What is Covenant Theology? Here are Two New Resources You Don’t Want to Miss
Few would doubt that the last twenty years has seen a remarkable surge of interest in Reformed Theology. So much so, that many younger evangelicals, as opposed to prior generations, would now be comfortable identifying themselves as reformed (in some way).
Indeed, this has been wonderfully documented in Collin Hansen’s fascinating book, Young, Restless, Reformed (Crossway, 2008).
But, there is still the question about what it exactly means to be “reformed.” Does it just mean one embraces some form of Calvinism? Or it is bigger than that?
As you might imagine, here at Reformed Theological Seminary we get that question a lot. After all, “Reformed” is in our name!
While … Continue reading...
What is Covenant Theology? Here are Two New Resources You Don’t Want to Miss
Few would doubt that the last twenty years has seen a remarkable surge of interest in Reformed Theology. So much so, that many younger evangelicals, as opposed to prior generations, would now be comfortable identifying themselves as reformed (in some way).
Indeed, this has been wonderfully documented in Collin Hansen’s fascinating book, Young, Restless, Reformed (Crossway, 2008).
But, there is still the question about what it exactly means to be “reformed.” Does it just mean one embraces some form of Calvinism? Or it is bigger than that?
As you might imagine, here at Reformed Theological Seminary we get that question a lot. After all, “Reformed” is in our name!
While … Continue reading...
Here are Some Great Videos on the Five Solas from the Faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary
Last month RTS Charlotte and Christ Covenant Church came together to host a Reformation conference entitled, The Gospel of Grace and Glory: The Reformation at 500 and Counting.
The five plenary sessions of this conference were on the five solas of the Reformation: Kevin DeYoung (Sola Fide), James Anderson (Sola Gratia), Blair Smith (Solus Christus), Derek Thomas (Soli Deo Gloria), and myself (Sola Scriptura).
I might add that all these speakers (except myself!) are Systematic Theology profs at Reformed Theological Seminary.
And Keith and Kristyn Getty capped off the weekend with a concert that Sunday night.
Over the years … Continue reading...
Are Protestants Closer to Catholics than Martin Luther? A Response to the Recent Pew Study (Part 2)
Last week, I posted the first of a two-part response to a recent Pew study which claimed that modern Protestants sound more like Catholics when it comes to issues like sola scriptura and sola fide.
While modern Protestants certainly have some significant theological weak spots, I pushed back against the results of this study on the grounds that the questions being asked were fundamentally misleading. Indeed, the theological descriptions of the Protestant (and Catholic!) positions were flat out wrong.
Having already dealt with the sola scriptura issue in the prior post, we now turn to the issue of sola fide. Here is the summary of the Pew survey … Continue reading...
One of the Best (and Most Overlooked) Explanations of the Plan of Salvation
The critical question that every Christian must be able to answer is “How are people saved?” In the seminary context, the doctrine of salvation (soteriology) is a central feature in the curriculum. Preachers can’t preach a message of salvation if they don’t understand it themselves.
Of course, as an institution that bases its theology on the Reformation (the term “Reformed” is in our name!), Reformed Theological Seminary is committed to the doctrines of grace–the idea that people are sinners who cannot save themselves but desperately need God to save them. On a popular level, this is simply known as Calvinism.
But, of course, not all Christians agree with this Reformed … Continue reading...