Reformed Forum

Vos Group #107 — Kingdom and Church

In this episode of Christ the Center, Camden Bucey and Lane Tipton continue their study of Geerhardus Vos’s Biblical Theology. Turning to Vos’s treatment of the kingdom of God and the church, they explore the importance of Caesarea Philippi, Peter’s confession, and Christ’s promise, “I will build my church.” Lane explains why Vos sees this moment as a decisive redemptive-historical transition: The kingdom of God, proclaimed and embodied in Christ, begins to assume its ecclesial form. Together, Camden and Lane discuss the church as the kingdom in its present historical expression, the role of the Spirit poured out from the ascended Christ, and the distinction between the kingdom’s inaugurated and consummated forms. They also consider how Vos’s teaching helps clarify ongoing theological questions concerning the kingdom of grace and glory, the already-and-not-yet structure of redemptive history, the thought of Meredith Kline, and the strengths and weaknesses of more recent reductionist or two-kingdom approaches. Watch on YouTube Chapters 00:00 Introduction and transition into Vos on the kingdom and the church 01:46 The kingdom as the sphere of blessedness 05:39 Caesarea Philippi as a redemptive-historical turning point 08:16 Peter’s confession and “I will build my church” 10:26 The church as the kingdom in its present historical form 15:26 The kingdom in its inaugurated and consummated forms 18:10 The kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory 22:32 Kline and the “heavenization” of the church 26:50 Two-kingdom theology and Christ’s mediatorial reign 29:53 Reductionist views of the kingdom 36:30 The kingdom, the church, and redemptive-historical development 43:45 Measuring the kingdom’s progress in the world 49:30 Final reflections and concluding thoughts Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton

Vos Group #106 — Repentance

In this episode, we continue engaging Geerhardus Vos’s treatment of repentance and the righteousness of the kingdom. The discussion begins by clarifying the close relationship between faith and repentance: Both are saving graces, sovereignly gifted by God, inseparably joined in conversion, yet not identical. Faith uniquely receives and rests upon Christ for justification, while repentance—though necessary—never functions as the instrument of union with Christ or the ground of God’s verdict. This careful distinction protects the gospel from subtle moralism and keeps repentance in its proper place as fruit flowing from mercy apprehended in Christ. Vos then situates repentance within Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom: Repentance corresponds to the kingdom’s righteousness-aspect, just as faith corresponds to its power-aspect. Repentance is not a meritorious condition for entry, but the moral-spiritual “fitness” that belongs to life under God’s righteous reign. The episode explores Vos’s “vernacular of repentance” in the Gospels—regret, inner reversal, and outward turning—showing that biblical repentance is comprehensive, God-centered, and transformative. Far from mere remorse or isolated moral adjustment, repentance is a whole-life reorientation toward God, forming a people whose inner and outer life increasingly reflects the righteousness of the kingdom. Watch on YouTube Chapters 00:00 2026 Raleigh, NC Seminar 02:19 Introduction 04:40 Faith and Repentance 11:42 The Connection to the Kingdom of God 16:05 The Logical and Instrumental Priority of Faith 22:19 Aspects of the Kingdom 32:47 The Vernacular of Repentance 37:05 The Universal Demand of Repentance 46:36 Conclusion Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton

Vos Group #105 — Our Lord’s Critique of Jewish Ethics

In this episode of Christ the Center, Camden Bucey and Lane Tipton discuss a deceptively brief but theologically weighty section of Geerhardus Vos’s Biblical Theology, exploring Jesus’s critique of first-century Jewish ethics. Far from addressing merely surface-level moral failures, Vos shows that Jesus exposes a deeper religious collapse—one marked by practical deism and pervasive self-centeredness. When God’s glory is displaced as the center of ethical life, obedience becomes external, fragmented, and ultimately irreligious. This conversation presses the listener to consider how these same distortions reappear across church history and into the present—whether in moralistic fundamentalism, liberal Protestant ethics, or debates surrounding the New Perspective on Paul. The antidote Vos commends is not tighter rules or refined casuistry, but a recovery of true religion: life coram Deo, grounded in union with Christ, animated by delight in God himself as our supreme reward. In Christ, obedience is restored to its proper place as worship, flowing from grace rather than self-reliance. Watch on YouTube Chapters 00:07 Introduction 07:32 Jesus’s Critique of Jewish Ethics 18:07 Common Distortions of Ethics 32:55 Modern Expressions of the Same Error 40:46 Von Harnack and the Essence of Christianity 44:08 The New Perspective on Paul 49:35 The Antidote 52:28 Conclusion Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton

