Since 2008, we have been taking a beat around New Year’s Day to bring you some of the top moments from the preceding year. We have several great clips lined up for you today.

This was another encouraging year for us at Reformed Forum. We published four new courses. We also hosted our first two in-person courses (on Zephaniah and 2 Peter) and increased our online student base to 4,210 people (+11% over last year) in 84 countries (+13%).

But perhaps the highlight of the year was the publication of Lane G. Tipton’s book, The Trinitarian Theology of Cornelius Van Til. We believe this work is a significant advance in Reformed apologetic scholarship and will be read for decades to come.

Every Person Mature

Our mission is to support the church in her charge of presenting every person mature in Christ (Col. 1:28). In order to continue producing resources that benefit local churches at home and around the world in accord with this mission, we have launched the Every Person Mature campaign. Our goal is to raise $150,000 by the end of 2022 so that we may continue to provide free theological resources for your congregation and others like it around the world.

The good news is that we are nearly halfway there! A generous donor has committed to match all donations toward this cause up to $75,000. By donating to the Every Person Mature campaign, you will fund essential resources for believers who are hungry for confessionally Reformed resources.

Top Episodes

• Episode 745 — Van Til, Thomas Aquinas, and the Natural Knowledge of God with Lane Tipton
• Episode 764 — A God-Centered Approach to History with Vern Poythress
• Episode 761 — Van Til Group #8 — The Christian Philosophy of Knowledge with Carlton Wynne and Lane Tipton
• Episode 736 — John Owen, Jeremiah 31, and the Old Covenant with Carlton Wynne and Will Wood
• Episode 780 — 1689 Federalism and the Old Covenant with Jeremy Boothby, Carlton Wynne, and Lane Tipton
• Episode 762 — The Extra Calvinistic from Zwingli to Early Orthodoxy with K. J. Drake
• Episode 746 — Natural Theology and the Effects of Sin with Lane Tipton, Rob McKenzie, and Ryan Noha
• Episode 748 — Van Til Group #7 — Creation, Sin and Its Curse with Carlton Wynne and Lane Tipton
• Episode 772 — A Tale of Two Trees with Scott Wright
• Episode 752 — The Two Ages in Scripture with Adam York

Chapters

• 00:00:06 Introduction
• 00:05:32 Lane Tipton — Van Til, Thomas Aquinas, and the Natural Knowledge of God
• 00:11:35 Vern Poythress — A God-Centered Approach to History
• 00:20:01 Van Til Group #8 — The Christian Philosophy of Knowledge
• 00:26:14 Carlton Wynne — John Owen, Jeremiah 31, and the Old Covenant
• 00:34:20 Carlton Wynne, Jeremy Boothby, and Lane Tipton — 1689 Federalism and the Old Covenant
• 00:45:38 K. J. Drake — The Extra Calvinistic from Zwingli to Early Orthodoxy
• 00:51:16 Lane Tipton — Natural Theology and the Effects of Sin
• 00:56:23 Van Til Group #7 — Creation, Sin and Its Curse
• 01:09:09 Scott Wright — A Tale of Two Trees
• 01:14:15 Adam York — The Two Ages in Scripture
• 01:20:59 Conclusion

Participants: Adam York, Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Dan Ragusa, Jeremy Boothby, K. J. Drake, Lane G. Tipton, Rob McKenzie, Ryan Noha, Vern Poythress, Will Wood

Carlton Wynne, Jeremy Boothby, Lane Tipton, and Camden Bucey discuss 1689 Federalism and the old covenant. Continuing an ongoing conversation carried over several podcast episodes and YouTube videos, the panel interacts with views presented by Sam Renihan, Richard Barcellos, and Brandon Adams in “Two-Tier Typology and OT Salvation.” They responded specifically to Christ the Center episode 736 (John Owen, Jeremiah 31, and the Relationship between the Old and New Covenants) from last year, in which Camden Bucey spoke with Carlton Wynne and Will Wood at RTS Atlanta. That episode followed many of the covenant theological themes expressed by Jeremy Boothby in Christ the Center episode 693 (Typology and Covenant Membership in Hebrews).

