IX. Although faith in Christ is not prescribed specifically and expressly in the law (which does not know Christ), still it is contained in it generically and implicitly (inasmuch as the law commands us to believe every word of God and all . . . Continue reading →
January 2017 Archive
A New Online Resource For Bible Study
Travis Fentiman wrote to let me know about a resource site he has compiled which is built on Spurgeon’s recommended list of commentaries and upon resources such as the Post-Reformation Digital Library (PRDL). It is a gateway to older, online biblical commentaries. . . . Continue reading →
Grammar Guerrilla: Drop The “Of”
Sports-talk radio is a never-ending source of malapropisms and a good indicator of the state of the language. One abuse which I hear regularly on the radio and in personal conversation is the unnecessary use of the preposition of. A preposition indicates . . . Continue reading →
Pagan Assyrians Regarded Abortion As Murder
The Middle Assyrian Laws, which date as far back as the early 11th century bc, specifically addressed abortion. In these laws—a collection of legal codes including decrees of the Assyrian kings and Amorite legal customs (Tetlow, Women, Crime, and Punishment, 126)—abortion was . . . Continue reading →
When Bible Translations Disappoint
Late modern Americans face a plethora of choices in English-language Bible translations: The King James Version (KJV), the American Standard Version (ASV), the Revised Standard Version (RSV), the New International Version (NIV), the New King James Version (NKJV), the Living Bible (LB), . . . Continue reading →
When Confessional P & R Congregations Do Not Exist Or Disappoint
A reader writes: “I’ve followed your blog and podcast for a while now. I have not been a Reformed/Presbyterian for very long, but I do know that I want to be a part of a specific congregation that is committed to confessional . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Where Are They Now? How Ted Hamilton Became A Preacher
Perhaps you have seen on television or in the movies successful, wealthy professionals driving, surfing, and generally enjoying what looks like a magical life in Southern California. Television glitz aside, there is some reality to that portrait and one place it is . . . Continue reading →
We Need Sunday Christians
Some people say, “Our problem in Christianity is ‘Sunday only’ Christians who fail to live the life every day of the week.” But that’s a false dilemma. Show me a true Sunday Christian who comes to the Lord’s house, worshiping in joy, . . . Continue reading →
Which Classic Reformed Works To Read In English?
Rob writes, Listening to you on the Heidelblog/Heidelcast and Office Hours, you have given me a enormous desire to read more “classic reformed theology.” I am currently reading Turretin’s Institutes and I would love to know who are some more classic reformed . . . Continue reading →
Paul On The Sacred/Secular Distinction In 1 Corinthians 8–11
Over the last century it has become widely held among Bible-believing Christians that we ought not recognize a distinction between the sacred and the secular. A Google search for “sacred secular distinction” brings up plenty of examples of such a rejection. The . . . Continue reading →
Calvinist: The Official Trailer (Coming Summer 2017)
Here’s it is on YouTube.
Paul: Be Subject To Governing Authorities And Love Your Neighbor
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur . . . Continue reading →
Berkhof: Sanctification Is The Work Of God
Sanctification is a work of the triune God, but is ascribed more particularly to the Holy Spirit in Scripture, Rom. 8:11; 15:16; 1 Pet. 1:2. It is particularly important in our day, with its emphasis on the necessity of approaching the study . . . Continue reading →
Weber, Election, Capitalism, And Betsy DeVos
Betsy DeVos, who has been nominated to become the next Secretary of Education, was on Capitol Hill yesterday for her confirmation hearing. As a matter of politics, however, this is all theater. The probabilities are that her nomination will be sent to . . . Continue reading →
A Reminder Of Why We Should Not Long For A State Church
The United States of America, for all her greatness, is not the “my people” of 2 Chronicles 7:14. That people was God’s temporary, national people Israel. That national covenant expired at the cross. Since that time God has had no national people, though many have thought and apparently still think that they must be God’s special, national people. God made that promise to national Israel not the USA or to any other civil people. The USA has no more standing before God, as a national people, than pagan Rome or the “Holy Roman Empire,” neither of which exist any longer. Continue reading →
With The Reformed Collective On Reformed Piety
Piety. It is a short but it is a very important word in the Reformed tradition. It is Latin word, pietas, which, in classical usage referred to one’s duty toward the gods and toward one’s parents. In traditional Christian usage it has . . . Continue reading →
Help Recover One Of The Most Important (And Neglected) Reformed Theologians For English Readers
Gijsbertus Voetius (1589–1676) is perhaps the linchpin of Dutch Reformed theology in the 17th century. To shift metaphors, he is the Grand Central Station of Reformed orthodoxy in the Netherlands. In one way or another all the various trains seem to run . . . Continue reading →
The Allure Of Unwritten Tradition
The earliest post-apostolic Christians (some of whom are denominated the Apostolic Fathers) knew of an apostolic tradition but they did not know about a secret and unwritten apostolic tradition on the authority of which the church could justify virtually anything it wanted. . . . Continue reading →
Pies, Docs, Kuyps, And Confessionalists
The first time I heard the expression, “Pies, Docs, and Kuyps” was during a seminary lecture by Derke Bergsma. He was relating what had already become a fairly standard sociological taxonomy in the Reformed world. There are three kinds of Reformed folk: . . . Continue reading →
San Gorgonio Mountain From San Marcos In January
