Missional Pneumatology: The Samaritans and the Spirit
The Samaritans and the Spirit In Acts 8, the Samaritans believe the gospel that Philip preaches, and then they are baptized. However, they do not receive the Holy Spirit until […]
Missional Pneumatology: Pentecost
Pentecost Is a Prophecy-Fufilling Event The experience of the Spirit on Pentecost is a fulfillment of the prophecy of John the Baptist concerning the one—Jesus—who would baptize in the Holy […]
Missional Pneumatology: Salvation History in Acts
The Holy Spirit Introduces Himself Acts records an exciting period in the life of the church. It is obvious that Luke saw the Spirit as living and active, as the […]
Missional Pneumatology: Redemption Applied
Who the Holy Spirit Is Who is the Holy Spirit and what does he do? Answering these questions requires discussing “pneumatology”—or the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit […]
Calvin on Faith: Assurance and Knowledge
Faith Rests on Knowledge According to Calvin, in conversion the mind is renewed to appreciate the message of the Incarnation and to apprehend the gratuitous promise by Spirit-given faith, and […]
Calvin on Faith: Grace and Repentance
Legal vs. Evangelical Repentance Immediately after developing his robust definition of faith in InstitutesIII.2.ii, Calvin discusses repentance and grace in III.2.iii. He makes a distinction between “legal repentance” and “evangelical […]
Calvin on Faith: Illumination by the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit’s Work Calvin’s defines faith not in terms of a book accredited by the Spirit; rather, faith has Christ as its object and is enabled by the Spirit’s […]
Calvin on Faith: The Gratuitous Promise
Christ as the Object of Faith According to Calvin, the content of the knowledge of faith is very narrow and specific, not broad and vague: “For the apprehension of faith […]
Calvin on Faith: Christ and His Gospel
Christian Faith: Not What You Thought It Was What does “faith” mean? For centuries it was associated with specific knowledge or a set of beliefs, but recently the understanding of […]
Offended By Jesus
I was offended by grace last night. My wife was reading the story of Jesus interacting with Zacchaeus from the Jesus Storybook Bible to our 6 month-old daughter. Usually, children’s bibles are filled with simple moralistic truisms, […]