Dylan and John talk about the contrast between the Tower of Babylon and the blessings promised to Abram. How do these two events in the book of Genesis connect to the gospel? Who is the true seed of Abraham? Why is the song "Father Abraham" rich in biblical theology?
Dylan and John discuss how Paul preached the gospel to Jews and Gentiles from the Old Testament. The Old Testament is Christian Scripture, and there is one gospel message from the Fall of Adam to the second coming of Christ. The Old Testament is the gospel promised. The New Testament is the gospel established.
Greg Parker Jr. has recently translated two of Bavinck's essays which has recently been published with Hendrickson Publishing Group under the title What is Christianity. Greg joins us on the podcast to talk about Bavinck's purpose in writing these two essays, where they fall into the rest of Bavinck's corpus, what Bavinck sees as the essence of Christianity, how the subjective side of Christianity permeates all of life and culture, and closing with a reason why Pastor's should read this work.
In this episode, Dylan and John continue through 1 Peter.
Accurately handing the Bible is drawing out the text’s God intended meaning. This is why expository preaching and expository reading of Scripture must be the primary diet of the Christian and the church because God did not reveal himself through bunch of random truisms or isolated statements. Proof texts are often wielded in a way that ignores their context or are used as spring boards to say “true things” that the text does not address. Failing to properly interpret Scripture will result in a failure to distinguish the voice of God from the voice of men.
Scripture is the progressive unfolding of the unified and intertwined historical story of redemption- seed to tree (promise to fulfillment / shadow to substance/ type to antitype with Jesus Christ as the center. If we fail to understand the organic unity and centrality of Christ in Scripture, then we will err greatly in our interpretation of Scripture.
This is the beginning of a short series that John taught at Covenant Community Church on How to Read the Bible. In this lesson, John unpacks the doctrine of Scripture leaning on chapter 1 of the Second London Confession. What Scripture is must be understood before we can ask how we are to read Scripture.
In this episode, John and Dylan discuss chapter two of Bavinck's, The Wonderful Works of God. Bavinck in this chapter speaks of the knowledge of God and how it is distinguished from other forms of knowledge. The knowledge of God is distinct from other knowledge in its origin, object, essence, and effect.
The Wonderful Works of God is Bavinck's handbook for Reformed Theology that he wrote for the ordinary Christian. In this episode, John and Dylan introduce the book and talk about how it is immensely devotional and Christ centered. As we study the work of God, we are moved to wonder and awe. Bavinck's book reminds us of this and takes us along on a journey to consider these wonderful works.
Bavinck writes, “I wish to give a simple explanation of the Christian faith in a book of modest scope, as confessed by the Reformed Churches.”
You can purchase the book here
Adam was no mere gardner and Eve was no mere garden. In this episode, the guys discuss the significance of Adam's vocation and place in the Garden of Eden, and how it connects to the gospel and the work of Christ.
This episode is an eschatological intrusion as Dr. Lee Irons joins Pilgrim Talk for the third time to talk about the life and theology of Meredith Kline. Dr. Irons discusses with us Kline's contribution to Biblical Theology, Kline's theological influences, the conflict with John Murray over the covenant of works, and Kline's critique of theonomy. We close our discussion with Dr. Irons giving a brief overview of Kline's writing, and he gives some helpful suggestions on where a person should start reading.
Previous Episodes with Dr. Irons:
Book and Resources for Meredith Kline
Marriage is for our joy and God's glory. Yet on this side of the Fall, marriage is full of difficulty, sin, and struggle. How does the Christian enjoy God's good design in marriage and glorify God through it? How does the gospel undergird, shape, fuel, and give marriage its telos?
1 Peter 2:1-3 Because we have tasted the goodness of the LORD in the gospel, we are to put away ungodliness and crave the word. In this episode we talk about sanctification and the vital necessity of the Word for our growth as Christians.
Can we know God, and if so, how do we come to know him? If God is distinct from his creation, can we use positive and true language to describe him?
These questions are addressing epistemology- that is how do we know what we know. Every philosophical tradition or theological system has at its foundation assumptions and convictions answering the question “how do you know.”
The doctrine of the knowledge of God and our theological method used to arrive at this doctrine shapes our understanding of our relationship with Him and our trust in what He has said.
What is man's highest good? The guys are bumping with Bavinck again looking at his Wonderful Works of God and discussing how Bavinck answers this question.
The way of the Pilgrim is centered on corporate worship on the LORD's Day. The pilgrim travels to and from the LORD's Day as they make their way to the heavenly city in the Christian life. Corporate worship is vital for the Christian life.
Jeff Johnson joins John and Dylan to discuss his important and controversial new book The Failure of Natural Theology: A Critical Appraisal of the Philosophical Theology of Thomas Aquinas. How the Christian theologian arrives at doctrinal truths is as important as those doctrines themselves. Johnson in this interview highlights the main problems with Aquinas' theological method and further clarifies some of his points in the book. The question of the usefulness of natural theology in theology is an important question that both the ordinary pastor and regular church member in the Reformed tradition must wrestle with. Any version of natural theology that undermines the sufficiency and authority of Scripture is a natural theology that is no friend to the Christian faith.
The Failure of Natural Theology: A Critical Appraisal of the Philosophical Theology of Thomas Aquinas
1. Book- https://freegracepress.com/collections/new-releases/products/the-failure-of-natural-theology
2. Book Review- https://johnsweatjrblog.wordpress.com/2021/11/03/the-failure-of-natural-theology-a-book-review/
Grace Bible Church- http://www.gbcconway.com
Grace Bible Theological Seminary- https://www.gbtseminary.org
Free Grace Press- https://freegracepress.com
There is this reality that at one time we were aliens and strangers and outsiders to the Kingdom of Christ. But now, we have been brought into that kingdom by the work of Christ, making us aliens and strangers in this world. Therefore, the Christian sojourner has to wrestle with the tension between being a citizen of the Kingdom of Christ and a citizen of a kingdom in this world. Scripture helps us understand authority, navigate this tension, and glorify King Jesus's authority above all other authorities.
Episode on Church and State that John did with the Covenant Conversation guys:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/covenant-conversations/id1412764902?i=1000500073709
Tyndale was born in 1494 and was executed as a heretic in 1536. Tyndale’s mission caused him to be a fugitive from his own country and ultimately caused him to be executed as a heretic. Yet for Tyndale, bringing the knowledge of the Scriptures in English back to the common plowboy was well worth his own life. Tyndale’s experiential outworking of sola scriptura through his translation of the Bible into English released the sacred Scriptures from bondage and brought reformation to England.