Reformation Commentary on Scripture, New Testament XIII: Hebrews, James

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Reformation Commentary on Scripture, New Testament XIII: Hebrews, James. Edited by Ronald K. Rittgers. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017. 341 pp. Hardcover, $49.99. This commentary series gives the reader the views of leading Reformed scholars “from the late 1400s to the mid-seventeenth century” (p. xxii). The reader should not expect to be overwhelmed with
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Heaven and Hell: A Biblical Guide

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Heaven and Hell: A Biblical Guide. By Robert P. Lightner. Taos, NM: Dispensational Publishing House, 2017. 112 pp. Paper, $9.95. This book is written by Robert Lightner, Professor Emeritus at Dallas Seminary. It is a collection of papers broadly related to the topics of heaven and hell. Chapter 1, “Heaven,” only briefly addresses the nature
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Was the Reformation a Mistake? Why Catholic Doctrine Is Not Biblical

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Was the Reformation a Mistake? Why Catholic Doctrine Is Not Biblical. By Matthew Levering, with Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017. 240 pp. Paper, $16.99. This book was “commissioned by Zondervan for the five-hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses (p. 16).” Its intended audience is Bible-believing Christians who “continue to resonate with
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When Is the Judgment Seat of Christ?

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John Claeys I. INTRODUCTION Most JOTGES subscribers immediately recognize the Judgment Seat of Christ (the Bema) as an eschatological event—a significant, future event foretold by Bible prophecy. It is the public examination, by Jesus Himself, of the past faithfulness of every believer in Christ (OT saints included). Thus, it is a valuation of the works1
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Greek as the Spoken Language of Christ

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Jim Hitt Assistant Pastor The Main Place Christian Fellowship Orange, CA I. INTRODUCTION The question “Did Jesus primarily speak Greek?” is crucial in its implications for the inerrancy of the Scriptures. If the only teaching language of Jesus was Aramaic, the Greek NT must be a translation from Aramaic to Greek. But translations by their
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Why Are Passages Dealing with Eternal Rewards Missed So Often?

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I received this excellent email from B in California: I find it interesting that so many churches or denominations do not see the many references to rewards in the Bible. As a result, sometimes it affects their interpretation of a passage of Scripture. My initial thoughts go like this: the New Testament writers understood the
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Four Assets — John 17

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Paul commanded you to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:1-2). A sign of Christian maturity is when you start thinking from a Biblical perspective, instead of from a merely human perspective. Some theologians call it adopting divine viewpoint, instead of human viewpoint (see here and here). Spiritual maturity means adopting a
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Does God Change His Mind?

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Here’s a great question from T in Minnesota: I was reading I Samuel 15:29 where it says God does not change his mind. I find this confusing. Did he not change his mind about Saul being king? How about the destruction on the city of Nineveh? God seems to change his plans alot based on
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