Keep Calm And Study The Heidelberg Catechism
2016 Archive
Heidelcast 102: Recovering The Covenant Of Works (2)
For a doctrine that was almost universally held by Reformed theologians from the 1560s through the 19th century, and confessed explicitly twice in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1648), in the Westminster Larger Catechism, in the Savoy Declaration (1658), as well as . . . Continue reading →
Sunday School, The Role Of Women, Authority, And Culture
On the most recent episode of the Mortification of Spin, Carl, Aimee, and Todd had a disagreement about whether women can teach men in a Sunday School class. In the wake of the discussion both Aimee and Todd have published posts explaining . . . Continue reading →
Chrysostom On Two Kingdoms
[11.] But what is this, “When He shall deliver up the kingdom?” The Scripture acknowledges two kingdoms of God, the one by appropriation (oikeiwsin), the other by creation. Thus, He is King over all, both Greeks and Jews and devils and His . . . Continue reading →
Strangers And Aliens (17c): The Ascended Lord (1 Peter 3:18–22)
We too need to trust that Jesus is now ruling over all things. We live in a time of unprecedented change and challenge to the divinely instituted order. Christians face heavy fines and even jail for refusing to participate in homosexual weddings. Never has a government before declared that homosexual marriage is a legitimate institution. Never before has a government declared that males may declare themselves female (or vice versa) and cohabit bathrooms and showers. We have descended into moral and social anarchy and that descent is being led by a president who declared just a few years ago that he was opposed to such things on the basis of his Christian convictions. In light of these things some Christians might be tempted to conclude that Jesus is not yet ruling, that he will know that he is ruling if and when some sort of glory age descends upon the earth. Such a notion, however, is entirely contrary to Peter’s way of thinking. One of his major doctrines in 1 Peter is that we may not draw such false inferences. Rather, we are to know that he is ruling now, even though things are miserable for Christians, and that he is accomplishing his saving purposes and extending his Spiritual kingdom through the preaching of the holy gospel and through the use of the keys of the kingdom. Continue reading →
Turretin On Covenant And Testament
The covenant of grace partakes both of a testament and of a covenant. Hence it is not improperly called “a covenant by a testament,” “a testamentary covenant” and a “federal testament.” It is a covenant because after the manner of a covenant . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: Short Treatise On The Lord’s Supper (1541)
The following is Calvin’s Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper (Petit traicté de la saincte cène; 1541). As general background to the theology, piety, and practice of the Lord’s Supper and to Calvin’s doctrine of the Supper, we should put this treatise . . . Continue reading →
More Evidence Against Computers In Class
Now there is an answer, thanks to a big, new experiment from economists at West Point, who randomly banned computers from some sections of a popular economics course this past year at the military academy. One-third of the sections could use laptops . . . Continue reading →
Berger: There is Nothing Nore Inane
…there is nothing more inane than the claim to be “on the right side of history” —Peter Berger
Audio: Luther On The Theologian Of The Cross
Last Sunday I had the pleasure of speaking to the adult class at Christ United Reformed Church in Santee, CA. I was filling in for my friend and colleague, Dr Ryan Glomsrud, a ruling elder at CURC. He has been teaching a . . . Continue reading →
Turretin: The Covenant Of Grace Is The Center And Bond Of All Relgion
The nature and use of the law (which goes before the covenant of grace) having been unfolded, we must now treat of the covenant itself. Since it is of the greatest importance in theology (being as it were the center and bond . . . Continue reading →
Strangers And Aliens (17b): As It Was In The Days Of Noah (1 Peter 3:18–22)
They were saved (διεσώθησαν) “through the waters” (δι᾿ ὕδατος). What Peter says is that it was in the midst of the circumstance of the flood or from the flood that Noah and his congregation were saved. Peter is not saying that the water was an instrument of their salvation. He has already said that the ark was the instrument or means of their salvation. If you have ever been whitewater rafting or found yourself in rough waters in a canoe, you understand. The rapid waters do not save anyone. No one was saved by the rising flood waters in Hurricane Katrina. They were saved in the midst of them by clinging to a rooftop or by a brave member of the Coast Guard (known affectionately as “Coasties”) dangling from a helicopter. Continue reading →
S-T-O-P Means Stop
Introduction In 25 years of ministry one of the most profound changes I’ve seen is the growing inability and/or unwillingness of Americans to read texts according to the intent of the author. One of the major reasons for this change was the . . . Continue reading →
Protestant Basics: The Theologian Of The Cross Versus The Theologian Of Glory
19. One is not worthy to be called a theologian (theologus) who looks upon the “invisible things of God” [invisibilia Dei; Rom. 1:20] as though they were clearly “perceptible in those things which have actually happened” [1 Cor 1:21–25] 20. But who . . . Continue reading →
How Pastors And Elders Can Help Each Other
Recently I had a question from a Presbyterian Ruling Elder (RE) asking about how REs should relate to Pastors (or Teaching Elder). The specific question how REs should relate to TEs in ecclesiastical assemblies. E.g., REs are often at something of a . . . Continue reading →
Now In Hardcover: S. M. Baugh On Ephesians
D. A. Carson says about this commentary, “Baugh’s comments are invariably measured, judicious, the product of informed and careful scholarship, lightly worn. Mercifully, the excellent scholarship comes in readable prose, making this a thoroughly interesting and stimulating work. This is now unquestionably . . . Continue reading →
The Rule Of Faith And The Rule Of Worship
The rule of faith (regula fidei), indeed, is altogether one, alone immoveable and irreformable; the rule, to wit, of believing in one only God omnipotent, the Creator of the universe, and His Son Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified under . . . Continue reading →
Owen: It is Difficult To Get Christians To Think About The Rule Of Worship
Obs. IV. That our utmost care and diligence in the consideration of the mind of God are required in all that we do about his worship.—There is nothing wherein men for the most part are more careless. Some suppose it belongs unto . . . Continue reading →
The DOJ Wants To Deny The Heteronormative Cake And Eat It Too
In an age in which sexist stereotypes are forbidden, what does Gupta think that it means to “live, work and study as men”? Obviously, the Obama administration would never embrace the heteronormative prejudice that part of living as a man might include . . . Continue reading →
John Owen On Evading The Rule Of Worship
The sum, in general, of what this author opposeth with so much clamour is, That divine revelation is the sole rule of divine religious worship; an assertion that, in its latitude of expression, hath been acknowledged in and by all nations and . . . Continue reading →