Contrary to what many philosophers believe, Calvinism neither makes the problem of evil worse nor is it obviously refuted by the presence of evil and suffering in our world. Or so most of the authors in this book claim. While Calvinism has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years amongst theologians and laypersons, many philosophers have yet to follow suit. The reason seems fairly clear: Calvinism, many think, cannot handle the problem of evil with the same kind of plausibility as other more popular views of the nature of God and the nature of God’s relationship with His creation. This book seeks to challenge that untested assumption. With clarity and rigor, this collection of essays seeks to fill a significant hole in the literature on the problem of evil.
A small book helping people to identify and commit to a biblically-functioning local church. It has often been said that there is no perfect church. But there is also no perfect church member. As the old joke goes, if you find a perfect church you shouldn’t join it, because if you do it won’t be perfect anymore. Whenever sinners work together in close quarters, whether in churches or in families, conflict and disappointment will arise. Regardless of flaws, however, God designed us to need one another, and for the church to need us. But how do you find a good church? What are the qualities to look for? This mini-book gives sound wisdom that will guide you through this important decision.
Read the Old Testament from a biblical-theological perspective.
Featuring contributions from thirteen respected evangelical scholars, this gospel-centered introduction to the Old Testament will help anyone who teaches or studies Scripture to better see the initial outworking of God’s plan to redeem the world through Jesus Christ.
Read the New Testament from a biblical-theological perspective.
Featuring contributions from nine respected evangelical scholars, this volume introduces each New Testament book in the context of the whole canon of Scripture, helping anyone who teaches or studies the Bible to apply it to the church today.
When Christians reflect on the gospel, their attention is rightly drawn to the cross and empty tomb. But is this it? Or is there much more to the story? In a ground-breaking work, J.V.Fesko reminds us that the great news of this gospel message is rooted in eternity, whereby a covenant was made between the persons of the Trinity in order to redeem sinners like you and me. J. V. Fesko, in the first of a three part series on covenant theology featuring Redemption, Grace and Works, aims to retrieve and recover classic Reformed covenant theology for the church.
Recent decades have witnessed much scholarly reassessment of late-sixteenth through eighteenth-century Reformed theology. It was common to view the theology of this period-typically labelled ‘orthodoxy’-as sterile, speculative, and rationalistic, and to represent it as significantly discontinuous with the more humanistic, practical, and biblical thought of the early reformers. Recent scholars have taken a more balanced approach, examining orthodoxy on its own terms and subsequently highlighting points of continuity between orthodoxy and both Reformation and pre-Reformation theologies, in terms of form as well as content.
Until now Scottish theology and theologians have figured relatively minimally in works reassessing orthodoxy, and thus many of the older stereotypes concerning post-Reformation Reformed theology in a Scottish context persist. This collection of essays aims to redress that failure by purposely examining post-Reformation Scottish theology/theologians through a lens provided by the gains made in recent scholarly evaluations of Reformed orthodoxy, and by highlighting, in that process, the significant contribution which Scottish divines of the orthodox era made to Reformed theology as an international intellectual phenomenon.
Nearly all Christians would affirm the centrality of prayer for a healthy Christian life. And yet, for many, prayer is often a challenge, requiring intense personal commitment and self-discipline. However, as Megan Hill points out in Praying Together, our normal approach to prayer leaves out a crucial component: other people. While personal prayer is important, God designed the church to be a community of believers who regularly pray together. Exploring the Bible’s rich teaching on what it means to gather at God’s throne with one voice, Hill lays a theological foundation for corporate prayer and offers practical guidance for making it a reality―in our families, churches, and communities.
Can we trust the Bible completely? Is it sufficient for our complicated lives? Can we really know what it teaches?
With his characteristic wit and clarity, award-winning author Kevin DeYoung has written an accessible introduction to the Bible that answers important questions raised by both Christians and non-Christians. This book will help you understand what the Bible says about itself and encourage you to read and believe what it says―confident that it truly is God’s Word.
