Erecting the Right Fences in the Right Places, Part Eight: Baptism as a Secondary Doctrine
In Finding the Right Hills to Die On, Gavin Ortlund develops a theory of doctrinal triage. In this theory, second-rank doctrines are not fundamental to the gospel, but they are important to some level of Christian fellowship. To illustrate how second-rank doctrines...
Erecting the Right Fences in the Right Places, Part Seven: Ranking Secondary Doctrines
Through the fourth chapter of Finding the Right Hills to Die On, Gavin Ortlund has been discussing primary or first-rank doctrines—the doctrines that are traditionally known as fundamentals or essentials. His thesis thus far has been that when these doctrines are...
Radical Monotheism: What Is Worship?
[This essay was originally published In the Nick of Time on August 12, 2005.] The doctrinal core of all biblical religion—the most fundamental of all fundamentals—is the shema. It affirms the existence of one and only one true and living God, Yahweh. Since any object...
Give to the Max 2023
In the Nick of Time comes to your inbox free of charge fifty weeks a year. We only talk to you about money during one of those weeks, and this is it. It’s time for Central Seminary’s annual Give to the Max event, and we’re going to ask you to...
Erecting the Right Fences in the Right Places, Part Five: Why Primary Doctrines Are Worth Fighting For
In chapter four of Finding the Right Hills to Die On, Gavin Ortlund makes the case that primary doctrines are worth fighting for. The first part of the chapter is a discussion of how to distinguish primary (fundamental) doctrines from doctrines of lesser importance....
Erecting the Right Fences in the Right Places, Part Five: Why Primary Doctrines Are Worth Fighting For
Gavin Ortlund has written Finding the Right Hills to Die On to work out a theory of doctrinal triage. While I have expressed reservations over the analogy to triage, I am all in favor of every thoughtful attempt to weigh doctrines for their importance. Like Ortlund, I...
How To Think About Israel
The following essay was written in 2015, during Barak Obama’s presidency. It originally addressed specific events in the relationship between the United States and Israel. Recent events indicate that the core ideas of the essay are still germane. References to...
Erecting the Right Fences in the Right Places, Part Four: Ortlund’s Journey on Secondary and Tertiary Doctrines
Gavin Ortlund has written a book, Finding the Right Hills to Die On, that aims to develop a theory of doctrinal triage. He opens his third chapter by reviewing his strategy in the first two: “It is generally safe to locate yourself between two extremes. That is...
Erecting the Right Fences in the Right Places, Part Three: The Danger of Doctrinal Minimalism
Upon turning to chapter two of Gavin Ortlund’s book, Finding the Right Hills to Die On, one encounters this opening sentence: “Doctrinal separatism is a real problem” (45). On its own, this statement stands without qualification or limitation....
Erecting the Right Fences in the Right Places, Part Two: The Danger of Doctrinal Sectarianism
Gavin Ortlund’s book, Finding the Right Hills to Die On, divides into two sections. The first asks, “Why theological triage?” The second chapter in the book begins to answer that question by warning against “doctrinal sectarianism.”...
Erecting the Right Fences in the Right Places, Part One: Introduction
In 2020 Gavin Ortlund published Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage. The book explores the relationship between Christian fellowship and the various levels of importance that characterize Christian doctrine and practice. I believe that...
Canonicity and the New Testament
Recognizing the canonicity of the Old Testament writings is relatively easy. We can accept the evaluations made by Israel about which writings are authoritative. These evaluations have been endorsed by Jesus and the apostles. Israel has handed the Church an intact...
Canonicity, the Old Testament, and the Apocrypha
When Protestants talk about the Bible they mean the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. To these, Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy add several other apocryphal or deuterocanonical books, plus additions to multiple biblical books. Even more apocryphal...
Notes at the Beginning of the School Year
Perhaps I should begin by saying that I am not speaking for Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Only our president, Matt Morrell, has the right to do that. My goal is not to articulate policy or to represent the institution. What I am doing is reflecting upon the...
A Pastor’s Reading Plan
[This essay was originally published on April 15, 2016.] So you’re a pastor. You might be interested to know that the Schleitheim Confession, an early Anabaptist creed, specified that the first duty of the pastoral office “shall be to read.” The...
1 Thessalonians 5 and the Rapture
When answering a doctrinal question, competent theologians try to take account of everything the Bible says about that question. They will not, however, treat every relevant text equally. Some texts are more critical to a correct answer than others. Clear texts are...
Transitions in Ministry
I’ll be retiring this week. Partly. From one of my jobs. Let me explain. The vocation at which I earn my living is as a professor at Central Baptist Theological Seminary, but besides my teaching I have been pursuing three smaller callings. One is writing. One is...
The Agent of Illumination
Unsaved people in their natural state do not receive or welcome the things of God (1 Cor 2:14). Divine truth seems foolish to them because it is spiritually discerned. While they can exegete texts and can grasp what the Bible says, they cannot appreciate its relevance...
The Need for Illumination
Of the various doctrines related to Scripture (revelation, inspiration, canonicity, etc.), perhaps the most misunderstood is the doctrine of illumination. Most Bible believers agree that illumination is a work of the Holy Spirit in helping people (particularly...
Correcting Falsehood
In a sermon preached in 1855, Charles Haddon Spurgeon quoted what he referred to as an old proverb: “A lie will go round the world while truth is pulling its boots on.” The substance of this proverb can be traced at least as far back as Jonathan Swift in...
About In the Nick of Time
Occasional Essays and Other Stuff for Christian Students Presented by the Research Professor of Systematic Theology of Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis.
American Christianity needs Christian leaders. Christian leaders explain the Scriptures, bringing them to bear upon life’s urgent questions. Christian leaders exemplify the life of faith, finding their ultimate satisfaction in God alone. They unite intellectual discipline with ordinate affection, turning their entire being toward the love of God. These essays are dedicated to the task of inviting Christian students to become tomorrow’s Christian leaders.
—Kevin T. Bauder
“Be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
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