Vos Group #104 — Divine Sovereignty and the Sphere of Righteousness

In this installment of Vos Group, Camden Bucey and Lane Tipton explore pages 392–395 of Geerhardus Vos’s Biblical Theology and his rich, God-centered understanding of righteousness within the kingdom of God. They emphasize that true righteousness is never a human-centered moral construct but is rooted entirely in the character, will, and sovereign rule of the triune God. Vos contrasts biblical righteousness with pagan and modern distortions that treat ethics as merely horizontal or civic. Instead, righteousness is what agrees with, pleases, and exists for God—meaning believers live every moment coram Deo, before His face, in covenant fellowship. The episode also unpacks how righteousness relates organically to the coming of God’s kingdom: it is concurrent with God’s reign, a gift worked by the Spirit, and graciously rewarded for Christ’s sake. Camden and Lane draw out the pastoral comfort that Christ—who possesses unlimited dominion—reigns not only from heaven but also within the hearts of His people. This kingdom reality transforms daily obedience into worship, participation in God’s redemptive purposes, and hopeful anticipation of our final inheritance in Him. Watch on YouTube Chapters 00:07 Introduction 08:49 Righteousness Is God-Centered 16:42 Living Before the Face of God 28:03 The Kingdom of God and Righteousness 32:45 Participating in the Kingdom 40:52 Righteousness and God’s Sovereign Rule 43:55 Conclusion Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton

Vos Group #103 — Faith in the Gospel of John

In this episode of Christ the Center, Camden Bucey and Lane Tipton explore Geerhardus Vos’s profound treatment of faith in the Gospel of John (pp. 390–392 of Biblical Theology). Vos unfolds faith not as an abstract belief but as a living, continuous union with the incarnate and ascended Truth—Jesus Christ Himself. John’s theology binds faith and truth together: the Son comes down from heaven as the true light, true bread, true vine, and the Truth (John 1:9; 6:32; 15:1; 14:6). Faith, therefore, is a Spirit-wrought communion with the heavenly reality revealed in Him. Tipton and Bucey trace how this Johannine vision lifts believers from the shadowy worship of the old covenant to true, eschatological worship “in spirit and in truth.” Faith beholds Christ even now, anticipating the beatific vision. In contrast to philosophical or impersonal notions of truth, Vos insists that truth is personal, Trinitarian, and heavenly—rooted in the self-revealing God. Thus, saving faith is not blind trust but an intimate, knowing participation in the life of the risen Christ, a foretaste of the age to come. New Book by Lane Tipton: Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Van Til We are pleased to announce the release of an important new book, Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Van Til by Lane Tipton. This is the first in a scheduled eight-part series of books on Van Til that correspond to our Fellowship in Reformed Apologetics. Dr. Tipton has taught eight video courses that work through the entire range of Van Til’s theology and apologetics. Each of the courses is available for free through Reformed Academy and on YouTube. And now you can get the first book in the series. If you order by November 30, 2025 and you can get the second book in the series, The Trinitarian Theology of Cornelius Van Til for only $4.99! Watch on YouTube Chapters 00:07 Introduction 01:44 New Book: Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til 11:11 Faith in the Gospel of John 16:19 Defining Truth According to the Son 26:49 Heaven and the Truth 29:44 The Typological Dimension of Truth 34:32 Faith as the Human Relation to Truth 37:35 Faith Anticipates the Glorified Christ 40:56 Faith, Unbelief, and Knowledge 44:25 Faith and Beholding the Lord 46:48 Scripture and the Truth 52:00 The Need for More Redemptive-Historical Study in John 57:40 Conclusion Participants: Camden Bucey, Lane G. Tipton