Derek Thomas

Dr. Derek Thomas is the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS. He is also associate minister at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC.  

  • Can Snakes Talk? by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2006

    With the possible exception of John 3:16, no verse in the Bible is more crucial and definitive than Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall …Read More

  • Creation Ex Nihilo by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2006

    No sentence is more pregnant with meaning than the opening one of the Bible: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). It tells us several things all at once, four of which are worth …Read More

  • Vanity Fair by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2006

    For John Bunyan, a Puritan to his fingertips, the Christian life was an experience of conflict and tension with this world. Imprisoned for upwards of twelve years, he experienced firsthand the world’s hostility. Cheerful and sanguine by temperament, his …Read More

  • Corinthian Enthusiasm by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2009

    I must have said it a thousand times: “Who would want a call to be the minister of the church at Corinth?” Among other things, it suffered from “the worship wars.” Read 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 and you quickly …Read More

  • A New Luther? by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

    The accusation that systematic theology (doctrinal formulations of the Reformation period in particular) overly governs (distorts) exegesis is not new, and Bishop N.T. Wright trots it out with renewed zeal in his latest book, Justification: God’s Plan and …Read More

  • A Light in Dark Places by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2008

    “The Holy Spirit has exhorted the faithful to continue clapping their hands for joy until the advent of the promised Redeemer,” wrote John Calvin in a comment on Psalm 47:1–2. Paul would heartily concur! Writing from a prison …Read More

  • The Providence of God by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | December 2007

    The entire life of Joseph is summarized in Genesis 50:20: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” The teenager we met at the beginning of the story is now over a …Read More

  • The Edge of Death by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2007

    All of us who are adults have had the temptation to pat a child on the head and say something appropriate. When Jacob had spent seventeen years in Egypt with his family and the time of his death drew …Read More

  • The Veracity of God by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2007

    The story of Joseph is one of the finest examples in Scripture of what Paul meant when he wrote, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28). All things …Read More

  • Everything Is Against Me! by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2007

    It is Jacob’s lowest point. As far as he knows, Joseph is dead. That’s the story his sons have led him to believe, showing him the blood-stained “coat of many colors” (Gen. 37:31–33). He mourned …Read More

  • Sodom and Gomorrah by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | November 2006

    Genesis 19 is unseemly stuff! The kind of thing we don’t want to be found reading in public on Sunday mornings when our mothers are present! Sodomy, rape, and who knows what else? Do we close our eyes and …Read More

  • Concupiscence by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | February 2011

    Our Dear Temeluchus, We are very pleased with the success you have had appealing to this young man’s sexual appetite. Telling him that every other young man is viewing pornography was a good move, and ensuring that he turned …Read More

  • The Breath of God by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2004

    Creation The ancient hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, composed in the eighth century and part of the Roman breviary of Vespers, is a hymn extolling the Holy Spirit. John Dryden’s magnificent translation renders the opening lines this way: “Creator Spirit …Read More

  • God-Centered Prayer by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2012

    It is easy to be critical of prayer, particularly the prayers of others. Robert Murray McCheyne’s words are often cited because they remain painfully true: “You wish to humble a man? Ask him about his prayer life.” Our prayers …Read More

  • Dying Well by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2007

    Sarah lived 127 years…. And Sarah died…. And Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her” (Gen. 23:1–2). Sarah and Abraham had been married fifty-two years. He would live almost four decades without …Read More