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From the Editor

By Jonathan Master

Reflect Deeply

Christians are frequently reminded to “remember the reason for Christmas,” meaning, of course, that we should turn our attention away from the cultural trappings and to the fact that Jesus was born to Mary in Bethlehem. But this Christmas, perhaps we should fix our attention a little more closely, not just on the details of Jesus’ birth, but on the miracle of the incarnation. In so doing, we join a great cloud of Christian witnesses, who have reflected deeply on this glorious mystery.

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Theology on the Go: Missions

This week on Theology on the Go, Dr. Jonathan Master is joined by Dr. Liam Goligher, pastor of the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church in downtown Philadelphia, PA. As pastor of Tenth Presbyterian, Dr. Goligher has done much thinking and teaching on the topic of missions, and how Christians are to reach the lost. This installment of Theology on the Go gives a glimpse of some of that teaching as Dr. Goligher chats with Jonathan about the doctrine of missions. Listen in as Jonathan and Liam discuss this very important topic.

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Alistair Begg Interview

About two weeks ago, I had the privilege of co-chairing an Alliance conference, the Princeton Regional Conference on Reformed Theology. Our main speakers were Alistair Begg and Ian Hamilton, and the topic was God’s providence. What a wonderful topic for reflection!

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Omnipotence

Omnipotent is one of the many words which appear in the older versions of the English Bible, but not in the more modern ones. It is also part of the vocabulary of our hymns, but is rarely employed in more modern choruses and Christian songs. It is a word which can only be applied to God Himself. When used of God, it refers to fact that He is all-powerful, that He is unconstrained by any outside force; He can do anything consistent with His character.

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What's Going On?

I get to talk with pastors all the time. It’s one of the joys and privileges of the work God has given me to do. I’ve also served as a pastor for ten years – less than many of my brothers, but long enough to experience some of the ups and downs of ministry.

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Persecution and Prayer

Christians have always been persecuted. Peter reminded his readers of this in the earliest days of the church: “…knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by the brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9b). But it does seem as if the suffering of Christians – whether at the hands of Muslims, Hindus, or totalitarians of another stripe – has been in the news more lately. The testimonies of our brothers and sisters in these places are sobering; but often they are also encouraging examples of grace-fueled perseverance.

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Let Us Draw Near

There are many model prayers in the Bible. The most famous is The Lord’s Prayer, recorded for us in Matthew and Luke; but there are others besides. Recently, Mark Johnston has turned our attention to the prayer of Daniel, or, more specifically, to the prayer life of Daniel. Both Daniel’s specific prayer in Daniel 9, as well as his ongoing practice of prayer, are worthy of imitation, and it is right that we should reflect on them.

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Loneliness

We live in a time of loneliness. It is not because we are isolated. Most people live within a short drive of a city, and those who don’t can easily connect with others over the phone or the internet. And yet there is a sense that our technological connection has made use less connected in other ways.

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What the World Needs Now: Micah’s Last Sermon

Have you ever looked back at your life or your ministry? How does it appear to you – as a success, or as a failure? In the last chapter of Micah, we see Micah reflect on the entirety of his ministry in Judah. Micah overlapped with three kings, one of whom was lukewarm; one of whom was very wicked; and one of whom was relatively godly. And his assessment (Micah 7:1) is stark, “Woe is me.”

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Leading in Love

One of the clearest insights of the Reformers was on the concept of vocation. Luther said that individual Christians had obligations to walk by faith in their Christian life, but they also had important obligations in whatever employment they had. It was as important to be an honest banker, for instance, as an honest pastor. Crafting well-made shoes was the obligation placed upon Christian cobblers.

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Preaching and Popularity

From the beginning, Israel was faced with the prospect of false prophets trying to pass themselves off as prophets of God. Anyone coming in the name of another god was to be disregarded; those coming in the name of the LORD were to be tested. Prophets were only to be obeyed if they truly spoke with the authority of God Himself.

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Greed and God’s Irony

The Bible is full of irony. One of the most obvious examples is found in the book of Esther. In it, a man named Haman – close advisor to the king – plots against the Jews. More to the point, he specifically plans against Modecai, a particular Jew. So great is Haman’s hate, that he builds a gallows on which to hang Mordecai.

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False Worship in the World

If you look around the United States today (with apologies to our overseas readers), several things stand out. First, we are a military power. We face threats, but we have confidence in our military might.

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God and Controversy

The Church seems to be full of controversy. Much of this is quite necessary, and not unexpected. After all, as the New Testament continually reminds us, false teachers will continually arise and false teaching always needs to be addressed. On the other hand, it must be admitted that some controversy is merely self-serving – an exercise in building a personal brand.

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How to Contend for the Faith

Last week, I entitled my column, “How to Wreck a Church.” In my mind, the false teachers in Jude had (and have) the potential to do just that. They come in secretly; they flatter; they are immoral and follow their own desires; ultimately, they will be destroyed by God. But when we step back and look at Jude’s letter as a whole, we see that everything in the letter – including the description of the church-wreckers – is written in the service of one major theme. It all falls under the umbrella of contending for the faith.