After surveying views presented by Nehemiah Coxe, Paul Jewett, and David Kingdon, the conversation focuses on the relationship of old covenant types to the accomplishment of redemption wrought by Jesus Christ in the new covenant.

Chapters

• 00:00:07 Introduction
• 00:10:18 Taxonomy of Reformed Baptist Views: Nehemiah Coxe
• 00:19:35 Paul King Jewett
• 00:20:51 David Kingdon
• 00:22:49 Sam Renihan
• 00:29:34 An Exclusively National and Carnal Significance of Covenant
• 00:39:36 Kinds of Obedience in the Old Covenant
• 00:49:01 Works and the Unregenerate
• 00:54:00 How Were Old Testament Believers Saved?
• 01:04:57 Symbolism, Typology, and Means of Grace
• 01:21:19 Two Religions
• 01:24:38 Hebrews 9–10
• 01:32:21 Christ Is the Substance of the Old Covenant
• 01:43:53 Christ’s Mediation in the Covenants
• 01:49:40 Conclusion

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Jeremy Boothby, Lane G. Tipton

We pick up on our conversation from episode 655 with Jeremy Boothy on covenant theology in the book of Hebrews by focusing upon Vos’s Triangle and the heavenly-centered understanding of typology expressed by the author of Hebrews. This leads us to discuss a redemptive-historical hermeneutic as well as the nature of new covenant membership in our present covenant-historical era.

Rev. Boothy is pastor of Christ Covenant OPC in Amarillo, Texas.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jeremy Boothby

Benjamin Gladd, associate professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi joins us to speak about his book, From Adam and Israel to the Church: A Biblical Theology of the People of God, which is in the Essential Studies in Biblical Theology series from IVP Academic. Dr. Gladd is also the editor of the series. In this particular book, Dr. Gladd examines the nature of the people of God from Genesis to Revelation through the lens of being in God’s “image.”

Gladd addresses biblical-theological themes such as Eden as a mountain-temple, Israel as a corporate image of God, Christ as the perfect image of God and firstborn over all creation, and the Church as the renewed image of God oriented toward the new heavens and new earth.

Participants: Benjamin Gladd, Camden Bucey, Jeremy Boothby

Since Christ the Center began nearly thirteen years ago, we have taken time to look back on the highlights of the year. Continuing the update to our tradition from last year, here this year’s top ten clips from Christ the Center as determined by YouTube views.

1. Ep. 633 – What Is Christendom? with David VanDrunen
2. Ep. 655 – 1689 Federalism and Reformed Covenant Theology with Jeremy Boothby
3. Ep. 638 – John Frame and Two Divine Existences with James Dolezal
4. Ep. 659 – Why Study Karl Barth? with Jim Cassidy
5. Ep. 633 – The Noahic Covenant with David VanDrunen
6. Ep. 630 – The Importance of Discourse Analysis with Matthew Patton
7. Ep. 641 – The Ancient Understanding of Baptism as Washing and Regeneration with Glen Clary
8. Ep. 629 – Abridged Bavinck with Carlton Wynne and Charles Williams
9. Ep. 666 – John Nelson Darby and Dispensationalism with Michael Glodo
10. Ep. 631 – What Is Public Theology? with Jordan Ballor

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carlton Wynne, Charles Williams, David VanDrunen, Glen Clary, James Dolezal, Jeff Waddington, Jeremy Boothby, Jim Cassidy, Jordan Ballor, Matthew Patton, Michael Glodo

The matter hinges on the present life-setting of the New Covenant Church in the wilderness. The author of Hebrews compares the church, which is presently in the New Covenant, to the first generation of Israelites in the wilderness. They were on their pilgrimage and had not yet entered their promised rest. As such, there was a real possibility of apostasy from the covenant. Likewise, the New Covenant Church has not yet entered the New Heavens and New Earth, to which earthly Canaan pointed. The author encourages covenant members to strive to enter their rest, not to fall away as they follow their forerunner and heavenly high priest, Jesus Christ.

Rev. Boothby is pastor of Christ Covenant OPC in Amarillo, Texas.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Jeremy Boothby