The Riddleblog

Musings (8-13-22)

Musings:

Richard Muller on Misrepresenting Aquinas with Prejudice
This guy was really swallowed by a whale and lived to tell about it! Swallowed by a Whale -- Jonah, Anyone?
Amazon . . . The Beast or the False Prophet???? If this thing scanned the back of my hand, I'd really be worried
Dr. Godfrey continues his lecture series, "Whats Going on Right Now?" (Lecture 15)
A Great Interview with Rosaria Butterfield on Human Sexuality (AG Radio)
Scott Clark on "Three Things Dispensational Apologists Should Stop Saying
The Vatican has big-time money woes. Too Big to Fail? The Vatican's Deficit Projections Gives Uncertain Outlook
To read the rest of my “Musings” follow the link below

An Exposition of Article Thirty-One of the Belgic Confession

It is the Apostle Paul who tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:12 that we are to “we ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you.” But this is certainly not how ministers are viewed in modern America. If you look at recent public opinion polls which ask people about what professions they regard the highest, ministers finish near the bottom, just above politicians and telemarketers and about on par with lawyers and car salesmen.

While this is a sad situation, there is a reason why people feel the way the do about the church and its leaders. Because American Christians often ignore what the Bible says about how the church should govern itself, the door is opened wide to all kinds of scandal and abuse, the very things which have brought the ministry into such disrepute.

In Article Thirty-One, The Belgic Confession deals with the three offices of Reformed/Presbyterian church government: ministers, elders, and deacons. In this article, the confession takes up the subject of how men are to be chosen for office and how they are to view each other and those they serve, as well as how they are to be viewed by members of the congregation. In this sense, Article Thirty-One continues the same line of thinking found in the prior article, which gives us a definition and defense of Reformed or Presbyterian church government such as that found in the New Testament, in which the church is to be governed by ministers and elders (a consistory) and served by deacons, who collectively administer the day to day business of the church.

The local church is the visible manifestation of Christ’s invisible body. Since the church is the body of Christ, God has given to the members of his church numerous spiritual gifts for the building up of the body for works of service and for the edification of its members. This is why all Christians are bound to join a congregation of like-minded believers. This helps to explain why we should not be content to be on our own (as our confession puts it), apart from the church.

To read the rest of this exposition, click here: Article Thirty One -- "Chosen By the Lord"

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerAugust 11, 2022Calling to Church OfficeComment

My Ligonier Essay, "What is Meditation?"

From my recent essay on Ligonier.org:

Christian forms of meditation are closely associated with prayer. Prayer is a conversation with another to whom we turn—someone outside ourselves. We pray to God the Father, through the mediation of Jesus Christ in His role as intercessor between God and His people (1 Tim. 2:5), in the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:12–17). There is no possibility of prayer if we turn within. Who will answer me? Am I praying to myself? What if I get an answer? That is a sign of much deeper trouble.
Simply turning within ourselves offers no enduring hope for the relief from those stresses, pains, and frustrations that decidedly Eastern-religion practitioners of meditation are seeking. We need a Savior greater than ourselves, who, crucified for our sins and raised from the dead, has ascended to the Father’s right hand where He lives to make intercession for His people (Heb. 7:25). Such a Savior can and does hear our pleas, and He answers when we cry out to Him.

To read the rest, "What is Meditation"

Reformed ResourcesKim RiddlebargerAugust 9, 2022meditationComment

B. B. Warfield -- "The Christ That Paul Preached"

B. B. Warfield is always worth reading. This essay, published in The Expositor in 1918, is a great example of Warfield’s erudition and his passion for the gospel.

