Here are some of the resources I've collected over the years that detail the problems with Federal Vision (FV) and its proponents. The FV and New Perspective on Paul (NPP) are often linked together. They are, to use an American phrase - "kissing cousins".  

There are many ways one could categorize the history of Federal Vision. I have chosen to summarize these three periods of the recent Federal Vision movement: The shepherd period (1975-2002), the Auburn Avenue period (2002-2015), the Re-branding period (2016-present day)

At the end of part 1, we ended with a question, "Have you heard God's call like Samuel, and responded, 'Here I am Lord'?" In today’s discussion, we will consider how the Bible speaks about Salvation. This is sometimes called the order of salvation (or Ordo Salutis in Latin) and is often broken into three groupings - justification, sanctification, and glorification. God's effectual calling is first in the order of salvation. Salvation begins with God calling and intervening in our exile from Him and ends with God consummating the covenant blessing and glorifying those who will inherit the promise.

In our family, we’ve experienced what it’s like in our own sin to stir fear and lob accusations toward brothers and sisters in Christ. Federal Vision legitimately is an enemy of Christian fellowship. Our aim is to encourage and equip families to live out the truths of Biblical Christianity within their local context. On this topic of Federal Vision, the church, across multiple denominational lines, from varied reformed traditions, has spoken clearly, and with biblical warrant against this false teaching. This is not a “hobby horse” personal agenda or topic of special obsession for us at Redeeming Family.

In this piece, we will consider the Bible’s explanation that Christ is the last Adam. In part two, we will consider the ethical implications of Christ as the last Adam for our daily lives.

Sometimes having ideas challenged and tested can have a refining effect. Not only do I ask my usual questions in the study of the passage, but I would also take note of what an unbeliever, a skeptic, a doubter, or a completely new Christian might make in response to the text. This can help bring to light where the tension points are in a passage. Today we look at 2 views of 1 Timothy 2 with regards to false teaching and women in the church.

There are some sources that would date 1 Timothy earlier (such as the 50s) and 2nd Timothy later in the life of Paul. One of the difficulties in discussing the dating of 1 and 2 Timothy today is the prevalence of modernist and liberal scholars in the 1800s and 1900s who deny the authenticity of 1 and 2 Timothy as genuine works from Paul.

I am compelled to draw the following conclusion: "Less" is not "more" when it comes to worldly perspectives on time. More is more. Things valued are given "more" time and things of less value are given "less" time. Things valued are given "more" resources, and things of less value are given "less" resources. We have higher expectations, higher involvement, and higher attachment to that which we value "more" than that which we value "less".

Many will call the instructions and expectations for behavior written in 1 Timothy 2 “sexist”. But the labels of the ignorant or the apostate ought not to dissuade us from faithfulness to the Lord. Christ was Himself accused of all sorts of things, labeled and named a great many untrue things by the standards of His day. His family thought He was insane (Mark 3:21). The Jewish religious teachers claimed Jesus was possessed (Mark 3:30). Jesus taught that His people were blessed when “people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:11). When on trial Jesus was accused of a great many things, although none of the accusations proved true (Matthew 26:59-60). By whose standard will we live? The ever-changing and swirling standard of contemporary finite culture, or the never-changing, ever-true standard of the living God?

Recently, this question was asked. “It seems in some ways Elijah was a type of Christ. In 1 Kings 17, he multiplied food and raised from the dead the son of a widow. Jesus feeds the five thousand and raises the son of a widow in Luke 7. Are there any other parallels, or possibly scripture that talks about this relationship more explicitly than Hebrews teaching on the types and shadows? And then do you have any resources that teach on the topic of Elijah being a type of Christ?” Read on to see Jacob’s answer.

The family is continually under assault in today's contemporary Western society. Even defining a family can be tricky today with as many "blended", "mixed", "multi-layered" and "modern" family units and styles as there are. We all know that "Yo Mama" jokes are a great way to alienate. But nowadays culture considers any sort of defined role within a family unit or structure as offensive, abusive, and evil, it's tough to put any concrete reason as to why "Yo Mama" jokes are offensive. If there are no mothers or fathers and we're supposedly all fluid anyway, these joke would not be offensive. When the most basic unit of the human experience is cast away, the society doing the casting is not long for this world.

I’m stoked to be studying 1st Timothy, and myself having old sin, old idols, and old pride taken down and out. I’m looking forward to how the Lord will humble me, grow my loyalty to Him, and find enlivened trust in God’s Word. Let me encourage you today to take your excitement, and read 1st Timothy. May you be informed, instructed, and inspired as you read and submit to God’s Word. 

The compulsory attendance law was enacted in the 1850s due to the immigration of Irish and other European groups. Many east coast cities were full of children and families that needed something to do. This was not for the education of the children, but was to teach discipline and obedience to make these children into good factory workers and citizens. In order to do that, children had to be separated from their parents. They had to be forced to learn, or be indoctrinated with the ideals of someone else.

Homeschooling has become a hot topic in recent years. Many parents have chosen to remove their children from public school settings after the interruptions in schooling due to covid. This influx of children daily in the home, has greatly changed the education landscape of our country. For many of these parents, this was the first time they had an experience with teaching their children at home. The idea of teaching children at home is not novel, although have been accustomed to think its new. In fact, throughout history teaching your children at home was the norm. Homeschooling has been around for a lot longer than we think.

Our frustration of frequency, our exasperation of exhaustion, our wrath against repetition is experienced when we are sick of having to repeat something. We’ve said something before, and now the nuisance of stating the same thing again has driven us slightly (maybe more than slightly) bonkers. Maybe it was somewhere between the 70th and 470th time the question was asked, it’s hard to tell exactly, but somewhere, at some time, we snapped and decided “this is the last time I’m going to say this” and issued the warning “don’t make me say it again”. 

The Terra Prime Adventure Series is a good clean space story for kids and families. The first story sets the scene of a tween boy who awakens on the starship to find that his sleeping pod was opened while everyone else's stayed closed. Zack must solve the problem on the spaceship of an un-identified intruder, with only the help from the on board computer.

When we think of the gospel going out into the world there are a great many things that come to mind. Missions efforts, evangelistic crusades, interpersonal conversations about Jesus, baptisms, testimonies, transformed lives, church plants, sermons, bible translation, and more. Often when we think of the gospel spreading, we think in the present sense. We consider the present global spiritual landscape and then carry on with that in mind. This is a good thing and is in no way worthy of critique. The apostles were dedicated in their lives (during what was their time in the “present”) to the spread of the gospel widely. They traveled afar, and had gospel conversations with people from dozens of cultures, lands, and languages. 

Hospitality today is delegated as something that women do. It is often conceptualized as a noun. A thing that only certain people should do because they are good at it. That is not how the Bible speaks about hospitality. Hospitality is not a gift some of us have, it is a command for all of God’s People.

Many children in our western culture have been told they can’t sit in worship. They have been led to believe that the Bible is too difficult for them to understand. That there are only certain stories worth learning about. Why these stories? Because some believe kids can only learn the “fun stories of scripture." Children are taught about Jericho falling down, but are they taught about Joshua, Rahab, or Moses? Are they taught why the walls of Jericho needed to fall down? Are they taught of the victory of God in fulfilling His great promises to His people? Are they taught how destructive and devastating sin is? Are they exposed to the ultimate reality of God’s wrath against His enemies? Are they told of the grace of God in Christ? Are they taught about the significance of the return of Christ?