By Rev. Simon Jooste As South Africa’s second-largest metropolis (after Johannesburg), Cape Town not only has a rich history but is also a melting pot of scenic views, cuisines and skin colours. She boasts incredible beauty but also thrombotic veins of prejudice and inequality, which are still fed by theContinue Reading
THE Reformed faith includes reference to total inability, unconditional election, the limited efficiency of Christ’s satisfaction, irresistible grace and the perseverance of the saints not as the sum total of the church’s confession, but as elements that can be understood only in the context of a larger body of teachingContinue Reading
On 21 September 2022, RCSS pastor Rev. Dr. Simon Jooste gave a presentation at Westminster Seminary in California on the proposal for his book, Pilgrim politics: recovering the cruciform in our creed. The book proposal is below. I. Book topic and rationale for its writing The Apostle Paul once wroteContinue Reading
Electronic media tend to dis-incarnate and distance people from their embodied lives. While excellent at disseminating information, electronic media tend to isolate us from face-to-face interaction. Social media, in particular, cannot replace, and often even undermine, the fabric of personal relationships which strengthen fellowship with God and each other. ChurchContinue Reading
This is a classic case of begging the question, i.e., assuming what has to be proved. People regularly say that amillennialism is “pessimistic” but postmillennialism is “optimistic”. Who is pessimistic about what? Define pessimism. Who says? By what standard? I say that amillennialism is truly optimistic in the way the New Testament is optimistic.Continue Reading
Was there a more un-sanctified and immature congregation of which we have an apostolic record than the Corinthian congregation? From a reading of Paul’s two canonical letters to them, they were beset by power struggles and schisms within, tolerant of gross immorality, besotted with flowery rhetoric, and unimpressed by theContinue Reading
Did you know that some parts of the Bible are more important than other parts? Yes, all the Scriptures are God-breathed, infallible, inerrant, sufficient and authoritative, but some parts are more important (not more God-breathed, etc.). The Holy Spirit had the Apostle Paul pen these familiar words: For I deliveredContinue Reading
The roots of Reformed covenant theology are as deep as the Christian revelation and tradition is old. Its importance to the Reformed faith cannot be overstated. The great Princeton theologian, B.B. Warfield, called federal (covenant) theology, “architectonic principle” of the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647). Early Fathers: present but undevelopedUntilContinue Reading
Covenant theology is important for many reasons. Although covenant theology has been around for millennia, it finds its more refined and systematic formulation in the Protestant Reformation. Its importance has been heightened in our day because of its relationship to a theology that is relatively new. In the late nineteenthContinue Reading
Colossians chapter 2, verses 8 to 15: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells inContinue Reading
The parable of the Good Samaritan is generally understood to be an ethical teaching of Jesus that challenges us to love our neighbour better. Most teachings on the parable are moralistic, leaving the impression that the imperative to “go and do likewise” is the sole aim of what Jesus isContinue Reading
What is a parable? A parable is a flexible term; it can stretch to include a variety of things. But, at its base, a parable is a metaphorical story or saying. By using a metaphor, a parable compares two things. It describes one thing by likening it to something else.Continue Reading