Reformed Forum

Dr. Bradley J. Bitner, associate professor of New Testament at Westminster Seminary California, speaks about constitution and covenant in ancient Corinth and how these inform Paul's argument to the Corinthians. Dr. Bitner is the author of Paul's Political Strategy in 1 Corinthians 1–4: Constitution and Covenant (Cambridge University Press). In 1 Corinthians 1:1–4:6, we witness a collision of constitutions. This clash is the result of Paul contending for a specifically ecclesial politeia with reference to the larger colonial politeia. Birthed from Caesar's unsystematic and privately composed memoranda, the lex coloniae provides an indispensable frame of reference for understanding life in early Roman Corinth, the colony named in his honor. For this reason, it is also crucial for the interpretation of the Pauline epistle known as 1 Corinthians. Dr. Bitner served as a pastor for three years before pursuing doctoral studies. He completed his Ph.D. in New Testament and Early Christianity in 2013 at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He has two other book projects in progress on the biblical theology of Geerhardus Vos and Paul's paradigm for building up the church in 1 Corinthians.

Lane Tipton, Carlton Wynne, and Camden Bucey discuss pages 25–29 of Cornelius Van Til's book, The Defense of the Faith. In this section, Van Til details the doctrine of God that structures his apologetic thought. A Reformed apologetic seeks first to understand the nature of the God it seeks to set forth and defend. In Van Til's estimate, we must ask "what kind" of a God we believe in before we can proceed in any meaningful way to set for the arguments for the existence and revelation of this God.

On this week's episode of Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob pick up their discussion of the fruit of the Spirit in light of the troubling and confusing days we currently live within. What is faithfulness? God's faithfulness? How are we to be faithful?

Dr. Carl R. Trueman joins us to speak about his significant new book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution (Crossway), in which he addresses the factors undergirding modern culture's obsession with identity. Sexual identity in particular has dominated public discourse since the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision in 2015. Tracing influential thought from Augustine to Marx and beyond, Trueman explains the historical and intellectual phenomenon of the modern conception selfhood. Trueman writes, "My aim is to explain how and why a certain notion of the self has come to dominate the culture of the West, why this self finds its most obvious manifestation in the transformation of sexual mores, and what the wider implications of this transformation are and may well be in the future." Dr. Trueman is professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College. He is an esteemed church historian and previously served as the William E. Simon Fellow in Religion and Public Life at Princeton University. Trueman has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including The Creedal Imperative, Luther on the Christian Life, and Histories and Fallacies. Trueman is a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

Dr. John Bower speaks about constructing a critical edition of the Westminster Confession of Faith using four historical authoritative texts. Bower has done a tremendous service to the church and the academy. Both with benefit greatly from his careful scholarship.

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Bob continues a reading of Geerhardus Vos's 1903 book, The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of God and the Church. In chapter 5, Vos discusses current misconceptions regarding the present and future kingdom.

We turn to pages 243–244 of Geerhardus Vos's book Biblical Theology to discuss the prophet's view of God's relation to time and space. In terms of God's relation to time and space, two relations occur. What we have to affirm first of all is that God is everywhere present in all of his fullness. But Vos speaks of a special relation to Zion (on earth) and heaven itself as the temple dwelling of God. Two things help us grasp the significance of this: the notion of covenant and the location of the fellowship.

As the Gospel According to Matthew begins we are introduced to the royal line of Jesus, where Matthew presents Jesus to us as the Davidic king, the universal king, and the final king through whom all of God's purposes are fulfilled.

On this week's episode of Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob pick up their discussion of the fruit of the Spirit in light of the troubling and confusing days we currently live within. What is goodness? Is God really good? what does that mean?

Dr. James Eglinton speaks about the life and thought of Herman Bavinck. Eglinton has written a superb critical biography of Bavinck that has been published by Baker Academic.

On this week's episode of Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob pick up their discussion of the fruit of the Spirit in light of the troubling and confusing days we currently live within.

Hosea brings a word of judgment upon Israel, threatening to send them into exile and judgment for their sin. Christ as the true and obedient Israel secures for his people the promised deliverance from sin's guilt and power. Christ calls us therefore to exclusive fidelity to him.

Rev. Michael J. Glodo, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and Dean of the Chapel at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, speaks about dispensationalism and its development in light of several historical, sociological, and theological contexts. Rev. Glodo is the author of "Dispensationalism" in Covenant Theology: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives edited by Guy Prentiss Waters, J. Nicholas Reid, and John R. Muether. John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) introduced dispensationalism as a theological system, which bears several key characteristics, including an insistence upon a "literal" hermeneutic or "plain reading" of the biblical text in addition to separate divine purposes for Israel and the church. Yet several features of "classic dispensationalism" have since been modified or altogether eliminated. Glodo remarks that "from its beginnings until the middle of the twentieth century, dispensationalism grew rapidly in popularity and underwent several refinements." Links Vern Poythress, Understanding Dispensationalists O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants O. Palmer Robertson, The Israel of God Theology Simply Profound series on dispensationalism

In an age of skepticism, Fredrich Schleiermacher wanted to cast religion in a manner that would be relevant and respected. In Episode 86 Jim Cassidy and Mark Winder discuss how the father of modern liberal theology continues to manifest an influence in pulpit speech today. Does the drive to make preaching more "relevant" and "practical" today manifest a spirit of Schleiermacher in the pulpit? Is the quality of a sermon determined by its relevancy to our current age?

