It’s been relatively quiet on this blog lately because my family is getting settled after a move. At the beginning of July, we  moved from Trinity’s campus in Deerfield, Illinois, to Moore, South Carolina (explanation here). Deerfield is a relatively posh Chicago suburb; Moore is a relatively quaint Southern community. And we’re enjoying the variety.

It might be even quieter over the next nine days because I’ll be guest-blogging with some other friends at Justin Taylor’s “Between Two Worlds.”

It’s now available.

Related post: “The God Who Is There“

I consider that hypothetical situation today on Kevin DeYoung’s blog to probe how we should confront others. What does gospel-centered confrontation look like?

In March I highlighted Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney’s Essential Edwards Collection. WTS Books is offering it from July 27 to August 2 for just $22.50 (50% off the cover price).

• View a sample PDF.
• Watch the authors discuss the series (less than eight minutes): part 1 | part 2.
• Read the endorsements.

That’s what I address in a guest post today for Kevin DeYoung’s blog.

Hannah Whitall Smith in 1909

I clarify two issues in a guest post today for Kevin DeYoung’s blog:

1. What about Keswick today?
2. Is Frances Havergal really connected to Keswick theology?

I raise that question today in a guest post for Kevin DeYoung’s blog.

That’s what J. I. Packer calls Keswick theology. And for good reason, too. It nearly destroyed him.

For details, see my guest post today for Kevin DeYoung’s blog: “Pietistic Goofiness: How Keswick Theology Nearly Destroyed J.I. Packer.”

See here.

Beacon Ads is sponsoring it.

(This site is part of the Beacon Ad Network.)

Within a week of announcing that Logos Bible Software is publishing my book Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology, I received over one hundred emails and comments asking the same question: “Will your book be available in print?”

Short Answer

No, at least for now.

Longer Answer

No. The plan for now is that the book will be available exclusively in electronic format from Logos Bible Software.

The factors involved in this decision are complicated, but here are some reasons that I chose Logos Bible Software to publish my first solo book:

1. I love Logos Bible Software. I’d rather have a book in Logos format than in print any day. (more…)

My pastor, Mike Bullmore, began his sermon last Sunday with a brief update regarding a conference he ministered at the previous week in Toronto. The conference MP3s are available for free, and here’s what Mike contributed:

1. The Functional Centrality of the Gospel
2. Panel with Q&A: Bullmore, Martin and guests
3. The Gospel and Pastoral Character
4. Panel with Q&A: Bullmore, Symons, Boot, Martin, and guests
5. The Gospel and Pastoral Labor
6. Panel with Q&A: Bullmore, Martin and guests
7. The Gospel and Pastoral Hope
8. Panel with Q&A: Bullmore, Martin, Symons, and guests

I enjoy singing Andrew Peterson’s “Beautiful Girl” to my two-year-old daughter Kara. (It’s on his album Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies.) So for Father’s Day, Jenni framed this picture for me (click to enlarge):

I’ve published these three blog posts on The Gospel Coalition in the last three days:

1. Carson on 1 Peter 2:9-10. A PDF of Carson’s chapter in a book that just came out this month.
2. Carson’s Sermon on God at Next. An MP3 of a sermon Carson preached on May 30.
3. Why Can’t We Just Read the Bible? A PDF of an interview with Michael Horton on hermeneutics and theological method.

I recently answered these questions from Alex Chediak about my book on Keswick theology:

1. Keswick theology teaches that, after salvation, one must pursue the second blessing. Having received it, can one lose this “second blessing”? If so, what would be the mark(s) of such a loss?
2. How would such a person get it back?
3. Is Keswick thinking in any way at the root of the struggle many have with discerning “the personal will of God” for their lives?
4. Some of us might read names like Andrew Murray, J. Hudson Taylor, and Amy Carmichael and think “Wow. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.” Does Keswick thinking, historically, have a track record of promoting more holy living on the part of Christians?
5. In your handout, you say, “Since it is unlikely that all living believers will agree on their view of sanctification, believers should promote unity on this issue as much as possible.” Can you unpack this a bit?
6. Romans 7 is a text that divides Christians, with some saying that Paul is referring to the believer’s ongoing struggle with sin, and others (like Doug Moo, and Martin Lloyd-Jones) arguing that Paul is referring to a pre-converted man (possibly himself). Is it possible to take the latter view and still not be a proponent of Keswick theology?
7. Related to the previous question, when discussing the believer’s ongoing struggle, should we use the word “flesh” or “old man” to refer to what John Owen called our “remaining corruptions”? Is there a difference?

—Part 1 | Part 2

Related:

1. Let God and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology
2. Interview on Keswick Theology with Kevin DeYoung

I’m listening to an audio-essay of J. Gresham Machen’s “The Important of Christian Scholarship” (HT: Phil Gons), and this sentence stood out to me: “But because argument is insufficient, it does not follow that it is unnecessary.” I’ve placed it in bold below so that you can read it in context.

The Importance of Argument

Certainly a Christianity that avoids argument is not the Christianity of the New Testament. The New Testament is full of argument in defense of the faith. The Epistles of Paul are full of argument—no one can doubt that. But even the words of Jesus are full of argument in defense of the truth of what Jesus was saying. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?” Is not that a well-known form of reasoning, which the logicians would put in its proper category? Many of the parables of Jesus are argumentative in character. Even our Lord, who spake in the plenitude of divine authority, did condescend to reason with men. Everywhere the New Testament meets objections fairly, and presents the gospel as a thoroughly reasonable thing. (more…)