Bible and Beeswax

Thoughts and products about theology and culture.

Tag: gospel

  • Atonement Thoughts

    How did Christ atone for His People?
    Protestant Theologians debate whether it was in an Equivalent or Exact Sense:
    Equivalent:
    “Not indefinite as to the duration, still…equivalent as to the value on account of the Person suffering.” -Turretin
    Exact:
    “Christ “made satisfaction by undergoing the same punishment…they themselves were bound to undergo…essentially the same in weight and pressure, though not in all accident of duration and the like.” -Owen, quoted in “He Died for Me” p. 114.
    Unsure:
    “He was to suffer what we were to suffer, if not the exact, every way the same, yet the equivalent, that which was sufficient to Christ’s ends” -Thomas Manton, quoted in “He Died for Me” p. 118.

  • Book Review: He Died for Me-Limited Atonement and the Universal Gospel

    He Died for Me: Limited Atonement & the Universal Gospel by Jeffrey D. Johnson

    My rating: 3 of 5 stars


    One of the more complex works on inter-Calvinistic debates that I have read. This book would be helped by further editing and formatting, as well as more explanation with less subdivisions. It would also be helped by less scapegoating arguments towards high Calvinists. Overall, his argument for strict Calvinism was forceful, but I remain unconvinced.



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  • Book Review: Counsel to Gospel Ministers

    Counsel to Gospel Ministers: Letters on Preaching, Exemplary Behavior, and the Pastoral CallCounsel to Gospel Ministers: Letters on Preaching, Exemplary Behavior, and the Pastoral Call by John Brown of Haddington
    My rating: 4 of 5 stars

    Books of counsel to ministers regularly feel, at least to me, either excessively burdensome, or else excessively mild. The Bible sets high standards for a minister’s character, provides clear instruction for our role, and gives encouragement. Unfortunately, many books either lash a minister with guilt, misdirect a minister’s role, or else over-encourage without any conviction. This helpful book of letters, on the other hand, is balanced in all the right ways. It provides clear direction for the role and necessary character of a minister, but simultaneously lays out a path of encouragement and guidance. It rebukes what ought to be rebuked, warns what ought to be warned, and promotes what ought to be promoted. At times I was deeply convicted, other times deeply encouraged in my current role, and at other times wondered aloud, “Who is sufficient for these things?” to be met John Brown’s answer that only the glorious Jesus Christ is our sufficiency.

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  • Book Review: The Free Offer of the Gospel

    The Free Offer of the GospelThe Free Offer of the Gospel by John Murray
    My rating: 4 of 5 stars

    This is a 3$ book that is worth the read. It is a brief and analytical study of passages relating to God’s will of desire (as opposed to His will of decree). My takeaway: God’s express and universal desire is that all human beings repent of their sins and believe on His Son, which is expressed in His generosity towards even the wicked who will never repent. Yet, according to His mysterious and secret will, He has not chosen for all people to repent of their sins and believe on His Son. The gospel is offered according to God’s will of desire—that He genuinely desires their salvation.

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  • The Book of Revelation: How Difficult Was Its Journey into the Canon?

    The Book of Revelation: How Difficult Was Its Journey into the Canon?

    The story of the New Testament canon is a fascinating one, with many twists and turns.  There are books that were accepted very quickly, almost from the start (e.g., the four gospels), and there ar…