Warfield writes,

Paul is writing the Address of his Epistle to the Romans, then, with his mind fixed on the divine dignity of Christ. It is this divine Christ who, he must be understood to be telling his readers, constitutes the substance of his Gospel-proclamation. He does not leave us, however, merely to infer this. He openly declares it. The Gospel he preaches, he says, concerns precisely “the Son of God . . . Jesus Christ our Lord.” He expressly says, then, that he presents Christ in his preaching as “our Lord.” It was the divine Christ that he preached, the Christ that the eye of faith could not distinguish from God, who was addressed in common with God in prayer, and was looked to in common with God as the source of all spiritual blessings. Paul does not speak of Christ here, however, merely as “our Lord.” He gives Him the two designations: “the Son of God . . . Jesus Christ our Lord.” The second designation obviously is explanatory of the first. Not as if it were the more current or the more intelligible designation. It may, or it may not, have been both the one and the other; but that is not the point here. The point here is that it is the more intimate, the more appealing designation. It is the designation which tells what Christ is to us. He is our Lord, He to whom we go in prayer, He to whom we look for blessings, He to whom all our religious emotions turn, on whom all our hopes are set—for this life and for that to come. Paul tells the Romans that this is the Christ that he preaches, their and his Lord whom both they and he reverence and worship and love and trust in. This is, of course, what he mainly wishes to say to them; and it is up to this that all else that he says of the Christ that he preaches leads.
The other designation— “the Son of God” —which Paul prefixes to this in his fundamental declaration concerning the Christ that he preached, supplies the basis for this. It does not tell us what Christ is to us, but what Christ is in Himself. In Himself He is the Son of God; and it is only because He is the Son of God in Himself, that He can be and is our Lord. The Lordship of Christ is rooted by Paul, in other words, not in any adventitious circumstances connected with His historical manifestation; not in any powers or dignities conferred on Him or acquired by Him; but fundamentally in His metaphysical nature. The designation “Son of God” is a metaphysical designation and tells us what He is in His being of being. And what it tells us that Christ is in His being of being is that He is just what God is.

To read additional excerpts from this essay, follow the link below

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerAugust 6, 2022The Christ that Paul PreachedComment

“To the Church in Ephesus” Letters to the Seven Churches (2) – (Revelation 2:1-7)

The Lord of His Churches Addresses the Ephesians

Jesus Christ is the Lord of his church. He walks among the seven lampstands and holds the seven stars in his hand. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is alive forevermore and holds in his hands the keys of death and Hades. Jesus Christ is our great high priest who has freed us from our sins through the shedding of his own blood. He has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve his God and father. That same Jesus now comes to us with words of exhortation and rebuke found in the seven letters addressed to the churches of Asia Minor.

In the opening section of the Book of Revelation (chapters 2-3) we find seven letters which were originally addressed to the seven churches scattered throughout Asia Minor (Turkey) and to whom John is sending this circular letter we now know as the Book of Revelation. The letters to the seven churches are part of a larger vision which begins in Revelation 1:12 and which continues on to the end of chapter 3. But before we go any farther, it is important to put these letters in their proper context in order to interpret them correctly.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Seven ChurchesKim RiddlebargerAugust 1, 2022the Church in EphesusComment

“The Alpha and the Omega” — The Lord of the Seven Churches (1) -- (Revelation 1:4-20)

No Longer a Carpenter’s Son

Throughout his messianic ministry we see Jesus in his state of humiliation. In the four gospels Jesus is revealed as the Son of God whose true and eternal glory is hidden by a veil of human flesh. In the gospels Jesus hungers. He thirsts. Jesus suffers. And he bleeds. When our Lord died upon the cross, we see him in his most humble estate, torn and bloody, bearing the wrath of God toward our sins in his own flesh. But the gospels do not end with the cross and Jesus’ humiliation. The gospels end with the account of our Lord’s bodily resurrection, the empty tomb and Christ’s glorious exaltation. The Christ we meet in the opening chapter of the Book of Revelation is not the carpenter’s son. Nor is he the humble and suffering Christ. The Christ we meet in the Book of Revelation is the Exalted Christ, the Risen One who is Lord of his church. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

It is sad that so many Christians avoid the Book of Revelation because of its difficult and mysterious nature. It is even sadder, perhaps, that so many use this book as a springboard for speculation about the Bible’s relationship to current events. Revelation is not a guide for interpreting breaking news. Instead, Revelation depicts Jesus Christ’s victory over all his enemies as the final chapters of redemptive history draw to a close. Therefore, we should not be afraid to read and study this book. Nor should we handle it irresponsibly by attempting to connect it to recent headlines as though John predicted every war, earthquake, and global crisis which could possibly befall the human race. John does not do this.

What John does do is describe the on-going struggle between Christ and Satan until our Lord returns to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new. While John may not predict specific future events in exacting detail, he does provide us with a theological explanation of all the wars and rumors of wars, the earthquakes and famines, and those signs of his coming which Jesus called the birth pains of the end (Cf. Matthew 24:8).

