Here are the last two sections of chapter five of Better than the Beginning: Creation in Biblical Perspective.   The knowledge of God we possess via creation and providence is not sufficient to secure the well-being of our souls.   Listen to the Confession of Faith again:   Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom and power of  [ Read More ]

Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God become man, is God’s remedy for Adam’s failure. Jesus Christ takes His seed where Adam failed to take his. Salvation in Christ is better than creation in the image of God and citizenship in the garden of Eden. God does not place believers in Christ back at the starting line in the same position in which Adam was created. He grants irrevocable, eternal  [ Read More ]

“There is, however, something staggering to consider here. The Son who made all things for Himself, by whom all things came into existence, and in whom all things maintain their current form of existence “became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14). He was “born of a woman, born under the Law” (Gal. 4:4). He became what He was not, while never ceasing to be what He always was and  [ Read More ]

There are no good ol’ days, except prior to the fall and even those days were not the best of days (Adam could, and did, fall into sin.). The best of days are yet to come. The end is, after all, better than the beginning. As bad as our day may appear to be and actually be, in essence, it is the same as always, since the fall into sin.  [ Read More ]

You can hear it here. Here is the introduction: Our focus this morning is upon how the Gospels connect Jesus with past revelation, that is, the Old Testament. This is an important issue. Many people read the Bible as if it were like the morning newspaper. The newspaper has various stories, about various subjects, written by various authors who are not attempting to connect what they say to what others  [ Read More ]

The world in which we now live is fraught with trouble. The answer to all the failure in the world is not a political one. The answer is not a Christian America or any other country in the world. The answer is not to convince others that humanity has utopian potential. Since the problem involves sinful human nature and is not fixable by sinful human nature, the solution is not  [ Read More ]

I have been preaching an overview of the New Testament entitled, “Knowing the New Testament.” The series can be found at Sermon Audio here. Below is the introduction to the last sermon in the series. We looked at five allusions to the Old Testament found in Matthew 1:1.   Our focus this morning is upon how the Gospels connect Jesus with past revelation, that is, the Old Testament. This is  [ Read More ]

The theology of the Confession concerning the Ten Commandments begins at creation (2nd LCF 4). However, the first explicit mention of the Ten Commandments is not in the chapter on creation but the chapter on the law of God (2nd LCF 19:2). Therefore, we will use chapter 19, Of the Law of God, as a guide to unfold the theology of the Confession concerning the Ten Commandments. Four themes will  [ Read More ]

The gospel is news from God that He has devised a way to repair human nature and take all creation to a glorious end. That glorious end, the city of God, new Jerusalem, the eternal state, the new heavens and new earth, is better than the beginning. In the beginning, though the potential for what comes about at the end was present, it was never attained by Adam. In the  [ Read More ]

A book I am editing. RECOVERING A COVENANTAL HERITAGE: Essays in Baptist Covenant Theology Table of Contents Preface…………………………………………………………………………………………… Richard C. Barcellos, Ph.D.   Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………… James M. Renihan, Ph.D. Historical  1. A Brief Overview of Seventeenth-Century Reformed Orthodox Federalism……………….. Richard C. Barcellos, Ph.D. 2. Covenant Theology in the First and Second London Confessions of Faith……………………. James M. Renihan, Ph.D. 3. By Farther Steps: A Seventeenth-Century Particular Baptist Covenant Theology…………… Pascal Denault, Th.M. 4. The  [ Read More ]