in us’ as well as ‘for us’ in the work of transformation and that the believer may behold God”
-D.H. Williams

Biblical Hebrew (BH) poetry poses unique challenges to translators and exegetes because of its often complex textual development, its defamiliarized mode of communication, and its understudied relationship to its co-text. While a comprehensive analysis is welcomed for any discourse type, the unique challenges of BH poetry call for a holistic approach that marshals insights from the extra-linguistic setting, co-text, and multifaceted discourse features. The method of discourse analysis proposed by Wendland (1994) seems to provide a helpful framework for such investigation. Applying this approach to Psalm 70—a short, but incredibly multifaceted text—reveals the value of this sort of comprehensive, interdisciplinary analysis. Additionally, following the application of Lambrecht’s (1994) theory of information structure (IS) to BH by Van der Merwe et al. (forthcoming), I propose that the Psalms may use parallel word order variation patterns beyond their IS purposes to create coherence relations at the discourse level.

The meaning of the apostle Paul’s statement in Gal 3:12 that “the law is not of faith” has long been the subject of intense debate. Recently vigorous debate has developed among Reformed scholars as to the significance of this phrase for understanding the nature of the Mosaic covenant and its place in the unfolding of God’s covenant plan of redemption. Some, such as Meredith Kline, have argued that the phrase points to a certain kind of meritorious principle inherent (“republished”) in the Mosaic covenant as a covenant administration (on the “national-typological” level). This article puts forward an alternative interpretation of Gal 3:12 and then situates this interpretation within the context of other statements about the Mosaic law within Galatians. It then employs two concepts set forth by post-Reformation Reformed theologians to clarify further the exegesis set forth in the article. In brief, this article claims that Paul’s antithesis between law and faith in Gal 3:12 is restricted to the matter of how an individual is justified, and that Paul does not in this verse articulate an absolute contrast between grace and the Mosaic covenant, either on the national or the individual level.

A tanulmánykötet Károli Gáspár Református Egyetem Hittudományi Karának oktatói által a Reformáció 500. évfordulója alkalmából írt tanulmányok gyűjteménye.

„Ha valamit meg kell tanulnunk a reformációból, akkor az éppen az, hogy egy tapodtat sem tudunk előrébb lépni ha a múltat rózsaszín szemüvegen át nézzük. Az 500. évfordulón eléggé megkísért bennünket az, hogy minden, ami 500 meg 450 éve volt, az szép volt, az nagyszerű volt, hősies volt, bátor volt. Pedig sokkal inkább abban a közvetlenségben kellene szemlélnünk a 16. századot is, amilyen közvetlenségben az evangélium szembesít bennünket az igazság kérdésével. Ha valami a 16. század megértését segíti a számunkra az az, hogy egyként, ellenfelek, vitázók, reformerek és ellenreformerek, forradalmárok és ellenforradalmárok, haladók és maradiak, bátrak és gyávák egyként, ki-ki az igazságot kereste. Nem a maga igazát, hanem az igazságot.”

Részlet dr. Bogárdi Szabó István püspök előszavából

Standing on this side of Jesus’s resurrection, the apostle Paul described his and the church’s mission as a calling “to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of [Christ’s] name among all the nations” (Rom 1:5). Missions for the sake of the Messiah’s glory is one of the central ends of the gospel of God concerning the Son (1:1–3). It is this message that shapes the hopes of the Old Testament Scriptures (Luke 24:45–47; Acts 26:22–23) and that is realized in the new covenant. From Eden onward, God has been moving history toward the day when he finally eradicates Satan, the curse, and the evil that is “Babylon” (Rev 7:15–17; 14:8; 18:2, 10, 21; 20:10; 21:4; 22:3). In that day he will reveal his glory over the whole earth (Num 14:21; Pss 57:5, 11[6, 12]; 72:19; Isa 11:9; Hab 2:14; Rev 21:23) and generate praise from all the redeemed peoples for whom the Lamb was slain (Rev 5:9–10; 7:9–10). The church’s mission to make disciples of all nations is still incomplete, but it continues to spur every Christian either to send or go, either to hold the ropes for others or to cross boundaries and cultures for the sake of Christ’s name. Though we live in this age as “sojourners and exiles” in the kingdom of “Babylon” (1 Pet 2:11; 5:13), our mission as members of Christ’s church (Matt 28:18–20) is to confront spiritual darkness (Eph 6:10–20) and to spread the light of the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6) … until those whom Christ ransomed “from every tribe and language and people and nation” serve as “a kingdom and priests to our God” and “reign on the earth” (Rev 5:9–10; cf. 22:5). This study seeks to trace the theme of missions from Genesis to Revelation for the elect exiles dwelling “by the waters of Babylon” (Ps 137:1).

