Heidelberg 92: What Is The Law Of God? (2)

The law was a covenant of works, not a covenant of grace. The “commandment of life” was “the day you eat thereof you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). It was a commandment of life because, if Adam kept the commandment he would have entered into eternal life (see also Heidelberg 6, 9; Rev 22:14). The condition of the covenant was, to use the words of Christ, “do this and live” (Luke 10:28). His status before God was conditioned upon his obedience to God’s holy law. Continue reading →

Heidelberg 114: Between Moralism And Antinomianism (2)

Paul was not a Gnostic, a Valentinian, an Anabaptist, a Familist, nor an Antinomian. He was a sinner saved and justified freely through faith alone, a Christian living in union and communion with Christ, seeking to bring his life into conformity to all of God’s holy moral law. Continue reading →

The Way Calvin Read The Ten Commandments May Not Be The Way You Are Used To Reading The Ten Commandments (But It Should Be)

For my entire Christian life, without exception, whenever the minister has read the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue) in the worship service—which I heard only when I began worshiping in the Reformed churches—he always begin with the words “I am the Lord your . . . Continue reading →