Peer-Reviewed Articles and Chapters
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Peering Over the Fence: Presbyterian Reflections on Baptist Neighbors Doing Covenant Theology
The Southern Baptist Journal of Theological
My wife and I are in the process of looking to buy a house. Property, houses, and neighborhoods have, therefore, been much on my mind recently. In regard to developing theological currents, thinking about it like navigating life with interesting neighbors might have some value. Reformed theology has long lived on a street called “Covenant… -
Even When You Cannot See
Westminster Magazine
The tower of Babel looms as one of the darker moments in human history, casting a long shadow over the succeeding millennia. That event explains why to this day humanity is divided among linguistic lines and struggles to communicate effectively with one another. That problem found its origins as the people in the land of… -
Christ’s Resurrection and Covenantal Fulfillment
New Horizons
Without Christ’s resurrection, Christian hope disappears. Among many indispensable articles of our faith, Christ’s resurrection crowns the list. Part of the reason for its critical role is because we worship the risen Christ, who is God the Son in power with all authority in heaven and on earth (Rom. 1:4; Matt. 28:16–20). He is the… -
Trees and Rivers
Tabletalk
The notion of paradise conjures up beautiful imagery of a restful retreat. Maybe you think of a crystal-blue ocean lined with palm trees or a Hawaiian waterfall spilling into a lagoon surrounded by bursting colors of tropical flora. Few readers will likely envision a dry, empty desert as exemplifying paradise. Abundant water and pleasing plant… -
Matthew Poole: Exemplar of Traditional Exegesis
Ordained Servant
Modern evangelical sentiments often suggest a sharp division between biblical faithfulness and aligning ourselves with history. Outside the church, our culture sneers about being “on the right side of history,” suggesting that the things of the past ought to be left behind. Even in the church, the cherished doctrine of sola Scriptura has been abused… -
Problematic Portraits: … Debate Over Religious Images
Modern Reformation
The great Christian hope is that we will see God. Jesus assured us that “blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). In this age, “we walk by faith, not by sight,” suggesting that sight is the better experience (2 Cor. 5:7–8). Waiting on this side of Christ’s return, however,… -
Sacraments as Signs, Seals, and Means of Grace
Modern Reformation
God’s sheep are safest when living in clearly fenced enclosures. There, they learn where food is given to them and where their shepherd enters and exits. Good fences keep out predators, deter thieves, and prevent the sheep themselves from wandering away. Within the Christian tradition, the areas of consensus across the ages are our clear… -
What is Required to See God?
Credo Magazine
The great Christian hope is communion with God as we experience it in both this life and the next. As we traverse this pilgrim life, believers are often profoundly aware of the distance between us and God’s direct presence. In the words of Westminster Shorter Catechism 19, “All mankind by their fall lost communion with… -
Paul and the Septuagint Psalter
The Confessional Presbyterian
Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 5:18–19 that we be “filled with the Spirit by speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι, λαλοῦντες ἑαυτοῖς [ἐν] ψαλμοῖς καὶ ὕμνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς) has often fueled the Christian imagination concerning our sung praises in corporate worship. We have perhaps, at times, lost… -
James Ussher and Early Modern Anglicanism in Ireland
International Journal of Reformed Theology and Life
This essay argues that the Church of Ireland in the early modern period was a Reformed expression of Anglicanism by investigating a few events in the life and ministry of James Ussher, the Archbishop of Armagh. First, it looks at Ussher’s contributions to the Church of Ireland’s burgeoning Reformed identity by recounting his debate with… -
The Covenant of Grace and the Christian Life (Part 4)
Evangelical Presbyterian Magazine
This series has attempted to explain the Reformed doctrine of the covenant of grace by outlining the biblical teaching concerning God’s plan of salvation to rescue his people through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, and by indicating ways in which the covenant of grace forms the context of our life with God, namely as… -
Meritum ex pacto in the Reformed Tradition
Mid-America Journal of Theology
There’s a long history of debate in the Christian tradition about the notion of merit and its proper place amidst the various theological categories, but the difficulty with this category is that it regards the role of works in humanity’s relationship with God, which has been an issue of reoccurring dispute. Even in the early… -
James Ussher – His Life and Work
The Confessional Presbyterian
James Ussher, the seventeenth-century Archbishop of Armagh, is arguably the foremost voice for Reformed theology in the entire history of the church in Ireland, and one of the more significant figures for Reformed theology in England as well. Despite his theological prowess in the early-modern period, Ussher is now usually most associated with debates about… -
