Reformed Forum

Latest Episodes:

Dispensationalism – Part 10 Jul 29, 2016

Show notes

In episode 34, your hosts Rob and Bob, continue their discussion about Dispensational Theology. In this episode we discuss the topic of the Tribulation.

What is the Tribulation? Why the Tribulation? What’s its purpose? What is going to happen during the Tribulation? Is it Biblical? Why is the Book of Daniel highlighted so much in this conversation? Is it really meant to interpret the Book of Revelation? That sounds backwards to Reformed ears.

In yet another longer than typical episode (sorry but there’s a lot to talk about), we’ll discuss these and other related questions in this episode of Theology Simply Profound.

Theology Simply Profound is a podcast of Westminster Presbyterian Church, an Orthodox Presbyterian Church, serving the western suburbs of Chicago, where God powerfully speaks through his means of grace.

Music credit: pamelayork.com. Thank you, Pamela York, for the use of your beautiful jazzy rendition of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” We encourage our listeners to check out her website and consider purchasing some of her music.

Participants: Rob McKenzie, Robert Tarullo

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

Pilgrims in a Foreign Land Jul 29, 2016

Show notes

The people of God presently live in between grace and glory. We look back upon the finished work of Jesus Christ while also looking forward to his return, our resurrection, and the consummation of the New Heavens and New Earth. Speaking of the faithful, the author of the epistle to the Hebrews writes, “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Heb 11:13). While we live in the world, we do not ultimately belong in this world. We are citizens of heaven striving to enter our final rest. In this episode, we explore the biblical pilgrim motif and its application for the Christian life.

Darryl G. Hart and John R. Muether, Seeking a Better Country: 300 Years of American Presbyterianism
Danny E. Olinger and David K. Thompson, editors, History for a Pilgrim People: The Historical Writings of Charles G. Dennison
Geerhardus Vos, The Pauline Eschatology
_____, Grace and Glory: Sermons Preached in the Chapel of Princeton Theological Seminary
_____, The Teaching of the Epistle to the Hebrews
_____, Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 5
Franciscus Junius, The Mosaic Polity
_____, A Treatise on True Theology

Participants: Camden Bucey, Glen Clary, Jeff Waddington

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Christ the Center 1000

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Dispensationalism – Part 9 Jul 23, 2016

Show notes

In episode 33, your hosts Rob and Bob, continue their discussion about Dispensationalism. On this episode we discuss the very important topic of the Rapture.

What is the Rapture? Why is the Rapture so very important to contemporary Dispensationalists? Is the Rapture found in the Bible? If so, why don’t Reformed and Covenantal Christians believe in the Rapture like Dispensationalists? Or do we?

In this longer than typical episode (sorry about that), we’ll discuss these and other related questions in this episode of Theology Simply Profound.

Participants: Rob McKenzie, Robert Tarullo

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

Vos Group #28 — The Decalogue Jul 22, 2016

Show notes

We continue our #VosGroup series by opening pages 128–131 of Vos’ book Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments to consider once again the function of the law and the Decalogue. Why was the law given? How does it function in the life of Israel, the redeemed typological son? God graciously gave a typological kingdom to his people, and they were commanded to obey the Lord in order to retain this kingdom. But how are we to understand this obedience? Is it a new covenant of works? Lane Tipton and Camden Bucey discuss Israel’s relationship to the law during the Mosaic period of revelation.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

A New Perspective on Arminius Jul 15, 2016

Show notes

Dr. Keith Stanglin joins us to speak about the theology of Jacobus Arminius. Arminius was a Dutch theologian who served as a professor of theology at the University of Leiden. Many Calvinists will be familiar with his name as well as some version of his theological views. But are those views accurate? Today we discuss Arminius’s actual views as opposed to those of Arminians and semi-Pelagians or merely the caricatures that have been leveled against him through the generations. Many listeners will gain a new perspective on Arminius. Dr. Stanglin is associate professor at Austin Graduate School of Theology and has written extensively on the subject.

Books and Articles by Keith Stanglin

Published Books:

Scholarly Articles:

“Methodological Musings on Historiography (A Rejoinder),” Church History and Religious Culture 92 (2012): 121–9.
“The New Perspective on Arminius: Notes on a Historiographical Shift,” Reformation & Renaissance Review 11/3 (2009): 295–310.
“S. M. Baugh and the Meaning of Foreknowledge: Another Look,” Trinity Journal 26 (2005): 19–31.

