Our brothers at Vintage 73 have done a great service by getting the story behind the story on TE Sam Wheatley who was in the spotlight last week because of his announcement that he was determined to get the PCA to allow the ordination of women as deacons. TE Sam DeSocio interviewed Wheatley about this [...]
Archive for February 2012
Interview with Sam Wheatley on His Advocacy of Women Deacons
Wednesday, February 29, 2012Belcher Responds to Collins
Wednesday, February 29, 2012As noted yesterday, Dr. John Collins responded to Dr. Richard Belcher who had critiqued Collins’ book on Adam. Dr. Belcher has just published a reply to Dr. Collins on this important issue: I thank Dr. Collins for his response to my “review” of his book. My response will be limited to what I see as [...]
Collins & Belcher on Genesis 2:7
Tuesday, February 28, 2012Last week, Reformation 21 posted a review (read it here) of Dr. C. John Collins’ book Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? by Dr. Richard Belcher, professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. The substance of Dr. Belcher’s critique is as follows: The implications for allowing other views of Genesis 2:7 [...]
PCA Savannah River Presbytery overtures GA to reject evolutionary views of Adam
Tuesday, February 28, 2012The PCA Savannah River has approved substantially the same overture that Rocky Mountain Presbytery approved rejecting all evolutionary views of Adam’s origin. One addition is adding a rationale from the General Assembly’s 2000 Creation Study Committee Report: We affirm that Genesis 1-3 is a coherent account from the hand of Moses. We believe that history, [...]
Francis A. Schaeffer on the Historicity of the Details of Genesis 1–2
Monday, February 27, 2012Jesus’ treatment of Genesis 1 and 2 also brings to the fore the issue of the historicity of Adam and Eve. It is difficult to get away from the fact that Jesus was treating Adam and Eve as truly the first human pair in space and time. If we have any questions concerning this, surely [...]
TE Lane Keister Responds to TE Sam Wheatley’s Exegetical Arguments for Women Deacons
Saturday, February 25, 2012Yesterday, I posted a portion of TE Sam Wheatley’s paper promoting women deacons in the PCA. You can read his whole paper here. TE Lane Keister has responded to the exegetical arguments that TE Wheatley makes in favor of women deacons. He writes: Miscellaneous Passages: Tabitha, Mary, Lydia (this is an especially silly example, since [...]
New Song Presbyterian’s Diaconal Ambition
Friday, February 24, 2012As The Aquila Report notes today, TE Sam Wheatley, Pastor of New Song Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, presented a paper to the Presbytery of Northern California arguing for women deacons. In that paper, he explains New Song Presbyterian Church’s “diaconal ambition.” it looks like General Assembly will be dealing with the issue [...]
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP) “Overture” on the Historical Adam
Thursday, February 23, 2012The PCA isn’t the only church that will be discussing the issue of the historicity and supposed evolutionary development of Adam. The Aquila Report reports the following: The past Monday (February 18) the Session of Midlane Park Presbyterian (ARP) in Louisville, Kentucky adopted a memorial (the ARP title for what is elsewhere known as an [...]
A Full Answer to the Law’s High Demands
Wednesday, February 22, 2012“There is no possible way in which a sinner can be freed from the perpetual obligation of the law as a covenant but by presenting in the hand of faith to it, the infinitely perfect and meritorious righteousness of the second Adam as a full answer to all its high demands. When this glorious righteousness [...]
An Ashless Ash Wednesday for Anglicans
Wednesday, February 22, 2012Editor’s note: This is a re-post from last year. The Heritage Anglican Network has provided us with an article rightly denouncing the superstitious rites of Ash Wednesday. One of the reasons for the writing of the Westminster Confession and the formation of the Presbyterian Church was the rejection of all such superstitious rites as unbiblical. [...]
On a Conditional Promise of Perseverance
Tuesday, February 21, 2012Some argue that the precious promises to preserve all those who are saved in a state of salvation are conditioned upon our own perseverance. In other words, no one will snatch you out of Christ’s hand, but you may reject Christ and walk away. The problem is that a security from all that would destroy [...]
Implications of the Water Covering the Mountains
Saturday, February 18, 2012To what degree they increased: they rose so high that not only the low flat countries were deluged, but to make sure work, and that none might escape, the tops of the highest mountains were overflowed—“fifteen cubits,” that is, seven yards and a half; so that “in vain was salvation hoped for from hills or [...]
The Word Works Faith; Sacraments Increase It
Thursday, February 16, 2012If we could understand that basic point, we would understand the Reformed view of the sacraments much better. Here is how one theologian expressed this crucial distinction: The sacraments have no power to give or confer grace to the receiver, neither are they immediate instruments of our justification; instrumental means they are to increase and [...]
Minority Report on Intinction
Wednesday, February 15, 2012Rae Whitlock was on Ohio Presbytery’s intinction study committee. You can read the committee’s report here. Whitlock concludes this way: It is not the minority’s goal to preserve the practice of intinction in the Ohio Presbytery and in the PCA as an end unto itself, nor does the minority even find it to necessarily be [...]
How Do Believers Enjoy Heaven on Earth?
Tuesday, February 14, 2012The members of the invisible church have communicated to them in this life the firstfruits of glory with Christ, as they are members of him their head, and so in him are interested [i.e., have a portion] in that glory which he is fully possessed of; and, as an earnest thereof, enjoy the sense of [...]
A Summary of Peter Enns’ New Book on Adam
Monday, February 13, 2012Peter Enns has a new book explaining his views on Adam. You can order it here. In the meantime, Rachel Miller has written a summary of the book. You can read it here. Enns believes that Adam did not exist, even though he admits that Jesus and Paul did (they were wrong!), but he also [...]
How Do We Pursue Peace?
Sunday, February 12, 2012Peace should be a high priority for all believers. We should do all that we can to make sure that the church is a harmonious and pleasant place in which to worship. Each Christian should be peaceable. But what does it mean to be peaceable? Wilhelmus à Brakel in his Reformed classic The Christian’s Reasonable [...]
PCA Savannah River approves overture on intinction
Friday, February 10, 2012The PCA Savannah River Presbytery has approved an overture to the General Assembly that would amend Book of Church Order 58-5 to add the words: “Intinction, because it conflates Jesus’ two sacramental actions, is not an appropriate method for observing the Lord’s Supper.”
PCA leaders speak on grace and law in Atlanta
Thursday, February 9, 2012The Gospel Reformation Network met in Atlanta this week to address the issue of sanctification and the role of the law in the life of the Christian. You can listen to audio recordings of the talks at the meeting by Harry Reeder, Liam Goligher, and others here. The Aquila Report describes the meeting: The Gospel [...]