Reformed Forum

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob discuss Malachi 2:10-16. In these verses, Malachi addresses the covenant unfaithfulness of his people as the men divorce the wives of their youth for the daughter of foreign gods.

Mountains appear throughout the Bible as an important symbol of God meeting with man. In this episode, we trace the biblical-theological theme of mountains in an effort to understand more deeply God's plan and purpose in bringing his covenantal people to glory. https://vimeo.com/359649096

In Episode 78 the panel discusses how the story of redemption shifts focus from Abraham to his descendants, and particularly to Isaac and Jacob. Employing a covenantal and redemptive-historical hermeneutic becomes important in understanding the significance of this shift and its implication for the inclusion of the Gentiles.

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Bob reads from J. Gresham Machen's 1923 classic work, Christianity and Liberalism, Chapter 2, Doctrine.

In this episode, we turn to pages 216–220 of Vos's book, Biblical Theology, to discuss the reception of divine revelation through speech and hearing. Vos treats this topic because, among other things, it lies at the heart of true religion. If God is not speaking, then we do not know him. If it is merely men who speak, we do not know God and therefore are not in a religious bond of covenantal fellowship with him. It is of the essence of true religion to affirm that God speaks and that prophets hear God speaking and then speak that same Word to the church. You cannot have true religion without such supernatural verbal revelation. This requires that God speaks to the prophet before the prophet spoke. This is critical, since it utterly destroys the liberal theories that locate the actual words in human agency alone, such as the kernel theory we talked about earlier. The speaking of God is not meant in a figurative way, "but in the literal sense it appears in various ways" (p. 217). Vos next makes a point that the verbal communication from Jehovah is both external and internal, and that internal (to the soul or audible only to the prophet) does not collapse into the "consciousness theology" and the subjectivism of the liberal concept of "revelation" where revelation simply means a heightened moral consciousness or awareness of nearness to the ethical ideal of the prophetic religion. Vos urges us not to probe the proportion of internal and external revelation, but to accept that both forms come to the prophets, making them bearers of words that have divine authority. https://vimeo.com/359289084

The Book of Malachi speaks to the people of God after their return from exile in Babylon. They and their leaders are being called to account for offering their worst to the Lord. And now, in chapter 2, the priests are specifically addressed for their unfaithfulness. Rob and Bob discuss these things and many more on this week's episode of Theology Simply Profound.

Doctrine is not optional for the body of Christ. Yet, neither is it to be pursued in abstraction. Christians must speak the truth in love, applying that truth in the changing circumstances of daily life. Using the biblical metaphors of a shepherd and a pilgrim, Jeff Waddington and Camden Bucey comment on a variety of challenges in the ministry and the importance of presenting every person mature in Christ (Col. 1:28). https://vimeo.com/358120644

In this episode of Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob discuss the first chapter of Malachi and the concern he has for the cold worship offered by his people and those who lead the people in this way.

Darryl G. Hart speaks about J. Gresham Machen's classic work, Christianity and Liberalism. In becoming familiar the content and historical context of this book, people will gain an understanding not only of twentieth century Presbyterianism but also of global Christianity to a degree. And in contemplating the lessons of this era, people will also be better equipped to meet the challenges that face the contemporary church. Westminster Seminary Press has issued a new edition of Machen's classic work and has included new essays by the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary, the institution Machen founded in 1929 after the reorganization of the board of Princeton Seminary. Dr. D. G. Hart is Distinguished Associate Professor of History at Hillsdale College and the author or co-author of many books on American religious history, including Seeking a Better Country: 300 Years of American Presbyterianism, Defending the Faith: J. Gresham Machen and the Crisis of Conservative Protestantism in Modern America, and The Selected Shorter Writings of J. Gresham Machen. https://vimeo.com/356221024

This week on Theology Simply Profound, we begin a series of readings of J. Gresham Machen's 1923 classic book, Christianity and Liberalism.