Round the Sphere Again: A Little Church History

For the Month of May
Some biographies of influential historical Christians (Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Spurgeon, Moody, Lewis, and more) are on sale at Christian Audio. “Get to know these amazing men by listening to some of the best biographies available on christianaudio, now on sale for only $4.98 each” Plus, there’s a free download of the biography of E. M. Bounds. Read the details.

Two from Beggars All
A short list of resources from the Swiss reformer Uldrich Zwingli. 

A biographical sketch of the Morning Star of the Reformation, John Wycliffe, who is best known for “inspiring vernacular translations of Scripture.”

On Sunday
Tracing some of the history of the Lord’s Day. (The Upward Call)

For the Kids (and You, Too)
“The Church History ABCs by Steve Nichols and Ned Bustard is a fun way for kids to learn about great figures in Christian history.” Visit the book website for some church history activities, a list of funny church history facts (Did you know that John Wesley invented an electric shock machine?), and a gallery of portraits of figures in church history drawn by children. (HT: Justin Taylor)

This Week in Housekeeping

The Theological Term of the Week posts continue to be the most popular on this blog. Every week, the terms in alphabetical order page gets more hits than any other single page here. That makes me very happy, but it also means that I need to keep all those posts up-to-date—you know, get rid of dead links and add  links to good content that has come online since the original post was first posted. I’ll be dedicating a little time each week to doing just that, and I’ll let you know which terms I’ve spiffed up and what I’ve done.

This week I’ve updated these:

active obedience of Christ

• found a new source for The Active Obedience of Christ by J. Gresham Machen
• added two links: The Active  Obedience of Christ by Wayne Grudem and The Active Obedience of Christ - No Hope Without It! by John Samson
• added three related terms: passive obedience of Christ, justification, and imputation.

adoption:

• added seven related terms: conversion, glorification, justification,  reconciliation, regeneration, sanctification.

adoptionism:

• added four three related terms: Arianism, docetism, dynamic monarchianism, modalism.

Theological Term of the Week

preceptive will
God’s revealed law or commandments; what God has declared that we should do. Also called revealed will, moral will, will of command, expressed will, or signified will.

• From scripture:

  Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21 ESV)

  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV)

• From The Westminster Shorter Catechism:

  Q. 39. What is the duty which God requireth of man?
  A. The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will.

• From Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof:

  [God’s] decretive will includes many things which He forbids in His preceptive will,  and excludes many things which he commands in His preceptive will, cf. Gen 22; Ex. 4:21-23; II kings 20:1-7; Acts 2:23. Yet it is of great importance to maintain both the decretive and the preceptive will, but with the definite understanding that, while they appear to us as distinct, they are yet fundamentally one in God. Though a perfectly satisfactory solution of the difficulty is out of the question for the present, it is possible to make some approaches to a solution. When we speak of the decretive and the preceptive will of God, we use the word “will” in two different senses. By the former God has determined what He will do or what shall come to pass; in the latter He reveals to us what we are in duty bound to do. At the same time, we should remember that the moral law, the rule of our life, is also in a sense the embodiment of the will of God. Is is an expression of His holy nature and of what this naturally requires of all moral creatures. 

Learn more:

1. R. C. Sproul: Examining the Preceptive Will of God
2. Kevin DeYoung: The Whole Duty of Man
3. Curt Daniel: The Will of God (mp3)
   
4. Tim Keller: God’s Secret and Revealed Will (mp3)

Related terms:

• decretive will

Filed under Reformed Theology

Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it. I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.