One of the television shows I remember watching as a boy, briefly when it was first run (1963–67) and then again in re-runs, was The Fugitive. It was the story of a man who was falsely convicted of murder and who sets . . . Continue reading →
August 2014 Archive
Westerkamp Does It Again
A Topical Index To Luther’s Sermons
Trans. J. N. Lenker et al. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001) prepared by Shane Lems, M.Div © 2007 Shane Lems. All Rights Reserved. Usage: You may link to this index but it may not be copied wholesale without the permission of the author . . . Continue reading →
The Atrium Of Hell
Hence the horrors of conscience, which are to the elect a preparation for faith (Rom. 7. v. 9. 10. 24) inasmuch as the Holy Spirit kindles in them a desire for reconciling themselves to God. To the reprobate, however, they are the . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 33: God’s Eternally And Only Begotten Son And His Adopted Sons (2)
In part 1 we took a quick trip through the fundamentals of Christology: one person, two natures. Any doctrine of Christ that confuses the two natures (Eutychianism) or that makes them into two persons (Nestorianism) is heresy. It denies fundamental, biblical, catholic . . . Continue reading →
Act Like Elders Nonetheless
While the current bylaws greatly restrict our authority, we believe we must act like elders none-the-less,” they write. “It is time to take responsibility for our church, regardless of how much our current bylaws prevent us from exercising that authority. —Sarah Pulliam . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 33: God’s Eternally And Only Begotten Son And His Adopted Sons (1)
One of the most basic doctrines of the New Testament is that Jesus is God the Son and the Son of God. In Matthew 4:3 we read when “the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, . . . Continue reading →
Bavinck On Eternal Generation
[226] The special qualification of the second person in the Trinity is filiation. In Scripture he bears several names that denote his relation to the Father, such as word, wisdom, logos, son, the firstborn, only-begotten and only son, the image of God, . . . Continue reading →
Between Hagiography And Cynicism
Telling the truth about the past is more difficult than it might seem but we can appreciate the difficulties by reflecting for just a moment on the controversy in Ferguson, Missouri. It’s a contemporary event of which there are at least two . . . Continue reading →
Imputation Works Both Ways
Even so, the magisterium has some explaining to do if you can swallow the idea that humans come into the world with the guilt of Adam’s sinful estate and then object to Protestants drawing a line between the imputation of Adam’s sin . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Calvin And Reformed Ministry In Geneva
Few figures haunt the history and imagination of the West like John Calvin. In 2009 Geneva celebrated the 500th anniversary of his birth and yet late modern Europeans were clearly uncomfortable celebrating a figure whom they regarded as backward and unenlightened. Yet, . . . Continue reading →
Fauxccountability?
What needs to be very clear is that the current by-laws of Mars Hill Church do not give the elders the authority to examine these charges. The Board of Advisors and Accountability is in charge of convening a group of overseers to . . . Continue reading →
Catastrophically Stupid
The catastrophically stupid assumption in Boyle’s op-ed is that recognizing acts as evil and trying to understand them are incompatible. —Alan Jacobs.
Seven Short Points About Republication
The (re)republication of a book on the question of the republication of the covenant of works under Moses has hit the Reformed interwebs. Follow the link above for quotes from Reformed sources, audio, and posts explaining the history, the current controversy, and . . . Continue reading →
The Wild Card
Race is the wild card in all this. The idea that you can tell who is innocent and who is guilty by the color of their skin is a notion that was tried out for generations, back in the days of the . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 73: Nomism And Antinomianism (11)
Last time we considered what some folk mean by the expression “the law of Christ” and, in contrast, what the Bible means by it. It’s neither a new covenant of works, as if we could obey our way into acceptance with God . . . Continue reading →
It’s National Radio Day
As with most other questions, the history of the invention of radio is debated. The basic technology can be traced back to work done by Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937) but much of what we know as broadcast radio (i.e., AM and FM bands) . . . Continue reading →
1920s Arguments Over Absolution In The CRCs (2)
Perhaps a few words regarding the context of this service of reconciliation will not be amiss…. Note first of all that it follows the opening service. In this service the Lord and His people greet each other. After the greeting comes the . . . Continue reading →
1920s Arguments Over Absolution In The CRC
The criticism of Classis Illinois was levelled especially against that part of our proposed Order of Worship which we called “The Service of Reconciliation,” more particularly against the elements of Confession of Sin and Absolution which we sought to combine organically with . . . Continue reading →