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What is the Gospel?

June 12, 2019 · by Cameron Shaffer · in Uncategorized

Patrick Ramsey at Meet the Puritans rhetorically asks this question, and cites Paul Levy’s satirical 2011 article on the subject,

Gospel-licious.

Our church is a gospel church that is gospel crazy for gospel living. We believe that gospel discipleship makes gospel people who create gospel change and gospel dynamics. We believe in gospel administration for gospel organising. Gospel youth work is essential for gospel kids. A gospel welcome for gospel needers!

Ramsey argues that the gospel isn’t simply the announcement of news (Levy’s position, as well as Michael Horton’s and Tim Keller’s mentioned in the article), but does include “advice”. Ramsey relies on Anthony Burgess (a Westminster Divine and hero of mine) to make the case for a narrow and broad definition of the gospel, and I think is generally correct. But I wanted to take a stab at defining the gospel, and avoid the “narrow v. broad” paradigm for an organically expanding definition that encompasses both the news of what Christ has done and the need for response…

Anthony Burges on the Definition of Justification

December 10, 2018 · by Cameron Shaffer · in Uncategorized

…If the word [justification] should signify as much as ‘to make righteous’, as to sanctify does signify ‘to make holy’, still we could grant it, though not in the Popish way; and indeed the Apostle [in] Rom. 5. says, ‘many are made righteous by the second Adam’, which if not meant of inherent holiness, does imply, that the righteousness we have by Christ is not merely declarative, but also constitutive; and indeed one is in order before the other, for a man must be righteous before he can be pronounced or declared so to be…so that there are these two things in justifying, whereof one is the ground of the other, first to make righteous, and then to pronounce or declare so.

-Anthony Burges, The True Doctrine of Justification.

Christ is an Undivided Priest

August 10, 2018 · by Cameron Shaffer · in Uncategorized

Andrew Roycroft has an excellent summary of John Owen’s argument in The Death of Death in the Death of Christ for particular atonement by virtue of Christ’s undivided priesthood. In this case it is the priesthood of Christ Jesus which…

Eate, Eate me, Soul, and thou shalt never dy

May 1, 2018 · by Cameron Shaffer · in Uncategorized

I am the Living Bread: Meditation Eight: John 6:51 I kening through Astronomy Divine The Worlds bright Battlement, wherein I spy A Golden Path my Pensill cannot line, From that bright Throne unto my Threshold ly. And while my puzzled…

Meeting the Puritans on Union and Communion with Christ

May 9, 2017 · by Cameron Shaffer · in Uncategorized

Patrick Ramsey is writing a delightful series of posts over at Meet the Puritans on union and communion with Christ. It helps that Edward Reynolds makes a number of appearances in the series. “…justification and sanctification as well as every…

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Bible Presbyterian Church

Split from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in 1937, one year after its founding, over the issues of abstinence from alcohol and premillennialism.

Members: 3,500
Congregations: 33
Doctrine: Westminster Standards (Premillenial edit)

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church

Formed by the Scottish immigrants of the Seceder tradition in 1753, the majority merged with the Covenanters in 1782, and then as the United Presbyterian Church of North America merged with the PCUSA in 1956. The remaining Associate Presbyterians form the ARPC of today.

Members: 39,700
Congregations: 296
Doctrine: Westminster Standards
Affiliations
North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council
World Reformed Fellowship