Office Hours: The Wisdom Of Ecclesiastes

R. Scott Clark

on February 9, 2015 | 1 Comment

The book of Ecclesiastes has often been taken as a counsel of despair, as a non-Christian view of the world. There is an alternative way of reading Ecclesiastes, however. Consider that it is included in God’s Word and thus we regard it . . . Continue reading →

A Lonely Citadel Against The 24/7-Culture

R. Scott Clark

on February 9, 2015 | 2 Comments

If you’re old enough to remember when blue laws were common, Bergen on a Sunday is a nostalgia trip. Kids play road hockey, skateboarders practice kickflips on open swaths of pavement, and you may suddenly notice the cawing of blue jays. The . . . Continue reading →

The Echo Zoe Interview On The Federal Vision

R. Scott Clark

on February 8, 2015 | 4 Comments

The Federal Vision is still an issue. That should not surprise anyone. Some version of this error has been with us at least since the mid-16th century, when the Protestant doctrine of justification was severely threatened. It became a serious issue in . . . Continue reading →

Inventing Grievances

R. Scott Clark

on February 8, 2015 | 1 Comment

As Riley-Smith explains, however, the Muslim memory of the Crusades is of very recent vintage. Carole Hillenbrand first uncovered this fact in her groundbreaking book The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives. The truth is that medieval Muslims came to realize that the Crusades were . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 83: The Holy Law Of God (7)—The Fifth Commandment (pt 1)

Heidelcast

on February 6, 2015

In this episode we consider the fifth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you.” In Heidelberg Catechism 104 we interpret this commandment to require “that I . . . Continue reading →

Heidelberg 57: The Comfort Of Resurrection And Glorification

R. Scott Clark

on February 5, 2015

The European Enlightenment(s) posed as world-expanding, mind-expanding movements. They promised to free us from the shackles of a benighted, narrow view of the world. Ironically, however, the Enlightenments did just the opposite. Whether through rationalism (what the human intellect cannot comprehend cannot . . . Continue reading →

Heidegger And Turretin Contra Amyraut

R. Scott Clark

on February 5, 2015 | 2 Comments

Canon IV: Before the creation of the world, God decreed in Christ Jesus our Lord according to his eternal purpose (Eph 3:11), in which, from the mere good pleasure of his own will, without any prevision of the merit of works or . . . Continue reading →

Household Baptisms In Acts And Teen-Aged Children Of Adult Converts

R. Scott Clark

on February 4, 2015 | 37 Comments

Adam writes to ask about the baptism of fifteen-year old children of an adult convert. Should they be baptized before or after catechesis? § Hi Adam, This is a great question and a difficult one. I think it is correct to say . . . Continue reading →

Amyraut As Neo-Ockhamist

R. Scott Clark

on February 4, 2015 | 1 Comment

Given the above Amyraldian scheme, instead of a divine decree as being unconditional or absolute, (perhaps, in our ideas thought of as a set of such unconditional decrees) Amyraut seems to have preferred to think in terms of an antecedent will of . . . Continue reading →

James, Luther, and Justification In James 2:24

R. Scott Clark

on February 3, 2015 | 2 Comments

I’m convinced that we don’t really have a conflict here. What James is saying is this: If a person says he has faith, but he gives no outward evidence of that faith through righteous works, his faith will not justify him. Martin . . . Continue reading →

Cincinnati Conference: Reformed In America Feb 5–6 2015

R. Scott Clark

on February 3, 2015 | 5 Comments

Two NAPARC congregations in Cincinnati are hosting a conference on the history of the Reformed and Presbyterian traditions in America. Good Shepherd OPC and Westside Reformed Church (URCNA) have invited Rev. Dr. Alan Strange and Dr. Darryl G. Hart to address this . . . Continue reading →

Of Confessional Christianity And The Cult Of Personality

R. Scott Clark

on February 2, 2015 | 5 Comments

The danger of the cult of personality has ever been with us. Paul warned the Corinthian church: I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among . . . Continue reading →

Moses Hid His Face

R. Scott Clark

on February 1, 2015 | 2 Comments

Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, . . . Continue reading →

Heidelberg 56: In The Church: The Forgiveness Of Sins

R. Scott Clark

on January 30, 2015 | 5 Comments

There are few things more difficult than forgiving when one has been wronged. First, when a wrong has been done, quite apart from its effect for us (and its affect in us), justice itself has been violated. Second, to be wronged is . . . Continue reading →

Calvin: The Fifth Commandment Applies Narrowly And Broadly

R. Scott Clark

on January 30, 2015

Since, therefore, the name of Father is a sacred one, and is transferred to men by the peculiar goodness of God, the dishonoring of parents redounds to the dishonor of God Himself, nor can any one despise his father without being guilty . . . Continue reading →

On Profession Of Faith And Communion

R. Scott Clark

on January 29, 2015 | 54 Comments

James writes to ask about when children should make profession of faith and receive communion. He has observed young children being admitted to the table and wonders whether that is proper, whether children are really professing faith or merely parroting what they . . . Continue reading →

Heidelberg 55: We Confess The Communion Of The Saints

R. Scott Clark

on January 28, 2015

In Heidelberg Catechism 55 we say: 55. What do you understand by the “communion of saints”? First, that believers, one and all, as members of the Lord Jesus Christ, are partakers with Him in all His treasures and gifts; secondly, that each one must feel . . . Continue reading →

Big Fat Nanny State

R. Scott Clark

on January 28, 2015 | 1 Comment

Okay, we’re living in a big fat nanny state. That’s a euphemism, though. The reality is that central planners have always viewed a child’s first teachers of self-reliance—mothers and fathers—as enemies of the State. The less people learn about basic life skills . . . Continue reading →

Inerrancy Is The Historic Christian View Of Scripture

R. Scott Clark

on January 27, 2015 | 17 Comments

One of the questions that came up during the Q & A at the conference (audio forthcoming) this past weekend in Bakersfield was something to the effect that, given the research done in the 1970s and 80s on the inerrancy of Scripture, why . . . Continue reading →

God Is Truth And Speaks Only Truth

R. Scott Clark

on January 27, 2015

1. God, who is Himself Truth and speaks truth only, has inspired Holy Scripture in order thereby to reveal Himself to lost mankind through Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord, Redeemer and Judge. Holy Scripture is God’s witness to Himself. 2. Holy . . . Continue reading →

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2015 Archive