UNIO CUM CHRISTO BLOG

Both the preacher and his people are concerned that the sermon be relevant and easily applied. And this valid concern can lead to abuse in cases where the preacher begins by searching the text for applications without taking the time to find out what the text actually says.

Calvin contributes to our understanding of the image of God, but his concept of the image of God has some limitations. Later reformed theologians have overcome some of the problems by using what they learned from Calvin.

One recent analysis of the function of the Bible in the Christian church states that the Scriptures “died” when their ecclesiastical underpinning was weakened following the Reformation and the rise of confessional conflicts, with the result that its authority became unsustainable. The Scriptures were eclipsed by the “academic Bible” of biblical studies and became a text, its status weakened by polemics.

Ancient Gnosticism is still in the church. Just as the canon deeply divided ancient Gnosticism from biblical orthodoxy, in the same way it also divides modern forms of Gnosticism from contemporary biblical orthodoxy.

During the past one hundred years the worldwide Protestant Church either focused so excessively on social ethics and human liberation that the core of the gospel of salvation became marginalized, or neglected humanism and preservation of life by focusing on “evangelization for the salvation of individuals and numeric growth of churches.”

Interview with Dr. Gaffin

Hebrews uses the language of “witness” in three significant ways, each related to Scripture. First, God testifies to the person and work of his Son through Moses in the law (Heb 3:5; 8:5; 10:1).

On what basis should we approach the challenge of Christian witness in public life? At the most basic level we have the great commandments—to love God with our whole lives and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 22:34-40).

The first number of Unio cum Christo considers the theme of Christian witness. Many martyrs have borne witness in their final prayers. The following prayer is remarkable, although it can be discussed whether Thomas Cromwell (not to be confused with the later Oliver) was a martyr or whether he really said this prayer …

Unio Cum Christo journal has been launched in US at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.

Unio Cum Christo journal has been launched in Indonesia at International Reformed Evangelical Seminary, Jakarta.

A profound paradox concerning Christian suffering runs through the New Testament and on from there throughout the church age. It is part of the paradox of the gospel and of Christ’s own person and work. The Lord was despised and rejected, put to death in weakness, but raised in glory.