The Covenant of Grace and the Christian Life (Part 3)
Evangelical Presbyterian Magazine
This series is about what the covenant of grace is and how it affects our lives as Christians. Part one explained that the covenant of grace is God’s one plan of salvation to rescue all his elect by the work of Jesus Christ. We looked at how Romans 4 entails that if Paul used Abraham… -
Sanctification, Submission, and Scripture’s Authority
Modern Reformation
After declaring some hard teachings about God’s sovereignty in salvation, which provoked many of his followers to abandon him, Jesus in John 6 asked his closest disciples if they would also leave. Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to… -
The Covenant of Grace and the Christian Life (Part 2)
Evangelical Presbyterian Magazine
Part one of this series on the covenant of grace discussed how this thing called the covenant of grace is God’s one plan of salvation to save sinners by the work of Jesus Christ. We who are rebels before God all need someone to rescue us from the penalty of our sins if we are… -
Archbishop Ussher’s Reading List
The Confessional Presbyterian
Most historians and theologians recognize Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) as an obvious polymath. His learning spanned disciplines from textual criticism, patristic and medieval ecclesiastical developments, historical chronology-which was masterful regardless of what you think of his conclusions in tracing that back to the creation events-constructive theology itself, and of course preaching. The manuscript transcribed for… -
The Covenant of Grace and the Christian Life (Part 1)
Evangelical Presbyterian Magazine
Last year, I wrote a series of articles that explored why heavy doctrine matters for the Christian life by looking at how the doctrine of the covenant of works leads us to deeper worship over Christ’s saving work, brings coherency to how we think about the law, works, and grace in the Christian life, and… -
The Covenant of Works and the Christian Life (Part 4)
Evangelical Presbyterian Magazine
This series about the covenant of works is intended to establish why this doctrine is valuable for every Christian. This historic teaching that the Bible tells about a covenant between God and Adam is not ephemeral nonsense, but is a meaningful aspect of God’s revealed Word that adds layers to important doctrines and to how… -
The Covenant of Works and the Christian Life (Part 3)
Evangelical Presbyterian Magazine
This is the third contribution to a series about how the doctrine of the covenant of works affects the Christian life. Biblical evidence indicates that the densest theological sections of Scripture either culminated in profound worship (Romans 11:33-36) or directed believers to robust comforts (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12). Even though, therefore, the covenant of works is… -
The Covenant of Works and the Christian Life (Part 2)
Evangelical Presbyterian Magazine
This series on the covenant of works and the Christian life aims to show that rich doctrine leads to worship. These articles are meant practically to provide deeper reasons to praise God. As noted in part 1, Paul’s most expressive exclamation of praise came at the end of Romans 11 in light of the dense… -
The Covenant of Works and the Christian Life (Part 1)
Evangelical Presbyterian Magazine
The modern era often tends to assume that ideas are not themselves useful, and that practicality is the real measure of truth. However, I don’t think that is always the case. Perhaps we should consider what might be the Apostle Paul’s most expressive exclamations of worship in Romans 11:33-36 though: ‘Oh, the depth of the… -
Probable Appropriation of James Ussher
Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology
Ever since James Ussher (1581-1656) died, scholars have regularly cited him as a significant influence on the Westminster Assembly and its confessional documents. He was the Irish Reformation’s leading theologian, first teaching at Trinity College Dublin, and later becoming Archbishop of Armagh. He never attended the Westminster Assembly, but at least one seventeenth-century author still… -
Reconsidering the Development of the Covenant of Works
Calvin Theological Journal
By the mid-1640s, the doctrine of a prelapsarian covenant had become common within Reformed theology. Its advocates argued that God promised eternal life to Adam for him and his posterity on the condition that he render perfect obedience to the law. This view attained confessional status first in the Irish Articles (1615) where it was… -
Images of Christ and the Vitals of the Reformed System
The Confessional Presbyterian
The Westminster Larger Catechism question number 109 asks, “What are the sins forbidden in the second commandment?” and the answer includes, “the making any representation of God, of all or any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever….” In recent… -
James Ussher’s Authorship of A Body of Divinitie
Evangelical Quarterly
On 1 May, 1647, Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656) inscribed a copy of A Body of Divinitie to his distant cousin, Ann Meredyth. Meredyth’s father-in-law had been a dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, and Ussher may have given her the book knowing that she was active within the city’s educated and ecclesiastical elite. This…