About

About This Blog:

Welcome to my blog, New Creation Person.

So…what is New Creation Person? As the subtitle puts it, we are “Devoted to Exploring the Riches of Reformed Theology and its Impact on the New Life in Christ.” In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul writes these words, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!” (ESV). Christians are new creation people. This blog is dedicated to exploring all that it means to be a new creation person.

That’s the “what.” The next question is how will we do this?  Again, the Apostle Paul writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).  I am a firm believer that Christian living is a product of Christian thinking.  As I like to say, the hands won’t do what the heart doesn’t believe, and the heart won’t believe what the mind isn’t first convinced is true.  Therefore, knowing and understanding the word of God is primarily what this blog will be about.

I believe that the recovery of the gospel during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century was like a light shining in the darkness.  The theology of the Reformers — in particular the Doctrines of Grace — will be the focus of much of the content on this blog.  The best way to study Reformed Theology is to study the creeds and confessions of the Reformation.  To that end, one of the features on NCP is Creeds and Confessions.  This feature will go systematically through the historic creeds and confessions of the Christian faith studying what the doctrinal positions of Christianity teach and how that applies to our Christian living.  In addition to exploring Reformed Theology, we will also seek to apply the Bible to the questions and concerns that we have here in the 21st century.  This will be handled by the NCP feature called What Does the Bible Say About… This feature takes a topic and gives the Biblical teaching on that topic.  Additionally, the Christian faith is constantly under attack.  As such, now more than ever, it is important for Christians to not only know what they believe, but why they believe it.  Many of the posts you will see on this blog are in the form of question & answer.  These are questions posed by real people who are struggling with matters of the Christian faith.  Hopefully their inclusion here will help others in their quest for truth.  Last, but certainly not least, there is a section discusses the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Where would we be without Jesus Christ?  All of the Bible study, theology, etc. would be meaningless if we don’t grow in our faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Your comments, questions and criticisms are welcome. I will answer any honest question or criticism that is given in a polite and intellectually honest fashion (read the Rules of Engagement below).

Thank you for visiting and may you be blessed!

About Me:

This is me!

A little about myself.  I am married (Linda) with three children (Matt, Lauren and Jeremy).  I have been a follower of Jesus Christ for about seven years (August 2001).  I currently attend worship at Hope Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Grayslake, Illinois.

Me and Linda!

I graduated high school from Albert G. Lane Technical (Chicago) in 1983 and received my B.A. in philosophy from Loyola University Chicago in 1993.  I currently work in the IT industry, where I’ve been employed for the last 15 years.  I’ve worked at Sears (1994-1996), Montgomery Ward (1996-1997) and Health Care Service Corporation (1997-current).

I currently live in the northern suburbs of Chicago (Vernon Hills).

You can read my testimony here.

Interests:

I enjoy reading and writing.  My reading interests vary.  My non-fiction reading interests include:  Theology and apologetics, history, biography, politics and current events, and Christian living.  My fiction reading interests range from action thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, espionage, and court-room dramas.  I am currently in the process of researching the subject of Reformed Theology.  Right now I am reading Recovering the Reformed Confession by R. Scott Clark.

I am an avid sports fan with football being my favorite.  I follow all of the Chicago teams (Cubs, Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks).

I am trying to learn the game of golf, but my swing (and my patience) needs to improve.

I am an amatuer guitar player and I love to play the blues!!!

A Few of My Favorite Things…

TV & Movies:  Lord of the Rings trilogy; Spider-Man trilogy; National Treasure 1&2; Chronicles of Narnia; The Mummy 1&2; Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Iron Man; The Last Samurai; The Patriot; 300; Casino Royale; Quantum of Solace; Invincible; Rudy; Law & Order; 24; Sopranos; Express; The Italian Job.

Books:  The Holy Bible (God); Desiring God (John Piper); Knowing God (J.I. Packer); Mere Christianity & Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis); Case for Christ (Lee Strobel); Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkein); Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis); A Case for Amillennialism (Kim Riddlebarger); God of Promise, Christless Christianity (Michael Horton); Disciplines of Grace and Pursuit of Holiness (Jerry Bridges); Created in God’s Image (Anthony Hoekema); Doctrines of Grace (James Montgomerie Boice and Phillip Ryken); The Promise of the Future (Cornelis P. Venema); and I’m sure a whole bunch of other books that I’m not recalling properly right now (I’ll add them as they are remembered).

