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Micah: Proclaiming the Incomparable God
Coming late November 2018 Endorsement from Rev. Jerome Julien: As Rev. Martyn McGeown points out...
Book Review: Grace and Assurance
Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt, by Martyn McGeown. Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2018. Hardcover. 384 pages. [Reviewed by Derrick Span, a member of Immanuel Protestant Reformed Church]
Rev. Martyn McGeown's book, entitled Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt, emphasizes the necessity, as Reformed Christians, to thoroughly understand our creeds and confessions. These creeds and confessions exhibit what heresies our fathers fought against and what they clung to with ardent zeal. We might ask what value there is in reading a book about the Canons, or we might object that the Canons, Belgic Confession, and Heidelberg Catechism are only creeds. Should we be spending our time studying these old creeds and confessions when we have big enough problems understanding our Bible? Are we not supposed to hold to sola scriptura? While these areas of concern are essential, they express a misunderstanding that we cannot learn from those who came before us. We must be careful in speaking in that way. Instead, we ought to read and listen to those who fought for the truth, seeking the truth from them. By hearing them, we will be better equipped to read God’s word through an informed outlook. So I encourage the use of this book not just for informing us of what our fathers taught, but as a means to examine what we hold to and whether we maintain the understanding of God’s word. To encourage this mindset, a brief explanation of the book is necessary.
The author’s explanation of the Canons begins with the intent, namely to expose Arminianism as erroneous from the ground up. To accomplish this purpose, our fathers had to explain many different doctrines as clearly as possible to leave no room for Arminianism to stand. Where would they begin? Would they start with the main point that Arminian fought against, i.e., reprobation? As a reading of the Canons would illustrate, they did not begin with reprobation; in fact, they did not for some time. The Canons began with who God is and who man is in relation to God. McGeown and our forefathers teach us a crucial bit of wisdom by starting with God in their explanation.
RFPA Update - Summer 2018
IN THIS ISSUE: Getting books into eager hands Color House Graphics Tour Upcoming children's books...
The Bible and Israel (8)
“Through their fall (literally, “their transgression”) salvation is come unto the Gentiles” (11:11). The “transgression” here is Israel’s great sin in rejecting and crucifying the Messiah—only a hardened Israel could have committed such a gross transgression, which transgression was necessary for our salvation. The result of this transgression is: “the fall of them” (11:12); “the diminishing of them” (11:12); “the casting away of them” (11:15); and their “blindness in part” (11:25). This is God’s awful, but just judgment on the nation of Israel and on most Israelites.
Nevertheless, the judgment of the Jews brings salvation to elect, believing Gentiles (and to elect, believing Jews, too), namely: “the riches of the world” (11:12); “the riches of the Gentiles” (11:12); and “the reconciling of the world” (11:15), which Paul calls the “fullness of the Gentiles” (11:25). In addition, God purposes by the casting away of the Jewish people to provoke some of the unbelieving Jews to jealousy so that they believe in Jesus Christ: “to provoke them to jealousy” (11:11); “if by any means I may provoke to emulation (or, jealousy) them which are my flesh, and might save some of them” (11:14). In this way, the reprobation and hardening of Israel serves the salvation of elect Jews and Gentiles in the New Testament age!
Grace and Assurance has arrived!
Rev. McGeown's new book, Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt, has...
The Bible and Israel (7)
Our last blog post on this subject was May 25, 2018. We have proven from scripture that the New Testament church is the fulfillment of—not the replacement for—Israel. One final chapter requires out attention: it is the greatest chapter in the New Testament dealing with God’s purposes with Israel in the New Testament age, Romans 11. Since Romans 9–11 constitute a unit in the epistle, we summarize the contents of those three chapters of God’s word to demonstrate yet again that the Bible promises salvation only to those who believe in Jesus Christ.
Chapters 9–11 then begin a new section of the epistle in which Paul focuses on God’s sovereign purposes with the Jews and Gentiles.
In Romans 9:1–3 Paul expresses his sorrow at the perishing of so many of his countrymen who are his “kinsmen according to the flesh” (9:3). He lists their many advantages (adoption, glory, covenants, law, service, promises, etc.), chief among which is that Christ was born of them, who is God blessed, forever (9:5).
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