C. N. Willborn describes the importance of a faithful and active diaconal ministry within the church. Building upon contribution from Thomas Chalmers and other insightful theologians, Willborn describes a ministry "proportioned in number," or segmented in order that the diaconate may faithfully carry out its duties both to the brotherhood and the neighborhood. Willborn argues "for a thoroughly active office, defined, designed, and dispatched along Biblical lines." Rev. Dr. Willborn is pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and adjunct professor of Historical Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He is the author of many works on history and theology, including the focus of this conversation, "The Gospel Work of the Diaconate: A Ministry 'Proportioned in Number'" in The Confessional Presbyterian, volume 10 (2014): 23–32.

On this week's episode of Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob pick up their discussion of the fruit of the Spirit in light of the troubling and confusing days we currently live within. What is patience? Where do we find this patience? How do we live t

Dr. Brandon Crowe speaks about the centrality of the resurrection in the book of Acts. Dr. Crowe has written The Hope of Israel: The Resurrection of Christ in the Acts of the Apostles (Baker Academic, 2020) in which he explores the historical, theological, and canonical implications of Jesus's resurrection in early Christianity and helps readers more clearly understand the purpose of Acts in the context of the New Testament canon.

On this week's episode of Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob pick up their discussion of the fruit of the Spirit in light of the troubling and confusing days we currently live within. What is peace? How does the peace that we have with God translate

John Witherspoon (1723–1794) was an eighteenth-century Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. In this episode, we speak with Robert S. Null about Witherspoon's theology and understanding of history through four unstudied manuscripts of his lectures at the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University). In his dissertation, John Witherspoon's Forgotten "Lectures on History and Chronology": Recognizing the Important Role of History in the Development of His Thought and Theology for Navigating Eighteenth-Century Late Protestant Scholasticism, Revivalism, and Enlightenment, Null writes: Witherspoon had to contend with the legacy of late seventeenth century Protestant scholasticism, newer forms of revivalism, and more rationalistic developments in eighteenth century enlightenment thought. A detailed but fading emphasis on the decrees, preparation for grace, and the application of redemption merged with a more secular emphasis on free thought involving induction, empiricism, idealism, and common sense philosophy, as well as challenges from new theological movements in holiness, revivalism, and pietism. Revolutions in politics, science, logic, and theological priorities were frequent and significant. Changes in both the worlds of theology and philosophy would continue throughout the eighteenth century. The relationship of history to theology became foundational for Witherspoon not simply as an extension of late Protestant scholasticism, an expression of Christian piety, or an excessive reliance on, or aversion toward, a specific enlightenment philosophy. In his writings, theology itself was undergoing change, and specifically in Witherspoon's case, toward integrating an important awareness of history. This awareness demonstrates the importance of history very early in the rise of Princeton theology.

In the spirit of our Vos Group episodes, we begin a concurrent venture into Cornelius Van Til's book, The Defense of the Faith. Carlton Wynne joins Lane Tipton and Camden Bucey to discuss the theology and apologetics of this significant twenty-first century Reformed apologist.

Jim Cassidy shows us how Israel's folly and sinfulness renders her incapable of obeying God. In order to obey the Lord, she needs the Lord to grant to her the very thing that she herself can not do. Hosea uses striking imagery to show us Israel's rebellion, but equally striking and parallel imagery to show the Lord's mercy and provision for redemption.

On this week's episode of Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob pick up their discussion of the fruit of the Spirit in light of the troubling and confusing days we currently live within. What is joy and how is it that we might have it?

Will Wood, Assistant Professor of Old Testament at RTS Atlanta. discusses the shaping of the book of the twelve, the canonical collection of the minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi). The Book of the Twelve is a grouping of twelve individual prophets into a single intertextually related and thematically integrated work that spans the course of a few centuries and can be appropriately called a "book." How did this book take shape? What was the historical process by which it came to the canonical form we have today?

In 1922, Reformed Press published six sermons by Geerhardus Vos in a volume titled Grace and Glory. In 1994, Banner of Truth published the same collection with ten additional sermons discovered and edited by James Dennison. Banner has now brought this full collection back into print with a new edition: Grace and Glory: Sermons Preached at Princeton Seminary. Danny Olinger, author of Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian, joins us to speak about Vos's sermons in their biblical context as well as the historical context in which they were written and delivered. Rev. Olinger is General Secretary for the Committee on Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

On this week's episode of Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob discuss the fruit of the Spirit in light of Paul's exhortation in Galatians 5 to "walk in the Spirit."