Musical Artists:  Jeremy Camp (Christian); Caedmon’s Call (Christian); Casting Crowns (Christian); Big Daddy Weave (Christian); MercyMe (Christian); David Crowder Band (Christian); Yes (Rock); Journey (Rock); Led Zeppelin (Rock); Pink Floyd (Rock); Eric Clapton (Rock/Blues); Stevie Ray Vaughan (Blues); Jimi Hendrix (Rock/Blues); Rush (Rock); Boston (Rock); Beatles (Rock); Muddy Waters (Blues); Chuck Berry (Rock-n-Roll); Nickelback (Rock); Foo Fighters (Rock); 3 Doors Down (Rock); Daughtry (Rock); Brad Paisley (Country)

My Theological Convictions:

• My general bent is Reformed, Conservative and Evangelical.  I adhere to the Westminster Standards (the Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms) and to the Three Forms of Unity (Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort)
• Regarding salvation: I am a full Five-Point Calvinist.
• Regarding gender roles: I am complimentarian (essentially and spiritually equal, but different when it comes to function and role)
• Regarding the End Times: I am Reformed Amillennial in my end times view.  I hold to the “Two-Age Eschaton” model of the end times.
• Regarding the Spiritual Gifts: I am a quasi-cessationist (i.e., I believe the sign gifts–tongues, healing on demand, etc.–are no longer normative for our day, though I won’t go so far as to say they have completely ceased).
• Regarding the nation of Israel:  I hold to the view called Covenant Theology.  I do not believe in a sharp distinction between the nation of Israel and the Church.  True Israel (the remnant in the OT and the Church in the NT) is one continuous people of God (Look for a blog post on this in the future)
• Regarding the Creation/Evolution debate: I am a Young-Earth, Six-Day Creationist.
• Regarding the Word of God: I hold to the absolute authority of the Word of God. I believe it is verbally and plenary inspired. Every word, not every thought, was “breathed out” by God to his chosen authors, who wrote as moved by the Holy Spirit. As such, any and all of the above doctrinal stances are subject to the Word of God. While I hold to these positions, I also realize that not everyone does; therefore, I will debate vigoursly, but not divide over them. My views are also subject to change if I am convinced Scripture teaches otherwise.

Rules of Engagement on NCP:

I am a debater by nature.  I love to discuss and debate the finer points of theology, apologetics, philosophy, and the Christian faith.  However, I despise debates that turn into ad hominem attacks (as some do).  Usually that is the last refuge for someone who doesn’t have a logical leg to stand on.

With that said, I welcome and encourage comments to this blog.  All comments are welcome whether or not they agree with me (I’m a big boy and I can take it).  All I ask is that you follow a few, simple rules:

1. Be polite:  If there is anything I can’t stand it’s people who just want to jump all over you because they disagree with you.  If you’re that type of person, don’t comment.  If you do, your comments will be banned.
2. Attack the issue, not the person:  I don’t care if you disagree with me and think I’m the biggest fool in the world.  As long as your restrict your criticisms to my point of view, you will be allowed to post.  If all you want to do is engage in ad hominem attack, don’t post here.
3. Avoid profanity.  Vulgar language is NOT acceptable on this blog.  I don’t care if your comment is the very model of a valid, sound argument.  If you use profanity, you will be banned.
4. Respect differing points of view.  I am NOT a relativist (i.e., I do NOT think all opinions are equally valid and true).  I believe in absolute truth.  However, even if I’m convinced your opinion is completely mistaken, I will respect your right to hold it and tolerate your right to express it.  Please do likewise.
5. For theological debates between Christians:  I understand that not all Christians agree on all points of doctrine.  As such, the above rules apply.  This rule is especially for Christians debating points of doctrine.  Remember, the world is watching!  If they see Christians bickering and acting mean-spirited with one another, it destroys our witness to the world.  Therefore, I quote the famous saying, “In the essentials, unity.  In the non-essentials, diversity.  In all things, charity.”