Heidelcast Series: God’s Holy Law

Heidelcast

The historic, confessional, Reformed understanding of Scripture is that it contains two kinds of words, law and gospel. The law promised eternal life to Adam on condition of perfect obedience on behalf of all humanity. Adam sinned, transgressed God’s holy law, and . . . Continue reading →

Machen Was Not Nice

But these physical hardships were not the chief battle in which Paul was engaged. Far more trying was the battle that he fought against the enemies in his own camp. Everywhere his rear was threatened by an all-engulfing paganism or by a . . . Continue reading →

Pastoral Ministry Is For Turtles

This, of course, is not the world we live in. We live in the age of instant. We want our WiFi to fly, our coffee ready, our music streaming, our shopping at the speed of Prime, and our social media and news . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast Series: Nomism And Antinomianism

Heidelcast

Almost since the beginning of the Reformation there were two reactions to the recovery of the gospel: legalism, or nomism, and antinomianism. There are associated doctrines and practices but the core of antinomianism is the rejection of the abiding validity of the . . . Continue reading →

What Passion City Gets Right And Wrong About The Sabbath

The last time we saw Atlanta Pastor Louie Giglio it was January 2013 and he was embroiled in controversy because he had been invited by President Obama to participate in his second inauguration. It had been discovered that Giglio held the biblical . . . Continue reading →

Salvation Through Grace Alone (Acts 15:11)

The claim by some that there are two stages of justification (initial and final) and that the so-called “initial justification” is by grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) and the so-called “final justification” is in some degree (either partly . . . Continue reading →

Resources On The Federal Vision Theology

The Heidelblog was born in 2006–07 during the self-described, so-called Federal Vision controversy. Recently I had a conversation with a young man who was not born when that controversy began, before it was it called “the Federal Vision” controversy. Before that it was known as the “Shepherd Controversy,” after the controversial and profoundly corrupt teaching of the Rev. Mr. Norman Shepherd, a former professor in a couple of Reformed and Presbyterian seminaries and minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Christian Reformed Church. These resources are intended as a guide to the issues and to the conclusions about the Federal Vision theology reached by many of the orthodox, confessional Presbyterian and Reformed denominations represented by NAPARC (North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council). Continue reading →

Swain: Niceness Is Counterfeit Meekness

“Niceness” is a counterfeit of meekness or gentleness. The nice person always compliments, never disagrees because he is unwilling to risk his reputation for the sake of the good by opposing with anger what is evil. Scott Swain

Rosaria Butterfield’s Alternative To Revoice

RESOURCES Audio Only of This Talk (Presbycast) Gay Christians? Rosaria Butterfield: Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert What The New Testament Says About SSA and More Gagnon On Revoice

Resources On Images Of Christ

The question whether because God the Son became incarnate Christians are free to create images of him has plagued the church since just after the close of the canon. The ancient church, however, rejected them with one voice and the Reformed and Presbyterian churches all confess against images of Christ on biblical and theological grounds. Continue reading →

Gagnon: Revoice Is About Self-Affirmation Not Repentance

The second of my “Seven Concerns” about Revoice and the Spiritual Friendship movement is their unwise adoption of ungodly terminology: The adoption of terminology for self-identity that cannot be sanctified and inevitably brings in the whole “LGBTQ” baggage (“sexual minority,” “gay,” “transgender”). . . . Continue reading →

A. A. Hodge On Christian Liberty

These Sections teach the following propositions: 1st. God alone is Lord of the human conscience, which is responsible only to his authority. 2d. God has authoritatively addressed the human conscience only in his law, the only perfect revelation of which in this . . . Continue reading →

Resources On Church Growth And Ordinary Means Ministry

The church growth movement has been one of the more influential movements in modern evangelicalism for the last 40 years. Pastors receive a steady stream of emails and advertisements promising to “grow the church” if only his congregation will buy this product or service. In some quarters it is unquestioned dogma, it is axiomatic that if the church is not growing numerically it is failing in its mission. Continue reading →