This one-volume introduction to systematic theology draws deeply on the catholic and Reformed heritage to present the major doctrines of the Christian faith, displaying the power of theological retrieval for the church’s renewal. Leading Reformed theologians, such as Kevin Vanhoozer, John Webster, Michael Horton, and Oliver Crisp, offer the “state of the question” on standard theological topics and engage in both exegetical and historical retrieval for the sake of theological analysis. The book represents the exciting new theological trajectory of Reformed catholicity.
A history of the EPC, celebrating 35 years of ministry: 1981-2016.
Purchase at epcresources.org.
Many people think eschatology refers to events occurring at the end of history. In this book, two scholars with expertise in biblical eschatology argue that God’s kingdom breaking into this world through Jesus Christ has inaugurated a new creation, a reality that should shape pastoral leadership and be reflected in the life and ministry of the church. Brief and accessibly written, this book articulates the practical implications of G. K. Beale’s New Testament Biblical Theology and features an introductory chapter by Beale. Each chapter concludes with practical suggestions and a list of books for further study.
The church is going through a time of severe fracture over the issue of homosexuality. This book addresses the arguments from the gay Christian movement and revisionist theologians and exegetes on a single point: Can they withstand the evidence of the primary sources?
In Unchanging Witness, Donald Fortson and Rollin Grams articulate the consistent orthodox view on homosexuality by presenting primary sources throughout Christian history and by interpreting the biblical texts in their cultural contexts. The first part of the book examines church history from the patristic period to the present day, and the second part engages biblical texts in light of Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, Greek, and Roman primary sources.
Throughout, the authors survey the conflicting and changing arguments of revisionist readings and contend that, in light of the overwhelming evidence of the relevant texts, the real issue is not one of interpretation but of biblical authority and Christian orthodoxy.
The greatest commandment in scripture comes from Deuteronomy, exhorting Christians to love God with their whole being – heart, soul, and strength. This commandment is sometimes called the Shema, coming from the first Hebrew word in verse 4, meaning “hear.” For the Christian, the implications of the Shema are comprehensive, affecting how we steward all that God gives us, beginning with our inner self and extending out to our external lives, including our wealth. Applying the Shema to our wealth challenges our perception of wealth today. Wealth can be a gift and sign of God’s blessing or also an idol that we worship in place of God. Dr. Scott Redd, president of Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, has written a compelling, illuminating exposition on the Shema that will reform your understanding of the Greatest Commandment and how you view your wealth.
Since the days of the early church, Christians have wrestled with the relationship between law and gospel. If, as the apostle Paul says, salvation is by grace and the law cannot save, what relevance does the law have for Christians today?
By revisiting the Marrow Controversy―a famous but largely forgotten eighteenth-century debate related to the proper relationship between God’s grace and our works―Sinclair B. Ferguson sheds light on this central issue and why it still matters today. In doing so, he explains how our understanding of the relationship between law and gospel determines our approach to evangelism, our pursuit of sanctification, and even our understanding of God himself.
Ferguson shows us that the antidote to the poison of legalism on the one hand and antinomianism on the other is one and the same: the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ, in whom we are simultaneously justified by faith, freed for good works, and assured of salvation.
The latest addition to the Welwyn Commentary series has leading Old Testament scholar and series editor John D Currid bring a fresh approach to a book that seems to draw a lot of comment of the the wrong kind. In his Introduction he says:
There is no book in the Old Testament that is as maligned and criticized as the book of Ecclesiastes. People point to the teachings of vanity, scepticism, and fatalism that they see so dominant in the writing. Why live, one asks, if the writer of Ecclesiastes is right that life is without meaning and purpose? . . . I would argue that the real reason that no book in the Old Testament is as disparaged as Ecclesiastes is simply because no book is so misunderstood. It is ironic, in my opinion, that no book in the Old Testament is, in reality, as joyful as Ecclesiastes. When the reader properly understands the argument in the book, he will be led to joy and he will be filled with adoration for God. Consequently, that which is criticized for having no joy is really the book that brings joy.