To read the rest follow the link below

An Exposition of Article Thirty of the Belgic Confession

If there is one single Bible verse which characterizes the Reformed understanding of the church and the way it should be governed, it is 1 Corinthians 14:40–“But all things should be done decently and in order.”

We are in that section of our confession (Articles Twenty-Seven through Thirty-Two) which deals with the doctrine of the church. When working our way through previous articles from this section, we have seen that the church is the visible assembly of the mystical (invisible) body of Jesus Christ. This is why all believers are bound to join a local congregation of like-minded believers. In fact, the New Testament has no category for a professing Christian who is not also a member of a local church.

The reason church membership is so important and why our fathers in the faith (such as Calvin and De Bres) argued that apart from the church there is no salvation, is not because the church dispenses grace as the Roman church argues, but because the local church is that place where the gospel is to be preached, the sacraments are to be administered, and where church discipline is exercised over erring members. It is the presence of these so-called marks of a church which tell us whether or not a denomination or a particular congregation is a true church. The false church, on the other hand, assigns more authority to church tradition or extra-biblical sources than to Holy Scripture and the false church frequently persecutes the true church and its members.

To read the rest: An Exposition of Article Thirty -- Good Order in the Church

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerJuly 23, 2022Good order in the churches, Decently and in good orderComment

Jonah — Preacher of Repentance (8) — Jonah and Nineveh Spared

Jonah Leaves Nineveh in a Snit

In verse 5, we learn that “Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.” We do not know how long an interval between the time he finished preaching and the interchange between Jonah and YHWH in verses 1-4 of this chapter. It appears as though Jonah still has not sufficiently wrestled with YHWH’s question. Jonah remains stubborn and camps outside the city to the east to sit and wait to see if YHWH relents yet again and actually does bring judgment down upon the city. Jonah has completely missed the point. YHWH’s question was designed to change Jonah’s attitude. Instead of learning the lesson YHWH intended, Jonah builds a shelter, and waits in the hope that YHWH will eventually see things Jonah’s way and bring down his judgment upon the city. Talk about stubborn!

One of the theological foundations we discover throughout the Minor Prophets is YHWH’s sovereignty over the doings of people and nations. In the Jonah Story God’s sovereignty is revealed in very specific ways. Jonah fled, but YHWH sent the storm (literally he “threw” the storm). Jonah was thrown overboard, but YHWH sent the fish who swallowed Jonah. Now, as Jonah bakes in the heat of Syrian desert in his little hut to the east of the city, waiting for YHWH to destroy the place, we are told in verse 6, that “now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.” The Hebrew for plant is “vine,” so this was some sort of a leafy plant (ivy? gourd?) which YHWH caused to grow rapidly and shelter his pouting prophet from the scorching heat of the desert sun.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Musings and Riddleblog Updates (7/16/2022)

Riddleblog Updates:

The mountains are calling — the annual Summer slowdown here at the Riddleblog is at hand. Our regular programming will resume in August. But there will be a few signs of life in the meantime
The second season of the Blessed Hope Podcast is in the works—a deep dive into the Thessalonian letters. Also, I’ll have a big announcement for those of you who make it through the first season of the Blessed Hope Podcast (the fourteen episodes on Galatians)
New Warfield and Biblical Studies Tabs have been added to the Riddleblog header
My lectures on “Apologetics in a Post-Christian Age” from the C-Ref Wednesday night Bible studies are now posted under sermons and lectures (Apologetic in a Post-Christian Age (scroll down)

To read the Musings, follow the link below

MusingsKim RiddlebargerJuly 16, 2022Riddleblog updates Comment

"Faith Apart from Works Is Dead" -- James 2:14-26 (Part Two)

“Faith Apart from Works Is Dead” — James 2:14-26 (Part Two)

From a sermon series on the Book of James, preached at Christ Reformed Church in 2007 and edited for the Riddleblog

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Part Two

With this important background in mind, we turn to specifics of the text, James 2:14-26.

