In the early part of the 20th century, the mainline denominational seminaries in America began slipping away from the foundational truths of the Christian faith. With Biblical authority being jettisoned among boards and faculty members, the bedrock Christian doctrines like the virgin birth and the deity of Jesus Christ were treated with suspicion at best—and outright denied at worst.
Seeing the drift away from the Bible’s authority and historic teaching of Christianity, Dr. J. Gresham Machen and a small band of professors left the prestigious Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey to establish Westminster Theological Seminary (WTS) in Philadelphia, PA. With prized faculty members, Dr. Cornelius Van Till and Dr. John Murray, and the esteemed New Testament professor, Dr. Machen, at the helm, WTS became one of the most widely respected Reformed seminaries anywhere in the world. Over the last century, WTS has trained some of the most notable Christian leaders and teachers in the world, including Dr. John Piper and Dr. Timothy Keller.
We have the privilege today to have one of the newest members of the faculty of WTS with us, Rev. Dr. Jonathan Gibson. Before joining the faculty at WTS, Dr. Gibson earned a Ph.D in Hebrew Studies at Cambridge University in England and served as Associate Pastor of the Cambridge Presbyterian Church.
In January 2017, Dr. Gibson crossed the pond to America to become Assistant Professor of Old Testament at WTS. He is a contributor to and coeditor (with David Gibson) of From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective. He is also the author of historical and biblical articles in Themelios: Journal of Biblical Literature and the Tyndale Bulletin, as well as “Obadiah” in the NIV Proclamation Bible. Most recently, he contributed to and edited an invaluable resource entitled, Reformation Worship: Liturgies from the Past for the Present.
In addition to preaching for us from Psalm 84 today, Dr. Gibson will be joining me in the Sunday School hour for a Cornerstone Forum. We’ll be reflecting on the book of Genesis and tracing the unfolding theme of Covenant in the Scripture for understanding the redemptive story of the Bible. Please make plans to join us!