Author Archives: admin

The Holy Trinity a Biblical doctrine

Walking With Giants Posted on by

B.B. Warfield, while recognising the obvious fact that the term ‘Trinity’ is not a biblical term, nevertheless maintains that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a biblical doctrine.

The doctrine of the Trinity lies in Scripture in solution; when it is crystallized from its solvent it does not cease to be Scriptural, but only comes into clearer view.

The doctrine of the Trinity, insists Warfield, not only is a biblical doctrine; it must be a biblical doctrine, because it is not discoverable by natural reason. …

What is the ‘soul’?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

“O God (if there is a God), save my soul (if I have a soul).”

Such, allegedly, was the tentative prayer of a soldier whose life was in mortal danger on the battlefield.

But what is the ‘soul’?  Does it have a separate existence apart from the body?

It needs to be recognised immediately, I think, that the biblical terminology is fluid, rather than fixed.  I don’t think, for example, that anything can be proven from any single use of the word psychḗ in the New Testament. …

Ryle on sin

Walking With Giants Posted on by

It was no accident that J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) gave the first chapter of his celebrated book on Holiness the simple title, ‘Sin’.  ‘I make no apology,’ he writes, ‘for beginning this volume of papers about holiness by making some plain statements about sin.’

Here are some of the rather striking things he has to say on this subject:-

1.  Wanted: clear thinking about sin

‘Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies and false doctrines of the present day.…

Calvin and the (in)errancy of Scripture

Walking With Giants Posted on by

It is clear to any reader of the works of John Calvin that he had a very high view of the truthfulness of Scripture.  There are a handful of passages, however, where some have detected hints that the great Reformer thought that the Bible might err in matters of detail.  These are categorised by J.I. Packer as follows:-

  1. Passages in which God accommodates himself to human forms of thought and expression.  Thus, Calvin did not think that we should look to Genesis 1 for scientific teaching on astronomy.
…

Humour: no laughing matter?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Laughter has not always been prized as a wholly positive phenomenon.  In the 18th century Lord Chesterfield wrote to his son: ‘there is nothing so illiberal, and so ill-bred, as audible laughter.’  John Ray called laughter ‘the hiccup of a fool’, and Oliver Goldsmith thought that it spoke of ‘the vacant mind’.  As recently as 1964 a specialist psychology dictionary characterised laughter as an ‘emotional response, expressive normally of joy, in the child and the unsophisticated adult.’ …

Introverts in the Church

Walking With Giants Posted on by

This book, by Adam McHugh, has recently been reviewed by Michael Pahl.  According to Michael, the book gives voice to thoughts and feelings that many of us have had throughout our lives (for up to 50% of the population would come out as ‘INTs’ on the Myers-Briggs personality assessment).

‘Introversion’ is not a name for a syndrome, a set of preferences, or a character defect.  It is, rather, a name for a tendency of personality.  It is not about not wanting relationships, or being interested in people, or about not being able to speak up in public (many gifted teachers and public speakers are introverts).…

Luke 22:7-20 – The Last Supper – sermon notes

Walking With Giants Posted on by

I wonder how many meals you have eaten in your life? Assuming a rate of 3 meals a day, then by the age of 16 you will already have eaten over 17,000 meals, and by the age of 60 over 65,000.

I wonder how many of these meals you can remember? Some are more memorable than others – a wedding reception, a birthday party, a family picnic, your first communion.

We come this morning to the last in a short series from Luke’s Gospel exploring notable meals that Jesus attended.…

Why pluralism?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

How did it come to be virtually taken for granted that there are many paths to God, and that for any one of these (including Christianity) to make any claim to exclusiveness is either ignorant or arrogant?

John Stott discusses the various arguments for religious pluralism that have evolved in recent decades:-

1.  The new global consciousness.  Stimulated by threats to the environments, fears of nuclear conflict, and the continued existence of North/South economic divide. …

The Throne of Grace

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Some very short notes on the first few sermons from a series preached by Robert Traill (1642-1716).

Text: Heb 4:16

Sermon 1

Q. Where is God to be found (cf Job 23:3)? Ans. On a throne of grace: this the antitype of the mercy seat, Heb 4:4ff, which was characterised by (a) limited access; (b) solemn atonement, Lev 16:12ff; (c) communion with God, Ex 25:17ff.

Doctrine: God in the gospel sits on a throne of grace, and from it calls and invites sinners to come to him.…

A Typology of Contemporary Theology

Walking With Giants Posted on by

In his book A Theology of Word and Spirit: Authority and Method in Theology, Donald Bloesch offers a typology of contemporary theology:-

1. A theology of restoration that attacks modernity without serious engagement with it (Warfield, Carl Henry, Tom Oden).

2. A theology of accommodation that seeks to forge a unity between secular and religious wisdom (Schleiermacher, David Tracy, John Hick).

3. A theology of correlation that seeks a new synthesis between Christian faith and modern claims (Tillich, Kung, Pannenberg).…