In this section of chapter 2, James makes a general appeal to his readers that when someone claims to have faith, and there are no accompanying good works, their so-called “faith” can be called into question. James moves on to give an illustration in verses 15-16 drawn from the earlier discussion in chapter 2 about discriminating against the poor and favoring the rich. In verse 17 he offers up the conclusion that faith without works is dead. Then, in verses 18-19 James connects faith and works, as cause and effect–faith produces works. James then appeals to the examples of Abraham and Rahab, sandwiched around his main premise in verse 24–“You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” In this section, James makes his main point three different ways. Faith, if not accompanied by works is dead (v. 17). Faith without works is useless (v. 20). Faith without works is not a living (or justifying) faith (v. 26).[1] James’ primary point is simply this–genuine faith leads to the performance of good works. To put it another way, a person who claims to be a Christian (and professes faith in the Lord of glory) will demonstrate that faith to be genuine through the performance of good works.

To read the rest, follow the link below

“Faith Apart from Works Is Dead” -- James 2:14-26 (Part One)

“Faith Apart from Works Is Dead” — James 2:14-26 (Part One)

From a sermon series on the Book of James, preached at Christ Reformed Church in 2007 and edited for the Riddleblog

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It would be hard to find a passage of Scripture which is more controversial than James 2:14-26.

The reason for the controversy is James’ assertion in verse 24 of chapter two of his epistle that “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” On its face, this seems to fly in the face of a number of passages in Paul’s letters where Paul appears to be saying the exact opposite thing. Take, for example, Galatians 2:16. “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Are James and Paul on the same page? Yes, they are as I intend to demonstrate.

Those who believe that the justification of sinners is a process which is not complete until death (Rome), view James’ assertion here as a classic proof-text which supports this view. But those who see justification as an instantaneous declaration made about the sinner because the merits of Christ are imputed to them through the means of faith, seem to stumble all over James’ declaration that works are somehow tied to justification, and that we are not justified by faith alone. But as we will see, James and Paul do not contradict each other. In fact, when James’ assertion is put in its proper context, there is nothing whatsoever in James 2 which conflicts with the doctrine of justification sola fide.

To read the rest, follow the link below

In Galatians 2:11-14, Paul Confronts Peter in Antioch--Why It Matters to Us

From the Blessed Hope Podcast (Episode Four, Galatians 2:11-21)

The Success of the Gentile Mission Raised Questions

As new churches were established in Gentile areas north of Palestine, one pressing question needed to be addressed. How were Jews and Gentiles to get along with one another in these new churches? This was especially the case in Asia Minor where Jews lived in many cities among large Gentile populations. Jewish Christians remained steeped in Jewish life and culture. No doubt, they struggled with the fact that recent Gentile converts had different sexual mores, ate things Jews did not, and who, when pressed about matters of the law may have asked, “who is this Moses fellow you keep talking about?” How would close fellowship between Jewish believers and “unclean” Gentiles in Galatia and Antioch be seen back in Jerusalem? The dicey relationship between Jew and Gentile meant that a collision between the weak-willed Peter and the iron-willed Paul was at some point inevitable. In verses 11-14, Paul demonstrates that even apostles must have their doctrine and conduct checked in the light of Scripture, specifically the revelation of Jesus about the gospel.

Moving on from recounting his second post-conversion visit to Jerusalem, Paul tells the Galatians how he was forced to confront Peter to his face when the latter had caved in to pressure from messengers from James possibly claiming they were sent by the Jerusalem church. This confrontation likely occurred not long after Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch after their prior visit to Jerusalem. As N. T. Wright points out, it is easy to overlook the fact that the reason why this seems so vivid in Paul’s account is because these events had taken place quite recently [1].

There is a noticeable progression in Paul’s recounting of his relationship with Peter, especially in light of the burgeoning Gentile mission undertaken by Paul, Barnabas, and others. Paul describes being Peter’s guest for fifteen days during his first trip to Jerusalem post-conversion (Galatians 1:18-20). Then, he speaks of Peter as a fellow apostle when recounting his second trip to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1-10), before, finally, describing a confrontation with Peter when the latter falls into serious doctrinal error (Galatians 2:11-14).[2] While it is difficult to know how much of this is a word for word account of what Paul said to Peter and how much is a summation, what follows amounts to a major confrontation between the two men over the ground and meaning of the doctrine of justification.

