Reformed Forum

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Bob reads from his 1923 edition of J. Gresham Machen’s classic work, Christianity and Liberalism, Chapter 7, The Church.

James Eglinton, Nathaniel Gray Sutanto, and Cory Brock speak about Herman Bavinck's book, Christian Worldview. Sutanto, Eglinton, and Brock together have translated and edited this work and Crossway has brought it to print for the first time in English. In the book, Herman Bavinck deals with pastoral concerns that arose within a culture that exchanged modernistic certainty for an appreciation of the unrecognizable and unknowable. Apart from the triune God revealed in Scripture, the culture was grasping for meaning. Christian Worldview marks a new phase in his theological development. He spent the 1880s and 90s in Kampen wherein his main dialogue partners were liberal Protestants or materialist atheists. In 1900, two years before Bavinck moved to the Free University in Amsterdam, Friedrich Nietzsche died and something of a cult of his ideas developed in the Netherlands. Bavinck sought to address these new theological concerns. He developed a wholistic vision of all things and a wholistic way of living.

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob finish out their discussion of Malachi.  

Carl Trueman joins us to speak about Socinianism, a non-Trinitarian system of doctrine that arose out of the Radical Reformation and developed in Poland during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was named for the Italian uncle/nephew tandem of Lelio and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Socinus). While the label is not commonly used in our current historical context, Socinianism developed into contemporary Unitarianism. The Socinian system of doctrine is summarized in The Racovian Catechism. Dr. Carl Trueman is professor of biblical and religious studies at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania and the author of numerous books, including The Creedal Imperative. Along with Aimee Byrd and Todd Pruitt, he is a contributor to the Mortification of Spin podcast. https://vimeo.com/372640828

Healthy churches have healthy elders and deacons. When a local congregation is blessed with faithful officers the results are bountiful (Acts 6:7). William Boekestein and Steven Swets speak about ordained ministry in its manifold dimensions. Boekestein and Swets have edited, Faithful and Fruitful: Essays for Elders and Deacons (Reformed Fellowship), which provides current and future church leaders with an exciting opportunity of personal development.  Like its companion (Called to Serve), this collection of essays offers biblical and practical essays written by seasoned churchmen drawing upon a wealth of leadership knowledge, experience, and wisdom. Engaging study questions for each essay can help readers make the most of the Bible’s instruction and encouragement for those tasked with the responsibility and privilege of leading Christ’s church. https://vimeo.com/371254855

On this week's episode of Theology Simply Profound, Bob reads J. Gresham Machen's address as printed in The Princeton Theological Review, Volume 11 issue 1, 1913, "Christianity and Culture." 

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Bob reads from his 1923 edition of J. Gresham Machen’s classic work, Christianity and Liberalism, Chapter 6, Salvation.

Jim Cassidy discusses two recent publications from Lexham Press. In Challenging the Spirit of Modernity: A Study of Groen van Prinsterer’s Unbelief and Revolution, Harry Van Dyke places Groen van Prinsterer's foundational work into historical context. Van Prinsterer addressed the inherent tension between the church and secular society, and Van Dyke demonstrates how this work still speaks into the fractured relationship between religion and society. Abraham Kuyper's Collected Works in Public Theology was created in partnership with the Abraham Kuyper Translation Society and the Acton Institute. It marks a historic moment in Kuyper studies. https://youtu.be/k1eel36uDew

Christianity is based in history. Contrary to the teaching of classic liberalism, without the historical fact of Christ's life, death, and resurrection, Christianity is nothing. Moreover, God has been working in the lives of his people from the very beginning. It is essential that the church would remember God's dealings with the generations that have gone before in order that she would rightly press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). Our shared memories and the lessons of the past shape our ecclesiastical context and guide our present practice. Dr. Alan Strange and Rev. Brian De Jong discuss the role of history in the life of the church. Dr. Strange is professor of church history at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. He is the author of The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ in the Westminster Standards and The Doctrine of the Spirituality of the Church in the Ecclesiology of Charles Hodge. Rev. De Jong is pastor of Grace Orth

Knowledge is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end that we might know the new world of God. When we understand that we are citizens of the age to come, it changes everything about how we live our lives in the midst of this present evil age.

