In this issue we shift gears in our tour through the consecutive phrases of Matthew 28:18-20 in order to take up an important discussion of the gospel and social justice. This is a timely topic, as many readers know, and we are eager to help Reformation-minded Christians discern the difference between the Great Commission given […]
The opening words of Acts sum up the contents of Luke's "first book"’his Gospel’as "all that Jesus began to do and teach" until his ascension (Acts 1:1). These words imply, first, that the narrative in Acts will continue the account of Jesus' activity, as he now carries on his work from his heavenly throne through […]
Thinking back to the momentum that the Reformation generated in its early decades, who would have thought that this upcoming decade of quincentennial celebrations would take place in countries that are now all but bereft of the gospel? The Western European decline of almost all recognizable expressions of the Christian faith has become proverbial. In […]
When it comes to the Great Commission, Christian churches and missionary agencies are looking for better methods. God, however, is looking for better churches. Because churches are God's method. (1) Regrettably, many seem to have developed biblical amnesia concerning God's appointed method and means for missions’namely, the going forth of ordained missionary-pastors for the express […]
I had an extraordinary experience in my junior year of college when I was a student at the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Already enthralled by the world-affirming aspects of Reformation theology, I was amazed at the cultural impact of the Reformation. While the rise of “universal human rights” theory cannot be […]
"Distinction without separation" will be the formula in this article. The law and the gospel, the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, the church as Christ's institution entrusted with his ministry and the church as the people brought into being by this ministry: these are to be distinguished and simultaneously affirmed. God's moral vision for […]
Remember, "distinction without separation." Although the Great Commission itself does not include social justice as part of the church's mandate, "teaching everything I have commanded" includes the New Testament's moral instruction as essential to that substance that the church communicates in making disciples. Although Scripture does not tell us which causes or political candidates to […]
By God’s grace I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ. As such, I have a share in the church’s life, work, worship, and fellowship. I am blessed by them and contribute to them. Yet I cannot put an equal sign between the church and me. The church is and does far more […]
One cannot read far into the literature on youth ministry, cross-cultural ministry, or the missional church without seeing references to “incarnational ministry.” Dozens of books, websites, and ministries have adopted incarnational ministry as their basic model for ministry: just as the Word became flesh in Jesus Christ, we should take on a second culture as […]
Anyone familiar with the in-house feud between Reformed postmillenarians and Reformed amillenarians knows that the debate between these two positions is often framed in terms of "optimistic" postmillenarians vs. "pessimistic" amillenarians. Despite the widespread use and apparent utility of these labels, I remain unconvinced that one can formulate a proper and biblical eschatology merely by […]
Let me begin by attempting to explain what I mean by "the black church" as it will be used in this article. Throughout, what I will be referring to is that entity, regardless of denomination or theological underpinning, that defines its purpose according to the ethos and pathos of the first black congregations in the […]
My grandparents began hiding Jews soon after the Waffen-SS confiscated the top floor of their church for a regional headquarters. In the basement of that same building, right under Nazi noses, a shelter was made. My grandfather was the pastor of this church. He figured the Jewish hideaways would be as safe there as anywhere. […]
While waiting in line for a U2 concert in September 2009, I noticed that concertgoers were passing around something. Now, I've been to enough rock shows to know that things shared at concerts are typically intended to make the show more enjoyable, and this was no exception. But this time, instead of an illegal substance […]
At a crucial point in Generous Justice, Tim Keller asks us to "imagine a sequel to the Good Samaritan parable": "The months go by and every time he makes his trip from Jerusalem to Jericho he finds another man in the road, beaten and robbed. Finally the Samaritan says, 'How do we stop the violence?' […]
Michael Horton Dialogues with Kevin DeYoung Horton: Do you think there is a connection between the Em-ergent movement and the people who have been involved with the trend of broadening out the gospel and the mission of the church to include all sorts of things’the horizontal human-centered emphasis we see in treatments of the gospel […]