To read the rest, follow the Link Below

An Exposition of Article Twenty-Nine of the Belgic Confession

Whenever we talk about the marks of a true church, we immediately enter a minefield of controversy. To say that one church is a true church is to say that another church is a false church, even when that church may be filled with sincere people who love Jesus. To speak of true and false churches is to pick a fight which the vast majority of modern Americans find completely offensive. But the fact of the matter is the Bible teaches us that there are churches which are faithful to God’s word and there are churches which are not. To complicate things even more, most American churches fall along a continuum somewhere between a true and a false church. As Reformed Christians who stress the necessity of believing certain things and then confessing these same doctrines before the unbelieving world, the discussion of what constitutes a true church and what makes a church a false church is not a discussion from which we can we walk away, no matter how distasteful our contemporaries find the subject. That being said, this is a subject which we must discuss with great care and certainly with a great deal of charity.

Our confession has previously defined the church as a holy congregation of all those who profess a common faith in Jesus Christ and who assemble each Lord’s day to hear God’s word, receive his sacraments, submit to Christ’s yoke, worship according to pattern we find in God’s word, pray together as God’s people, and give thanks through prayer, praise, and our offerings. Such a church is not limited to one congregation, one denomination, or one country, but it can be found throughout the world and across the ages. As Reformed Christians we are also “catholic” Christians.

To read the rest: Article Twenty-Nine of the Belgic Confession -- "Easy to Recognize"

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerJuly 7, 2022Marks of a true church, Marks of a false churchComment

Jonah -- Preacher of Repentance (7) -- Angry With God, Again . . .

Jonah Is Angry With God, Again . . .

What pleased God (the repentance of Nineveh), only made Jonah mad[1] – a rather ironic sentiment from someone called to be YHWH’s prophet. Why was Jonah so upset that YHWH brought salvation to pagan Ninevites? Jonah, you’ll recall sought to flee YHWH’s call to preach in Nineveh, but YHWH took him on an unexpected detour–a great storm arises, Jonah is thrown overboard and then spends three days and nights in the belly of a great fish. But Jonah eventually fulfilled his prophetic calling, and preached repentance to the Ninevites. The result of his preaching? Many Ninevites believed Jonah’s message. Even their king believed Jonah’s warning. He ordered a time of mourning and fasting, even exhorting his people to call upon God and cease their violent behavior.

As we learn in chapter 4 of his prophecy, Jonah is angry with God. The prophet is perplexed by the fact that the Ninevites were spared from YHWH’s judgment even as his own beloved people, Israel, are about to come under God’s covenant curse. In the closing chapter of Jonah, we find the prophet right back where he was when first called to preach. His disdain for the Ninevites surfaces again. “Why was Nineveh spared when Israel will not be?” As his prophecy concludes, Jonah is given yet another lesson in God’s mercy.

As we consider the final chapter, once again we discover that in the Book of Jonah, irony seems to jump off every page. You would think that YHWH’s chosen prophet would be thrilled to witness huge numbers of people believe in YHWH and spared from judgment through his own preaching. Yes, pride is a sin, but there is a certain allowable sense of satisfaction about witnessing people come to faith, repent of their sin, and then amend their ways. Jonah should have been thrilled to witness what God has done in Nineveh–extend salvation to countless Gentiles beyond the confines of his covenant with Israel. But as we have come to expect in the Book of Jonah, the ironic becomes the norm.

To read the rest of this exposition follow the link below

Reflections on JonahKim RiddlebargerJuly 6, 2022Jonah's anger toward GodComment

"Straight from the Laboratory of John Wesley" -- B. B. Warfield Reviews Lewis Sperry Chafer's "He That Is Spiritual" (Part Three)

Part Three

Part One of Three

Part Two of Three

Warfield takes Chafer to task for mishandling the biblical text both in translation and in the original language. If you’ve read any of the Warfield essays, you know that Warfield was a master lexicographer. His patience with Chafer is obviously running thin at this point in his review.

It is a temptation to a virtuoso in the interpretation of Scripture to show his mettle on hard places and in startling results. Mr. Chafer has not been superior to this temptation. Take but one example. “All Christian love,” he tells us (p. 40) “according to the Scriptures, is distinctly a manifestation of divine love through the human heart”—a quite unjustified assertion. But Mr. Chafer is ready with an illustration. “A statement of this is found,” he declares, “at Rom. 5:5, ‘because the love of God is shed abroad (lit., gushes forth) in our hearts by (produced, or caused by) the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us.’” Then he comments as follows: “This is not the working of the human affection; it is rather the direct manifestation of the ‘love of God’ passing through the heart of the believer out from the indwelling Spirit. It is the realization of the last petition of the High Priestly prayer of our Lord: ‘That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them’ (John 17:26). It is simply God’s love working in and through the believer. It could not be humanly produced, or even imitated, and it of necessity goes out to the objects of divine affection and grace, rather than to the objects of human desire. A human heart cannot produce divine love, but it can experience it. To have a heart that feels the compassion of God is to drink of the wine of heaven.”

