The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:2) It was a tree that damned us. It was a tree that redeemed us. And it will be a tree that heals us in the age to come—time beyond all time. Trees are not the central motif of the Bible. But trees …
Archives
Assurance by Mark Jones
“I am not at all surprised at this strange and absonous language; it is a false and dangerous conclusion, yet such as naturally results from, and, by a kind of necessity, follows out of their other errors.” —John Flavel[1] The doctrine of assurance has received copious attention from Reformed theologians.[2] The debates within the Reformed world …
Introduction to The Pilgrim’s Regress by Mark Jones
There is no such thing in the New Testament as a believer whose perseverance is so guaranteed that he can afford to ignore the warning notes which are sounded so frequently. (Sinclair Ferguson)[1] The great nineteenth-century Presbyterian theologian William Plumer tells of someone accusing a minister of opposing the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. The minister affirmed that he was in fact …
“Man in the Image of God” by John Frame
From Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief In part 7, we will look at ourselves and the historical beginning of the great biblical story of redemption.[1] Genesis 1 teaches that after God brought the world into existence from nothing (chapter 10), he populated the heavens and the earth in six days. On the first day, he made …
“God, the Lord” by John Frame
From Concise Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief Who is God? The Bible most often describes him as Lord. Lord is the name of a profoundly holy person in covenant relationship with us. This chapter will explore the meaning of God’s lordship in terms of his control, authority, and presence, as well as the related concepts of transcendence and immanence. In …