Linked Together: Theological Questions

I’ve gone a whole month without much online reading, but I did read (or watch) these and recommend them to you.

Trinity
How do you make a biblical case for the Trinity? (Brett Kunkle)

Assurance
I’ve not struggled much with assurance, but people I love have, and, writes Nick Batzig, “some of the greatest ministers and hymn-writers in the history of the church struggled with assurance of salvation—namely, John Bunyan, John Owen, William Cowper, John Newton, Adolph Monod, etc.” Here is a list of five Puritan works to help the believer who wonders, “How can I be sure I am being saved?”

Law
This is one question I do struggle with: What role does the Mosaic law play in the lives of Christians today? (Justin Taylor) 

(I don’t quite buy any answer I’ve read—and it’s not because I haven’t read quite a bit on the issue. I just wish the answers given came together in a tidier package.)

Linked Together: In Scripture

Two pieces of recommended reading for your weekend.

Most Important Passage
Michael Kruger says Romans 3:21-22 is the most important passage the whole of scripture. 

This passage is the basis for the great Reformation doctrine of sola fide–the idea that we are saved by faith alone and not by the works of the law… .

Romans 3:21-22 explains how sola-fide works, teaching us that faith in Christ is the sole instrument through which we receive a righteous status before God. Which is good news

[f]or those who doubt their faith and find their faith to be weak … Our hope is not in how strong our faith is, but in how strong and righteous our Savior is.

Read Kruger’s explanation of this passage.

The Psalms
Three reasons to study the Psalms:

1. They are God-inspired poetry: “Studying the Psalms is a wonderful way to enter into the world of God’s inspired and inspiring poems!”
2. They teach us how to talk to God: “The Psalms cover the full range of human emotions, spilling out in praise, thanksgiving, and lament. And in this way, they model for us how to approach our transcendent but imminent God in prayer.”
3. They point to Jesus: “[The Psalms] point to the salvation found in Jesus Christ (as Jesus himself put it, Luke 24:44). A careful Christological reading of the Psalms can “make [us] wise for salvation” (2 Tim. 3:15).”

Read the whole piece by Douglas Sean O’Donnell.

Linked Together: Suggestions for Watching or Listening

Romans Bible Study
Michael Kruger introduced a video Bible study series on his blog:

[T]his Fall we began a new study of Romans here at the RTS Charlotte campus. It is a Wednesday morning Bible study for women in the Charlotte community.  …

[W]e are filming each installment of the series and posted the videos online, along with the handouts. 

These are the videos posted so far:

1. Watch Video - Download Notes
2. Watch Video - Download Notes
3. Watch Video - Download Notes
4. Watch Video - Download Notes
5. Watch Video - Download Notes
6. Watch Video - Download Notes
7. Watch Video - Download Notes
8. Watch Video - Download Notes
9. Watch Video - Download Notes

I thought I’d already linked to these, but I can’t find anything. Perhaps I tweeted a link but never got around to actually linking here on the blog. I’ve watched the first seven videos and highly recommend them. I wish all women’s Bible studies were like this: rigorous, but also easy to understand. There will be a total of eleven videos posted this fall and eleven more this coming spring.

Here’s the link to the series. The upcoming videos will be added as they are posted. 

Theology on the Go
Robert Brady of Place for Truth introduces a new podcast:

[Each Theology on the Go program] is a brief conversation - one guest, one topic. Its tagline is, “A brief conversation about an eternal truth.” It’s the perfect length for a short commute, or a break in the day.

Each episode features a  pastor or theologian discussing a theological subject with Jonathan Master. Here’s the iTunes link.

5 Minutes in Church History
Hosted by Dr. Stephen Nichols, this a weekly podcast gives us a “glimpse of how the eternal, unchangeable God has worked in the church over prior generations, and how this can encourage us today. This is our story—our family history.”

 I’ve linked to individual episodes of this podcast previously, but here’s the link to them all. And don’t miss the story of Wibrandis Rosenblatt, the Bride of the Reformation, who was married to four different Reformers.