To read the rest of this “review” follow the link below

B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerJuly 5, 2022Chafer on sanctificationComment

"Straight from the Laboratory of John Wesley" -- B. B. Warfield Reviews Lewis Sperry Chafer's "He That Is Spiritual" (Part Two)

Part Two of Three

Having introduced Chafer’s book, He That Is Spiritual, and exposed the glaring theological contradiction championed by its author, Warfield turns his attention to Chafer’s use of several biblical passages marshaled in support of his notion of a bifurcated Christian life—a lower or “carnal” level and a higher or “spiritual” level of Christian experience.

Mr. Chafer opens his book with an exposition of the closing verses of the second and the opening verses of the third chapters of 1 Corinthians. Here he finds three classes of men contrasted, the “natural” or unregenerated man, and the “carnal” and “spiritual” men, both of whom are regenerated, but the latter of whom lives on a higher plane. “There are two great spiritual changes which are possible to human experience,” he writes (p. 8),—“the change from the ‘natural’ man to the saved man and the change from the ‘carnal’ man to the ‘spiritual’ man. The former is divinely accomplished when there is a real faith in Christ; the latter is accomplished when there is a real adjustment to the Spirit. The ‘spiritual’ man is the divine ideal in life and ministry, in power with God and man, in unbroken fellowship and blessing.”

Upon close inspection, Warfield realizes that Chafer’s system includes three levels of human experience, not two. The biblical data, supposedly, reveals potential movement in several self-determined stages; first from an unregenerate state (the natural man), to a second entry-level rung on the Christian ladder. This is the so-called “carnal Christian” who, after becoming a Christian, remains content not to advance up the ladder and achieve victory over sin despite the availability of sufficient divine power to do so. Any Christian who truly desires to move up to the higher level of Christian experience can do so by making an “adjustment to the Spirit.” Upon reaching this higher level, the so-called “spiritual man,” can live in unbroken fellowship with God and blessing from others. Chafer identifies this as “the divine ideal (i.e., God’s will).

To read the rest, follow the link below

B. B. Warfield, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJune 30, 2022Chafer on the higher lifeComment

"Straight from the Laboratory of John Wesley" -- B. B. Warfield Reviews Lewis Sperry Chafer's "He That Is Spiritual" (Part One)

B. B. Warfield held the chair of Polemical and Didactic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary from the Fall of 1887 until his death in 1921. His job title sounds a bit stodgy perhaps, but there was nothing stodgy about Warfield or the duties associated with the prestigious chair which he held. Simply put, it was Warfield’s task to defend the Reformed and Presbyterian faith from any and all challenges. For most of his career, Warfield devoted his time and energy to combating the new German critical scholarship then making its way into the American theological bloodstream. The famous Briggs case comes to mind, along with the numerous essays reprinted in Inspiration and Authority (P & R), and Christology and Criticism and Studies in Theology (from the ten volume Oxford edition of his collected works). But German critical scholarship was not the only theological threat to catch Warfield’s attention.

Warfield spent the last few years of his life addressing the errors of one Charles Grandison Finney, along with critiquing various “Higher Life” movements as the volume of Warfield’s collected essays on these matters, “Studies in Perfectionism” (P & R) attests. Warfield also turned his critical gaze upon a number of evangelical luminaries including Andrew Murray and R. A. Torrey (the founder of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, now Biola University). But the man singled out for Warfield’s most biting critical review was Lewis Sperry Chafer.

To read the rest of this “Review” follow the link below.