The claim that a principle known as Irreducible Complexity (IC) is empirically discoverable is investigated successively from the perspective of engineering, then molecular biology and finally theology, with the aim of evaluating the utility of IC for an interdisciplinary dialogue between all three. In the process, IC is subjected to the principle objections presented against it in the literature, leading to the conclusion that IC is sufficiently resistant to scientific criticism to be accepted as a true property of certain living systems. The ubiquity of machine descriptors in the professional literature of molecular biology is scrutinised in the context of the role of metaphor in science, as well as in the context of entailment models. A Biblical Theological approach to the Bible is harnessed to establish a framework for estimating the extent to which the story of Christ warrants expectation of first order design formalisms in nature, and whether that story within itself provides any homomorphic exemplification of IC. Additionally, key theological criticisms of IC are evaluated as well as criticisms of the Neo Darwinian revisioning of the Biblical account. The overall conclusion is that a true interdisciplinary dialogue where IC is the nexus holds theoretical as well as experimental promise.

Uno de los ejercicios más importantes a lo largo de toda la vida cristiana, desde el inicio del caminar con Dios, es sin duda la lectura y el estudio personal, continuo, intencional y ordenado de las Escrituras. Este saber hacer debe ser enseñado y aprendido permanentemente tanto en la iglesia como en los hogares de todos los creyentes, a fin de que los discípulos de Cristo crezcan espiritualmente a la vez que se conviertan también en lectores cada vez más competentes de las Escrituras.

El propósito del presente ensayo es llevar a cabo un estudio sobre el relato de la creación en Génesis 1-2:3, empleando algunas estrategias de análisis interpretativo que consideran aspectos discursivos y literarios básicos del pasaje que se aborda, a fin de establecer con mayor precisión las implicaciones que la revelación de Dios en esta porción escritural tiene para la vida del creyente reformado. A final de cuentas se espera que los miembros de la iglesia puedan beneficiarse de él. Por lo cual, se trata de emplear un lenguaje claro y sencillo, pero documentado e informado por las mismas Escrituras, así como por algunos autores que han abordado el estudio del libro de Génesis aportando algunas estrategias de lectura útiles para llevar a cabo una mejor interpretación del pasaje bíblico.

Al realizar este trabajo se consultaron obras de autores que han escrito sobre el Pentateuco, como John H. Sailhamer, quien adopta una perspectiva que honra las preguntas planteadas por las visiones histórico-crítica y bíblico-histórica (p. ej., quién escribió, cuál es la estructura del escrito, cuándo y dónde fue escrito, cuál es la intención comunicativa); y Gerhard von Rad, quien emplea una perspectiva crítica literaria (p. ej., el análisis de fuentes, géneros literarios, estructura del texto). Así como autores que han escrito particularmente sobre el libro de Génesis, tales como C. John Collins, quien se aproxima a las Escrituras desde un enfoque discursivo y literario (centrado en el acto comunicativo original); John Walton, que adopta un enfoque que se podría referir como comparativo y cosmovisional (enfatizando el contexto cultural original), al igual que otros autores como Francis A. Schaeffer, S. G. de Graaf y G. J. Spykman.

De esta manera, en la primera sección del escrito se presentan algunas consideraciones interpretativas que se han tomado en cuenta al llevar a cabo el estudio del pasaje bíblico: las características del análisis discursivo y literario, la historicidad del relato bíblico, el contexto del libro de Génesis, el autor y los destinatarios del texto y el propósito comunicativo del mismo. En la segunda sección se desarrolla el estudio del relato bíblico de la creación de Génesis 1-2:3, siguiendo su estructura básica: prefacio (vv. 1-2), día primero (vv. 3-5), día segundo (vv. 6-8), día tercero (vv. 9-13), día cuarto (vv. 14-19), día quinto (vv. 20-23), día sexto (vv. 24-31) y día séptimo (vv. 2:1-3). En la última sección se presentan las conclusiones, donde se consideran las implicaciones del mensaje bíblico de la creación para la vida cristiana y se proponen algunas ideas para extender el contenido del presente ensayo en futuros trabajos.

What is your view after reading this paper? Email your views to collegemhc@gmail.com

THE HEART OF THE MATTER:
The idea that every conceived human being is naturally evil, guilty, a sinner, or sinful, is itself child abuse and a blasphemous charge against God.