Popular-Level Articles:

“‘Baptism in the Sea’: An Invitation to Typological Interpretation,” Leaven 21/2 (2013): 70–4.
“Knowledge: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” Salt, Leaven, and Light (April 26, 2012): 1–3.
“‘Faith Comes from What is Heard’: The Reformers on the Ministry of the Word and the Holy Spirit,”Leaven 12/3 (2004): 161–6.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Glen Clary, Jim Cassidy, Keith Stanglin

The Life and Ministry of J. C. Ryle Jul 08, 2016

Show notes

Today we welcome Iain H. Murray to the program to discuss his new biography, J. C. Ryle: Prepared to Stand Alone. In 1957, Rev. Murray co-founded the Banner of Truth Trust. Ryle (1816–1900) was the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool. He was an ardent defender of Evangelicalism in the face of opposition on several fronts, including the growing Anglo-Catholic movement within his own ecclesiastical context. J. C. Ryle had a gift for clear communication to the working class, and his legacy of exhortation and evangelism continues to speak volumes today.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Iain Murray, Jeff Waddington

Charles Hodge and the Spirituality of the Church Jul 01, 2016

Show notes

Dr. Alan Strange is professor of church history and apologetics at Mid-America Reformed Seminary and associate pastor of New Covenant Community Church in Joliet, Illinois. Dr. Strange sits with us to speak about the great American Presbyterian, Charles Hodge, and his contribution to the Doctrine of the Church. Hodge was a proponent of the doctrine known as the Spirituality of the Church. While many Reformed theologians are familiar with the name of the doctrine, its permutations are many. Dr. Strange details the history of the doctrine through several controversies of which Charles Hodge was involved. By understanding this history, we learn many important practical lessons for the Church today.

Participants: Alan Strange, Camden Bucey

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Dispensationalism – Part 8 Jun 25, 2016

Show notes

In episode 32, your hosts Rob and Bob, continue their discussion about Dispensationalism. In picking up our discussion of Dispensational Theology once again, we discuss “The Dispensation of Grace” a.k.a. The Church Age. Specifically, the subject of Replacement Theology.

What is Replacement Theology? Why is the Dispensation of Grace also known as the Church Age? How does the church relate to Israel of old? Why do Dispensationalists fear Covenantal & Reformed Theology? Why do Dispensationalists think that Covenant & Reformed folk are anti-semitic?

We’ll discuss these and other related questions in this episode of Theology Simply Profound.

Participants: Rob McKenzie, Robert Tarullo

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

Trinity, Processions, and Missions: Gaining Clarity in the Current Debate Jun 24, 2016

Show notes

For the last couple of weeks, many people have been discussing the doctrine of the Trinity, especially as various theologians have linked a doctrine of complementarianism to the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son. This relationship has been characterized by some as an eternal relationship of authority and submission or by others as an eternal subordination of the Son.

In this episode, we address the current controversy by looking at the eternal relationship among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons are one God, equal in power and glory. Their essential relationship entails no relationship of authority, subordination, or submission. They are related by an irreversible taxis: the Father is unbegotten, the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Theologians often call this the immanent or ontological Trinity.

Yet, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit freely will to create, and eventually to redeem a people unto himself. This free, yet still eternal agreement, to redeem is known as the pactum salutis or Covenant of Redemption. This is an economic relationship that involves willful submission. The persons of the Godhead espouse different roles for the accomplishment of redemption. Theologians often call this the economic Trinity.

How does divine ontology relate to the economy? Listen to this important discussion as we establish important doctrinal categories en route to a genuine advancement of the conversation.

After listening to this discussion, please consider two previous episodes of Christ the Center that deal with similar issues:

Christ the Center episode 245, Eternal Generation of the Son
Christ the Center episode 295, The Aseity of the Son

Catch up on the entire discussion by consulting Adam Parker’s omnibus post.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy, Lane G. Tipton

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Dispensationalism – Part 7 Jun 18, 2016

Show notes

In episode 31, your hosts Rob and Bob, continue their discussion about Dispensationalism. In picking up our discussion of Dispensational Theology once again, we discuss “The Dispensation of Grace” a.k.a. The Church Age.

What is the Dispensation of Grace? Why is is also known as the Church Age? How does it relate to the Dispensation of Law? How does it relate to the Mosaic Covenant? Why did Jesus come into the world?

We’ll discuss these and other related questions in this episode of Theology Simply Profound.

Participants: Rob McKenzie, Robert Tarullo