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How to Wreck a Church

As I look back on my days at seminary, I can see some courses which were more helpful than others. This is probably due to a combination of factors: my own interests and aptitude; the strength of the teacher; the subject matter itself. Most classes were valuable, but a few classes were forgettable.

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Is Biblical Faith Escapist?

Escapism seems to be everywhere. If you have internet access, try typing “escape” or “escapism” into a search engine. You might not want to visit all the sites that come up in such a search, but what you will see – if you need proof – is that many people seek to escape. Or think about the commercials on TV. Almost every commercial for an airline will talk about escaping.

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Within the World

Let me start with a personal testimony. David Wells’ first book in what might roughly be called this series is entitled, No Place for Truth: Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology?. Say what you will about that volume (and it has its critics), but for me it was transformative. When I try to remember exactly why it hit me as it did, I conclude that it certainly had a great deal to do with my own personal confusion, questions, and dissatisfactions with the evangelical church culture of which I was a part.

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Not Many of You

Teaching has its own occupational hazards. Teachers complain about lack of respect and pay. They frequently gripe about the students under their care. Teachers grumble about other teachers. In fact, you can read complaints about any and all of these things from teachers in the ancient world, from medieval tutors, or from almost any teacher in almost any school today.

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Partnership with Paul

Paul’s letter to the Philippians begins with an expression of confidence. Paul’s confidence is ultimately in God. It was God who had begun a good work in the Philippians (Phil 1:6); and it was God’s grace that they had been partakers of, along with Paul (Phil 1:7). But when Paul looked at the spiritual fruit produced by God in the Philippian church, one thing stood out: the Philippians had been partners in the gospel, together with Paul.

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Watch Out

When I give instructions to my children, or even to my students, they often come in the form of warnings: “Be careful not to postpone this assignment to the last minute…” “Watch out for cars on the road…” “Make sure to proofread your papers…” I don’t think I’m alone in doing this; in fact, I think that warnings and cautions make up a significant part of most of our instructions.

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The Clarity of the Word

All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of ordinary means, may attain to a sufficient understanding of them.[1]

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Last Words

Last words are important. If you’ve ever been with someone at or near the moment of their death, you know what significance they have. What someone says in those final hours takes on added poignancy and significance. If they are of sound mind, we treat these last words with special reverence, recognizing in them the weight of a lifetime of experience and conviction. We assume that last words covey the real priorities and conclusions of life; in essence they answer the question, “What matters when everything peripheral is stripped away?”

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The Spotlighting Spirit

Acts 2 is a familiar chapter. In it we find the great Pentecost sermon by Peter, just after the Holy Spirit descended on those in Jerusalem in tongues of fire. The proximate cause of Peter’s well-known sermon is the accusation that those Christians baptized by the Holy Spirit were actually drunk, as if that were a reasonable explanation for their speaking in languages which they had not learned.

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Beginning with the Bible

I’ve been browsing the Christian blog sites lately. This is always a risky move; you never know exactly what you’ll find. But in the first few weeks of the New Year, there are some articles you can count on seeing. There are plenty of reflections on the year past. And there are always resolutions for the year ahead.

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2014: What Won’t Change

The coming of a new year offers an opportunity for consideration and prediction. Newspapers and websites are full of reflections on the previous year – in politics, sports, and entertainment. Some commentators move beyond the public and include personal reminiscences on various milestones, births, deaths, and diseases. The nominally Christian media joins in as well, highlighting the “best sermons ever” from 2013 (a real headline) and the hottest articles from the online press.

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Christmas and Calvinism

What could be more broadly evangelical than Christmas? It’s a time when all celebrating Christians agree on what the holiday means, and even many non-Christians pretend to believe – or at least to affirm that something good happened on the night Christ was born. Christmas would hardly seem to be the time to discuss the doctrines of grace. After all, we’re led to believe that Christmas is gloriously broad and Calvinism hopelessly narrow.

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Truth and Christmas

What is Christmas all about? What are we to learn from God becoming a man? These should be pressing questions during this holiday season. And while these questions point us to great mysteries, they are also matters about which the Bible speaks plainly. In fact, on a number of occasions Jesus himself – the God-man – teaches with great clarity about the meaning and purpose of His entrance into the world as a human baby. Most often Jesus explains the purpose of the incarnation by focusing on the death he needed to die and the obedience to the Father he needed to display.

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A Form of Godliness

Paul’s last known letter – called 2 Timothy in our Bibles – contains a startling warning to a pastors and churchmen. In 2 Timothy 3:1-4 Paul lists out characteristics of the last days – the days in which the church lives. People, Paul says, will be selfish, greedy, arrogant, malicious, and reckless; they will hate all that is good; they will love pleasure more than God. It is not an encouraging picture, although, to us, it may be a familiar one.

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Here We Stand

There are good reasons to rejoice over the publication of this new online magazine. It may or not make a splash, but it will provide an opportunity. This opportunity could be described in many ways, but I think it’s best described as a chance to stop and think – to think theologically, to think in terms of our Protestant confessional tradition, to think about the ways and means of engaging in gospel ministry today.

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