Dan Greenfield

Category: Uncategorized

  • The Limitation of a Single Life

    William B. Riley (1861–1947) was a Baptist pastor whom many affectionally called the “grand old man of fundamentalism.” In 1923 Riley began during his Sunday morning messages Riley to preach through the entire Bible, subsequently publishing those sermons in a series titled, “The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist.”…

  • Faith and blessing in and through trials – Hannah in 1 Samuel 1-2

    Hannah’s character, her prayer of praise, and devotion of Samuel to the Lord were the results and outgrowth of genuine faith persevering through trials (cf. Jam 1:2ff). Humanly speaking, if Hannah had children like her “rival” Peninnah, she would most likely not have determined to dedicate a son to the…

  • Is “evangelicalism” largely separatist or inclusivist?

    I’m using “evangelicalism” here in the sense of orthodox Christianity vis-a-vis liberal Protestantism. While doing some research I read this paragraph from a doctoral dissertaion accurately describing the state of evangelicalism since 1942: In 1942, the National Association of Evangelicals was formed partly in response to concerns shared by many…

  • John Calvin on catechizing

    One of the first things Calvin did upon returning to Geneva, Switzerland in 1541 was to provide The Geneva Catechism. On the importance of catechizing, Calvin said in a letter written Oct 22, 1548, “The church of God cannot subsist…without catechetical instruction, by which the seed of the future harvest…

  • What John Calvin feared

    The incompetence of ministers in Geneva, Switzerland compelled the city fathers to ask John Calvin to return to their city in March, 1541. Calvin dreaded the thought: “There is no place under heaven that I am more afraid of,” (letter to Viret, March, 1941). Calvin wrote the city fathers, “If…

  • A Plenteous Harvest with Few Laborers

    As Jesus went from town to town preaching the good news of the kingdom, he saw how the people were harried and hounded because of a lack of shepherding care, even though Israel had many religious leaders at that time (Matt 9:35-36). His solution was to pray to the Lord…

  • The doctrine of the Trinity, and the use of it

    Father of glory, to Thy nameImmortal praise we give,Who dost an act of grace proclaimAnd bid us rebels live. Immortal honor to the Son,Who makes Thine anger cease;Our lives He ransomed with His own,And died to make our peace. To Thine almighty Spirit beImmortal glory giv’n,Whose influence brings us near…

  • The Unity of God

    Eternal God! Almighty causeOf earth and seas, and worlds unknown!All things are subject to thy laws:All things depend on thee alone. To thee alone ourselves we owe;Let heaven and earth due homage pay;All other gods we disavow,Deny their claims, renounce their sway. Worship to thee alone belongs;Worship to thee alone…

  • Death

    Writing to his son, the Rev. Daniel Baker (1791-1857) said, O my son, never lose sight of death…We should always bear in mind not only that we just die, but that we may die soon, may die unexpectedly. The Life and Labors or the Rev. Daniel Baker, Pastor and Evangelist,…

  • “Do we set a high estimation on Christ?”

    Puritan Thomas Watson answers this question in his The Godly Man’s Picture, providing good thoughts for prayer for myself and others (pp. 50-53): 1. If we are prizers of Christ, then we prefer him in our judgments before other things. Gregory Nazianzene solemnly blessed God that he had anything to…

  • A Biblical and Theological Response and Statement of Opposition to Women Serving in the Military and Registering for the Draft

    I gave a presentation on this subject April 11, 2022 at the American Council of Christian Churches’ Spring Rally at the First Evangelical Methodist Church in Gaston, NC. You can download a PDF my presentation here.

  • Hymn: Prayer is the Soul’s Sincere Desire

    A midi of Joan Pinkston’s tune for this hymn by James Montgomery (1771-1854) is available here. Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,Uttered or unexpressed;The motion of a hidden fireThat trembles in the breast. Prayer is the burden of a sigh,The falling of a tear,The upward glancing of an eyeWhen none…

  • When All Thy Mercies, O My God

    When all Thy mercies, O my God,My rising soul surveys,Transported with the view, I’m lostIn wonder, love and praise. Unnumbered comforts to my soulThy tender care bestowed,Before my heart was e’er awareFrom whence these comforts flowed. When worn with sickness, oft hast ThouWith health renewed my face;And when in sin…

  • “Earth Day”

    Since 1970 contemporary idolaters, who worship and serve creatures and creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25), have declared April 22 as “Earth Day.” Rooted in atheistic, evolutionary dogma, they wrongly interpret current objective facts (in which climate *does* change) as evidence of “global warming,” the human-produced destruction of the…

  • John Ashbrook – The Nameless Prophet

    John Ashbrook (1926-2011) wrote dozens of articles for the OBF Visitor, a gospel pamphlet titled A Bird’s Eye View of the Bible, and three books: Family Fundamentals, New Neutralism II, and Axioms of Separation. These are still available through Here I Stand Books, which recently came under the umbrella of…

  • Dr. Rolland McCune Message #5 on Fundamentalism – W. B. Riley, Billy Graham, and Northwestern Schools

    In 1992 my young wife and I visited Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. We were warmly greeted by the president, Dr. Rolland McCune. After walking through the building and meeting some of the professors, Dr. McCune took us out for lunch. Trish and I felt greatly honored–“The Seminary PRESIDENT took little…

  • Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary, from 1997 to 2020

    I hope present day students of biblical Hebrew appreciate what they enjoy today. I hope they recognize they stand on the shoulders of poverty-stricken Hebrew students of old, such as ME in 1997. Most likely they do not, but they are products of, as one of my profs would say,…

  • Romans 16:22 – Did Tertius Greet or Write “in the Lord”?

    I’ve had an unexpectedly interesting time with this greeting. The by-far predominant view is that Tertius, Paul’s amanuensis, greeted the Roman church “in the Lord” (Kruse, Moo, Cranfield). I only read one contemporary commentator (Morris) who goes against the prevailing view and instead leans toward Tertius “writing in the Lord.”…

  • Dr. Rolland McCune Message #4 on Fundamentalism – Period of Consolidation, 1930-1950

    I mentioned in my last post how influential the biography of Robert T. Ketcham was in my life. Dr. McCune valued and believed in the importance of personal biographies. As he will relate in this chapel message from 1996, biographies not only relay historical facts, but they enable us to…

  • Dr. Rolland McCune Message #3 on Fundamentalism – Period of Controversy, 1918-1930

    When I arrived at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary I had a very sketchy idea of what fundamentalism was. It was basically informed by two books I had read just one or two years beforehand, the biography of Robert T. Ketcham (Portrait of Obedience, 1978), and William Ashbrook’s New Neutralism. I…