Theological Term of the Week

synoptic problem
The question of why the synoptic gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—are so similar; the need to find a relationship between the three synoptic gospels that accounts for their similarities and differences.  

• From the three accounts of the healing of the paralytic (Notice particularly the similar parenthetical statements I’ve italicized.):

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” (Matthew 9:6 ESV)

“But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” (Mark 2:10-11 ESV)

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” (Luke 5:24 ESV)

Click to read more ...

Heidelberg Catechism

Question 30. Do those who seek their salvation and well-being in saints, in themselves, or anywhere else, also believe in Jesus the only Saviour?

Answer: No, they do not, because though they boast of him in words, in their deeds they deny Jesus the only deliverer and Saviour. (a) For one of these two things must be true: either those who by true faith receive this Saviour must find in him all that is necessary for their salvation, or Jesus is not a complete Saviour. (b)

(Click through to see scriptural proofs.)

Click to read more ...

Linked Together: Three Theological Statements

God
“God is without … passions,” teaches the confession. Can that be true? Doesn’t he love us? In The Problem with Passion, Tom Chantry explains what “without passions” means, and tells us why it’s good news that God is without them.

Christ
The author of Hebrews says that Christ is “the radiance of the glory of God.” In other words,

All that God is — the measureless sum of his eternal and eternally rich attributes — shines forth in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son. Jesus is supremely radiant.

For more explanation, read all of Christ As Radiance by Jared Wilson. It just might make your heart sing.

People
How do we square Paul’s statement, “no one does good,” with the acts of kindness done by those around us who are unbelievers? How is Paul defining good?

The “goodness” in view in Romans 3:12 (citing Ps. 14:3) is goodness as God sees it. The Bible is asserting that even acts of civic kindness done by an unbeliever fail to meet the requirement of God’s law—namely, that all our actions must be done with a view to glorifying God. In that sense, even the unbeliever’s good acts are evil. 

Read all of Is It True That Natural Man Cannot Do Any Good? by Derek Thomas.