Musings and Updates (6/22/2022)

A Few Updates

Thanks to all of you listening to the Blessed Hope Podcast. Season One (my niche exposition of Galatians) is doing much better than I anticipated. Thanks too to those of you who gave me five-star reviews and comments! Please keep `em coming! The more reviews the easier it is to find and subscribe to the podcast.
Lord willing, I’ll have a free gift for those of you who make it through all fourteen episodes of Season One. Details to come once the entire first season is posted on the various podcast feeds. If you can stand me for fourteen hours, you ought to get something for your efforts. Watch for updates.
Also, watch for updates on Season Two, which will be devoted to Paul’s Thessalonian Letters. Lots of Eschatology! Coming in the Fall, Lord Willing.
The annual summer slowdown at the Riddleblog is drawing near. I retired from Christ Reformed Church at the end of 2020, and then took up the role of visiting professor at Westminster Seminary California in February of 2021, teaching a class or two each semester since. With Covid disrupting travel, I and my missus have not had a break since I retired. So . . . a break is coming. The mountains are calling . . .
The move from the old Riddleblog to this new version is nearly complete. If you want any of the stuff posted on the old blog, get it now. Sermon texts on the old Riddleblog (in PDF) will eventually move to the Christ Reformed website archives (and perhaps here too).
I’m doing some editing and updates of the blog. A couple of new tabs are in the works to make finding things more accessible.

To See the “Musings,” follow the link below

An Exposition of Article Twenty-Eight of the Belgic Confession -- The Obligation of Church Members

Church membership is not an option for those who profess faith in Christ. Since the church is the mystical body of Jesus Christ, all those who profess faith in Jesus Christ are obligated to join a local congregation of like-minded believers. But membership in such a local congregation of like-minded believers entails a number of privileges and responsibilities. And these privileges and responsibilities are now set forth for us beginning in Article Twenty-Eight of the Belgic Confession.

We are in that section of our confession (Articles Twenty-Seven through Thirty-Two) dealing with the doctrine of the church. Article Twenty-Seven of our confession defines the church as “a holy congregation and gathering of true Christian believers, awaiting their entire salvation in Jesus Christ, being washed by his blood, and sanctified and sealed by the Holy Spirit.” This church has existed from the beginning of redemptive history, first in the form of the family, then throughout the patriarchal period through the extended family (clan) and, then, finally, the church was manifest in and through the nation of Israel. Just as there has always been one gospel and one covenant of grace, so too, there has always been one people of God manifest in different ways throughout the course of redemptive history–Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New.

That being said, there is a significant redemptive-historical shift during the New Testament era from what had been a narrow focus upon the Jews and national Israel in the Old Testament to a universalizing of the promise which now extends to the Gentiles nations throughout the earth. According to Paul, now that the fulness of time has come with the birth of Jesus (cf. Galatians 4:4-6), believing Gentiles are presently being grafted into the righteous root (who is Christ) from which national Israel has been removed until immediately before the end of the age (cf. Ephesians 2:11-22; Romans 11:17 ff). This explains why the writers of the New Testament often use messianic prophecy to prove to unbelieving Jews that Jesus Christ is the true Israel (the obedient son), and that his mystical body is also the true temple of the Lord, which is now indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

To read the rest: An Exposition of Article Twenty-Eight: The Yoke of Jesus Christ

Jonah -- Preacher of Repentance (6) -- The Sign of Jonah

You Can Run But You Can’t Hide – Jonah Re-Commissioned

Chapter 3 of Jonah’s prophecy opens with Jonah back on dry land in a virtual rewind of verses 1-2 of chapter 1. Jonah is to “arise,” “go” and “call out,” but with one major difference–this time Jonah does not attempt to flee.[1] “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, `Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord’” In light of all that has happened to Jonah, it is remarkable that he is neither rebuked, nor is he allowed to go on his way. The word of the Lord came to him a second time, which, in effect, indicated that YHWH re-commissions Jonah to go and preach to Nineveh to fulfill his original mission. Notice too that Jonah is given the message which he is to proclaim to the Ninevites–one of the distinguishing marks of YHWH’s prophets is that they speak his words, not their own.

Aside from the significance of YHWH ensuring that his greater purposes will be fulfilled when Jonah is re-commissioned–the gospel will go out to the ends of the earth, in this case to Nineveh–we also see in Jonah’s re-commissioning that God often gives us second chances to accomplish that of which we have already made a significant mess. Jonah is an example to us in that he is sustained in his time of trial by his knowledge of God’s word (specifically the Psalms), and he is also an encouragement to those of us who often take more than one time to do things the right way. YHWH commissions Jonah but does not abandon him when Jonah rejects YHWH’s call. YHWH loves his people enough to discipline them. And his purpose for Nineveh still stands.

To read the rest, follow the link below.

Reflections on JonahKim RiddlebargerJune 16, 2022The Sign of Jonah, Nineveh repentsComment