What worship is and how it should be done is one of the most difficult questions with which confessional Reformed and Presbyterian churches are presently faced. Few things will cause trouble in a congregation more quickly than making changes in a worship . . . Continue reading →
In (1559) Institutes 3.19.15 Calvin wrote that God has instituted a “twofold government in man” (duplex esse in homine regimen). This truth means that we have a legitimate interest in both sacred and secular spheres. By distinguishing between sacred and secular spheres . . . Continue reading →
When there are fewer people in a place, it’s much harder to hide. The first Sunday Abby and I attended the church (we’re members now), we sat in the back. Our intent was to bolt as soon as the benediction was pronounced . . . Continue reading →
The Westminster Standards are a collection of churchly documents, a confession of faith, and two catechisms drafted by an assembly of pastors and theologians called to meet to provide a confession and catechisms that would unify a nation divided internally by civil . . . Continue reading →
When you invite very conservative speakers here who perhaps have controversial views on Islam or homosexuality, you essentially make Yale a very uncomfortable place for a large percentage of the people here on campus, and everyone should feel at home at college…. . . . Continue reading →
Even though reports were reaching social workers of the crimes in Rotherham as far back as the 1990s, nothing of consequence was done for more than a decade. The police were pigheaded and clueless, and the fear of being called “racist” paralyzed . . . Continue reading →
Recognition of this datum of awful sanctity, and republication of it with conviction and authority is the only path of repentance and restoration. As we recognize the awful sanctity that surrounds the law, we shall certainly be crushed with a sense of . . . Continue reading →
We are considering how we understand the language of the Apostles’ Creed, when we say, “only begotten Son” and how we explain it in our catechism. In Question 33 we say: 33. Why is He called God’s “only begotten Son,” since we . . . Continue reading →
By using this language, the Belgic Confession grounds the civil government in God’s goodness, not his grace, in creation, not redemption. God rules over all things, but in two different ways, as the two kingdoms doctrine of the Reformers expressed. This doctrine . . . Continue reading →
…the purity and integrity of the gospel stands or falls with the absoluteness of the antithesis between the function and potency of law, one the one hand, and the function and potency of grace, on the other. —John Murray, Principles of Conduct: . . . Continue reading →
Thanks to HB reader Frank Aderholdt for letting us know that, for the moment anyway, the publisher is selling the Kindle version of Recovering the Reformed Confession for the paltry sum of $1.99. It is available in paper. The regular Kindle price . . . Continue reading →
If greens were going to match their advocacy with concrete action, they would move from Santa Cruz or Mill Valley to Eureka or Yuba City where the rain falls — or at least inward to Fresno and Visalia where for eons runoff . . . Continue reading →
Before I began this series my intent was to do a series of episodes on the Reformed understanding of the Christian use of the moral law as the norm or rule of the Christian life. Confessional Protestants (Reformed and Lutheran) call it . . . Continue reading →
To borrow from that paragon of 1960s Welsh hipness: It’s not unusual for one generation to doubt the mores (the customs) of the previous generation. What we think of as the “teen culture” rebellion of the 1950s (e.g., Elvis) and 60s (e.g., . . . Continue reading →
Using a word like historic in connection with worship can immediately raise defenses and lead to misunderstandings. When some folks hear “historic” they think: “Oh no, you want a boring formal service with no new songs” or “you are trying to impose . . . Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →