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RTS and the Current State of Theological Education

Some of you may have seen this important article over at The Gospel Coalition about the decline and relocation of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) by Collin Hansen, who is a graduate of the school. Reformed Theological Seminary has been friends with TEDS for many years. Over the years, a number of our faculty have done their studies there before coming to RTS, and a number of our graduates have gone on to do doctoral work there. We wish TEDS all the best in this new stage of their institutional life. The last twenty years have been tough for accredited graduate theological education…

Firstfruits

If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to the book of Proverbs. We’re going to take a break this morning from our series in the book of Hebrews to look at the text that has been chosen by the deacon stewardship committee for our theme verse for Commitment Sunday. Today is the Lord’s Day on which we make our commitments to the support of the church’s work and worship for the year to come. And so at the end of this service we’ll make our pledges for the 2014 budget. And the deacon stewardship committee has chosen the theme of “Firstfruits,” which is in fact a very important theological theme in both the Old and the New Testament. The idea of firstfruits is mentioned at least thirty-one times in the Bible. And it’s not just an Old Testament…

Let Us Go to Jesus

If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 13 and look at verse 8. Our reading is going to be from verses 8 to 14 but go ahead and allow your eyes to scan just a little bit back up the page all the way to verse 1 and notice something. Before we do the reading, I want you to note two interesting things. The first thing I want you to note is this whole chapter is filled with exhortations about living the Christian life. We’ve emphasized that already. So in verse 1, “Let brotherly love continue.” Verse 2, “Show hospitality to strangers.” Verse 3, “Remember those who are in prison.” Verse 4, “Let marriage be held in honor.” Verse 5, “Keep your life free from the love of money.” Verse 7, “Remember your leaders.” …

Ten Principles for Christian Giving (Part 1)

Very often people ask or wonder “what are the basic biblical principles for Christian giving?” As we seek God's answer to that question and contemplate our own giving to the Lord's Church in response to the clear teaching of His Word, perhaps it would be wise and helpful to review those principles. First, I would encourage you to read the following passages in the Word of God itself: Matthew 6:1-4; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8:9-15; and 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. In our review of these four New Testament passages, we find at least Ten Principles for Christian Giving: The Lord Jesus expects and requires us to give.Jesus said to his disciples, “when you give” not “if you give” (Matthew 6:2)! Hence, Christian giving is not optional, but rather…

Those Who Led You

If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 13. We’re going to be looking today at just verse 7. This might be called, “Finishing-Well Sunday.” I was telling the elders just before we came in that by my calculations I’ve been able to have the privilege of serving the Lord’s Supper in this congregation along with them 137 times in the last seventeen years. And this will be my 138th and last as your pastor, though I trust the Lord will give us…

How Faithfulness Looks at the End

If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 4. We’re going to look at Paul’s last written words to Timothy. Now these aren’t Paul’s last words to Timothy because in this very passage we learn that Timothy is going to see Paul again. But this is the last letter of Paul to his young mentee, Timothy, a man that he views as a son in the Lord and who looks us to him as a father in the faith. And in these words, we do find, as Denny Terry reminded us…

Don’t Fall in Love with Money

If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me again to Hebrews chapter 13. We’re going to be looking at verses 5 and 6. Now already scanning the congregation, I note a number of people who are here tonight who were not here this morning, so if those who were here this morning will bear with me for just a very brief moment I’ll remind everybody to look back to Hebrews chapter 13 verse 1 and allow your eyes to run down all the way through verses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 and get the…

Honor Marriage

If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 13. We’re going to be looking at the fourth verse today, but before we look at that verse I want to ask you to look back to Hebrews 13:1 and follow your eyes down the page to verse 4 and actually go farther to verse 5 so that you understand the flow of thought. The author of Hebrews is telling us how to live the Christian life. Much like the apostle Paul in the first eleven chapters of the book of Romans tells…

The Reformed Doctrine of Baptism & New Testament…

If you have your Bibles, I would invite you to turn with me to Colossians chapter 2, Colossians chapter 2. We will begin reading in verse 8. “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and…

Covenant in Hebrews

As we have already mentioned, Hebrews has more occurrences of diatheke than in the rest of the New Testament. This relative prominence of the covenant conception in Hebrews may be attributed to the authors’ preoccupation with the comparison with the old and with the new religious systems of Judaism and Christianity. I mean it is natural that you would revert to the covenant concept to help you describe the distinctives of the era brought about by the advent of Christ. In Hebrews 7:22,…