William W. Menzies (July 1, 1931–August 15, 2011) was well known in Pentecostal circles as an educator, historian and theologian. He was also a missionary who spent the latter decades of his life between two poles: Springfield, Missouri, where he lived on-and-off for fifty years, and Baguio City, Philippines, where he served as President and Chancellor of Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS). Over the course of his career he taught full-time or served as an administrator at five institutions of higher learning: Central Bible College (1958-1970), Evangel University (1970-1980), the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (1974-1984), California Theological Seminary (1985-1987), and APTS (President 1989-1996; Chancellor 1996-2011). The author of nine books and numerous articles, he also founded, along with Vinson Synan and Horace Ward, the Society for Pentecostal Studies (SPS), which was among his most important accomplishments. He also served as the first President of the SPS and the first editor of its journal, Pneuma. To us, however, he was simply "Dad."

Pentecostals have traditionally maintained their unique belief that empowerment of the Holy Spirit is for evangelism and mission. However, in recent decades, they have broadened the concept (as well as the scope of mission) to embrace social concerns. Many Pentecostal missionaries now engage in a broad spectrum of social work, such as HIV/AIDS intervention and care, relief for the hungry and destitute, involvement in media, education, and others. The focus of such ‘progressive Pentecostals’ may have contributed, in part, to the rise of Pentecostal consciousness of and engagement in social issues. These trends are particularly noted among Pentecostals in the Global South. Nevertheless, despite this encouraging development, they still maintain as a priority the proclamation of the Gospel, with the experience of signs and wonders to augment evangelistic efforts.

Historical records show that, in the global South, healing was a part of religious practices and expectations, both in Christianity and in other religions, even before arrival of the Pentecostal faith. The Pentecostals’ focused emphasis on manifestations of the supernatural power of God has rightly aligned with this general religious expectation. As a result, while Pentecostalism flourished among such a mindset, it has also influenced fellow Christians in expectation, theology, and mission
practices. As it steadily expanded its mission theology and practice to include social issues, Pentecostalism has been considered an important missions player, for example, in the south and Southeast Asia region.

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This Doctoral Dissertation examines the biblical, theological, and historical, role of pastors as evangelists, particularly within the Reformed tradition. It also presents proposals for implementing a practical ministry strategy for congregational and personal ministry by pastors. While focused on the Reformed tradition, the principles presented apply to all in pastoral ministry.

An exegetical consideration of four passages from the book of Acts in light of their usage in debates between Credobaptists and Paedobaptists, and a rebuttal to arguments made by Dr. Gregg Strawbridge in defense of the latter view, based on the aforementioned passages, against the arguments of Dr. Fred Malone By J. Luis Dizon, almost M.T.S.

The past several decades has seen the trend of Christianity moving southward. Apart from few exceptions, the South is comparably weaker than their Northern counterpart with regard to socio-economic and technological development. This is why problems of suffering in the forms of poverty, famine, injustice, and slow recovery from disasters are becoming more pervasive at this “new” place for the Church. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is timely for the Church to contemplate the missional response to such suffering. Therefore, this paper seeks to explore the place of suffering in the biblical theology of missions.

O culto é marca indelével da Igreja, seja qual for a expressão religiosa, dentro do cristianismo, há a presença do culto. O presente trabalho pretende apresentar de forma bíblico-teológica o culto bíblico e sua centralidade. A apresentação é feita a partir de referenciais, são eles: linguístico, exegético, histórico, doutrinário e prático, onde se determina, também, a centralidade que ele deve ter. Por centralidade defende-se que o culto deve ser o ponto de partida e o destino de todos os esforços eclesiásticos. A partir do culto bíblico e de sua centralidade é demonstrado duas ameaças: as invenções humanas e as sugestões de Satanás, que constantemente tencionam quebrá-los. Por fim são demonstrados três benefícios em resistir e manter a centralidade e, o próprio, culto bíblico.

Podemos leer fielmente la historia bíblica como la historia del reino de Dios. La narración de la creación en Génesis 1 comienza con el establecimiento del glorioso reino de Dios, un reino que se extiende sobre todas las cosas en los cielos y la tierra, incluyendo la totalidad de la vida humana.

La institución de este reino implica una dimensión política, la formación de sociedades humanas, organizadas para servir al Señor conforme a la vocación dada por Él a cada individuo. Este aspecto del reino de Dios tiene su desenlace final en la inauguración de la ciudad santa, la nueva Jerusalén, donde Dios mismo habitará entre los hombres como su Soberano.

El propósito de este breve ensayo es explorar un enfoque bíblico de la política como un elemento constitutivo del reino de Dios. En la primera parte abordaremos la institución del reino de Dios y el lugar de la sociedad humana en este reino. En la segunda parte vamos a explorar los efectos de la caída en el pecado sobre el desarrollo de la vida política. En la tercera parte, consideraremos las implicaciones de la redención en Jesucristo, la venida del reino de Dios, para la tarea política del cristiano y la iglesia de hoy. Finalmente, daremos algunas conclusiones de la exposición desarrollada en este breve escrito.