Luther: Moralists Are Thieves

…[Paul] scolds the Galatians in great indignation for having let this divine and heavenly doctrine be stolen from their hearts so quickly and easily; it is as though he were saying: “You have teachers who want to lead you back into the . . . Continue reading →

Between The Evangelical Circus And Deconstruction

This has been a strange week in Lake Wobegon. No sooner had the news emerged that an evangelical megachurch, James River Church (Springfield, MO) hired a male stripper/sword swallower—who, according to Julie Roys, “moonlights as a pole-dancing striptease artist at gay nightclubs”—to . . . Continue reading →

The Custom Of God’s Churches: Head Coverings And Cultural Appropriateness (Part 4)

This series has explored 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 to think through a perennial question about head coverings. Does the apostle’s teaching in this passage mandate that women everywhere and always must cover their heads in public worship—specifically that they must wear an additional . . . Continue reading →

But What About My Works?

I have been asked many times, in the context of biblical counseling, about the relationship between a person’s faith and their good works. In most cases, the person asking the question was struggling at some level with their own sense of assurance of pardon from . . . Continue reading →

Featly: The Sweet Dipper (Part 2)

In this installment, we focus on the major Baptist figure present at the debate, William Kiffin (1616–1701). He is worthy of attention, first because he was a central figure in the debate between Featley and the Baptists, but also because he was, as a nineteenth-century Baptist historian wrote, “FATHER OF THE PARTICULAR BAPTISTS. He played a “significant role” in the drafting of the London Confession of Faith (1644) and was the second signatory to the Second London Baptist Confession (1677) in 1689. A nineteenth-century historian called Kiffin an “extraordinary” person in the Particular Baptist tradition. One anonymous writer called him the “ordained Mufti of all heretics and sectaries. Continue reading →

Audio: Leaving, Leading, And Looking | Philippians 3

A sermon by R. Scott Clark on Philippians 3. Editor’s note: This audio was originally published in 2012 by Escondido United Reformed Church.  RESOURCES Subscribe To The Heidelblog! The Heidelblog Resource Page Heidelmedia Resources The Ecumenical Creeds The Reformed Confessions The Heidelberg . . . Continue reading →

What In The World Is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT and similar tools that generate text or images are one example of advances in technology that use algorithms built from data rather than being human-handcrafted. You probably have used some of them: Data-generated algorithms can identify faces in photographs, control autonomous . . . Continue reading →

Video: Confronting Sin

Chris Gordon and Daniel Borvan continue their conversation on Alistair Begg’s recent statements on attending a gay wedding. RESOURCES Resources On The Rule Of Worship Subscribe To The Heidelblog! The Heidelblog Resource Page Heidelmedia Resources The Ecumenical Creeds The Reformed Confessions The . . . Continue reading →

Of Choirs And Praise Bands

Choirs (and their casual, modern descendants worship teams and praise bands) have been near-ubiquitous in Reformed churches for less than two centuries, but just like government programs, once instituted these groups are difficult to disband even though their historical pedigree is weak. Arrangements may be . . . Continue reading →