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob pick up their discussion of Malachi at chapter 3:7-18. Here we engage Malachi in his denunciation of those "robbing" the Lord, as well as those who are meant to find encouragement and comfort with the promise of the coming of the Lord.

Lane Tipton speaks about his recent conference addresses and his newly available video course, Foundations of Covenant Theology. In this conversation, we seek to address the question of the Spiritual character of the law as an administration of the Covenant of Grace in the Old Testament and set the priority for the history of heaven as a frame of reference for understanding covenant theology in general and the law's relationship to the Covenant of Works and Covenant of Grace in particular. In the beginning in Genesis 1:1, "heavens" is a reference to an archetypal temple-dwelling of God. Before God creates an earthly temple or tabernacle, he makes a heavenly temple dwelling that he fills with the glory of his Spirit and populates with angels. The earth is a replica of these invisible heavens. Prior to a history on earth per se, there is a bona fide history of heaven, which results in the Lord being enthroned in heaven at the end of the creation week. Covenant history now moves forward with the death, resurr

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Bob reads from his 1923 edition of J. Gresham Machen's classic work, Christianity and Liberalism, Chapter 5, Christ.

Glen Clary and Camden Bucey speak about their addresses at the recent theology conference. Glen covered the topic of ascending the mountain of the Lord and the role of the tabernacle and sacrificial system in the Sinai Covenant. Camden compared Galatians 2–4 with Romans 7–8 in order to address Paul's phrase that "the law is Spiritual" in Romans 7:14. https://vimeo.com/367102589  

https://youtu.be/w6t1Xa3sDoA Jeff Waddington, Lane Tipton, Glen Clary, Jim Cassidy, and Camden Bucey answer questions at the Reformed Forum Theology Conference held at Hope OPC in Grayslake, Illinois on October 12, 2019.

https://vimeo.com/367496587/11eeeeaf02 Dr. Jeffrey C. Waddington delivers a plenary address at the 2019 Reformed Forum Theology Conference held at Hope OPC in Grayslake, Illinois.

https://vimeo.com/367292125 Dr. Lane G. Tipton delivers his first plenary address at the 2019 Reformed Forum Theology Conference held at Hope OPC in Grayslake, Illinois. Lecture outlineDownload

https://vimeo.com/369888962 Dr. Lane G. Tipton delivers his second plenary address at the 2019 Reformed Forum Theology Conference held at Hope OPC in Grayslake, Illinois. In this address, he discusses Paul's Christological interpretation of the new beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:45–49. Lecture handoutDownload

Dr. Alan Strange discusses the Westminster Assembly and the Westminster Standards and whether they affirmed the imputation of Christ's active obedience as necessary for our justification. Strange has written, The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ in the Westminster Standards, which is published by Reformation Heritage Books in their Explorations in Reformed Confessional Theology series. In the book, Strange gives a survey of church history before and during the Reformation to see how the Assembly relates to the tradition before it. He reflects on the relation of imputation to federal theology, modern challenges to the doctrine, and important rules for interpreting the confessional document. Dr. Strange is professor of church history at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in Dyer, Indiana. Links Strange, "The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ" https://vimeo.com/362380712

https://vimeo.com/366860600 Camden Bucey speaks at our 2019 Theology Conference held at Hope OPC in Grayslake, Illinois. The theme of the conference is “The Law Is Spiritual,” which is a phrase that comes from Romans 7:14. This is a verse that has been a perennial challenge for interpreters. What does it mean for the law to be “spiritual”? In this opening lecture, Dr. Bucey offers several exegetical, hermeneutical, and biblical-theological suggestions for approaching this difficult verse and its immediate context, namely Romans 7. This is a sketch of what could be developed in due course. There is a typological and eschatological difference post-Pentecost. This is a fundamental point of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians. There is deep congruence between Galatians’ structure and that of Romans. It is interesting to compare the flow of Paul’s argument in Galatians with that of Romans. If that is true, you should be able to look to one letter for assistance when the other is particularly difficult to unders