From his book, Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke with Fragments on the Prophecy of Isaias: “‘[H]eaven was opened, the Holy Spirit descended in bodily shape like a dove’ (Luke 3:21-22). Why like a dove? For the grace of the washing requires simplicity, so that we may be ‘innocent like doves’ (Matt. 10:16). The grace of the washing requires peace, as in an earlier image the dove brought to the ark that which alone was inviolable by the flood (Gen. 8:10-11)…In that branch, in that ark, was the image of peace and of the church. In the midst o...

This entry is part 4 of 14 in the series SDA Propaganda RefutedI was alerted about a new post that our SDA friend, Glenn, posted today. At first I was happy because it would give me another opportunity to show how ridiculous their beliefs are but then I was sad because it really highlights how blindly devoted this man is to his church’s teachings. Scholarship, logic, reason, and Scripture don’t matter. As long as the conclusion is what he agrees with, he’ll believe it. No matter how that conclusion was reached. As the title of this post makes clear, the verse in question is R...

This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series ExegesisAs Paul is approaching the end of his epistle he is aware that there is one important problem on which he has not yet touched, namely, that of the relation between the weak and the strong. The strong were those who were able to grasp the significance of Christ’s death for daily living (e.g., eating, drinking, etc.) the weak were not. Origin of the Problem God had laid down certain rules with respect to clean versus unclean animals. Only the clean were permitted to be used as food. (See Lev. 11:1-45; Deut. 14:3-21; cf. Dan. 1:8ff) In connect...

I’m not one to “reinvent the wheel” so when I find a well-written post (thanks to Choosing Hats) on the exact topic that I want to blog about I’m inclined to give props and direct people there. One such post was brought to my attention. Yesterday, Tim Rogers of SBC Today embarrassed himself, Mr. Ergun Caner, and the SBC by attacking Dr. James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries. It seems that Mr. Rogers didn’t like that Dr. White was pointing out that Mr. Caner claims to have debated many adherents from religions all over the world but is unable to give proof of...

In order to establish the doctrine of penal substitution we are not dependent on a few isolated proof-texts here and there in Scripture. The doctrine is woven indelibly into the very fabric of the account of the crucifixion, with numerous threads drawn from the Old Testament.  Rather than instinctively looking to the gospels to provide the facts about the crucifixion, and to the letters to supply the meaning of those facts, we must turn to the Old Testament as the vantage point from which we are to survey the cross.  Antecedent Scripture provides us with all the categories we need to underst...