If one views the substance of the Covenant of Grace as synonymous with or being in substance the same as say the Abrahamic Covenant however, then paedobaptism is the logical conclusion. Ryan Davidson Five Reasons For Considering The 1689 Confession of Faith . . . Continue reading →
August 2020 Archive
New: Resources On The Doctrine Of Justification
According to J. H. Alsted (1588–1638), “the article justification is said to be the article of the standing or falling of the church.” It was said to be such by the confessionally Reformed and Lutheran alike. The language was probably borrowed from . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: Sinners Are Justified Only By Free Acceptance Is The Forgiveness Of Sins And The Imputation Of Christ’s Righteousness
To be justified in the sight of God, to be Justified by faith or by works. A man is said to be justified in the sight of God when in the judgment of God he is deemed righteous, and is accepted on . . . Continue reading →
Demons In The Digital Age
One of the myths that has been exploded in late modernity is that we Westerners are an “Enlightened” people, who have moved beyond demons, ghosts, and religion. We are not and we have not. I am not saying that we have not . . . Continue reading →
Marrowmen: Our Good Works Are Not Instrumental Or Causal In Our Justification Or Salvation
“If a sinner, being justified, has all things at once that are necessary for salvation? And if personal holiness, and progress in holy obedience, is not necessary to a justified persons’s possession of glory, in case of his continuing in life after . . . Continue reading →
More Wikipedia Fraud: More Than 20,000 Scots Wikipedia Articles Written By North Carolina Teen
By Joel Hruska. Wikipedia is, in my opinion, one of the most successful ventures devoted to the dissemination of knowledge on the entire internet. It isn’t perfect — no encyclopedia or institution is — but it has had a profound effect on . . . Continue reading →
Brakel: It Is Contrary To The Reformed Confession To Say Justification Is Acquired By Good Works
If one maintains that a right to eternal life is acquired by his good works, and that this right is granted by way of justification by works, all would nevertheless be attributed to man, and therefore he that has performed these good . . . Continue reading →
Grammar Guerrilla: Punctuation Is Not Mean Spirited. Full Stop.
According to a number of media stories (the original story appeared in the UK Telegraph) Generation Z, those born 1995–2015, find certain punctuation marks threatening. The argument is that the use of the period (“full stop” in the UK) in text messages (and . . . Continue reading →
Trueman: Do We Need Another Mark Of The True Church?
The Reformers outlined several marks of the church: the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and, at times, godly discipline or biblical worship. Today, they would need to add another: constant apologizing to the world. Whether it is saying . . . Continue reading →
Singing The Songs Of Zion In Babylon
Several weeks ago my pastor, Chris Gordon, reflected briefly in his morning sermon on Psalm 137. I have been meditating on it since. The theme of the believer’s exile in this world is frequently sounded in Scripture. Abraham was a pilgrim, who . . . Continue reading →
Why The Ongoing Riots? Dedicated, Organized Communists
Consider the blockade of a building. A tactically effective blockade leaves your target with only two options: 1) negotiate with you / meet your demands, or 2) react with force (violence against you or arrest). That’s a decision dilemma. Don’t let your . . . Continue reading →
The New McCarthyism
… In the wake of the protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, some faculty published an open letter of demands to overcome “anti-Blackness racism” at Princeton. Like many such letters, it included good and bad proposals. Most distinctive and . . . Continue reading →
Wikipedia Co-Founder: Wikipedia Is Now Openly Biased By Policy
…Wikipedia no longer has an effective neutrality policy. There is a rewritten policy, but it endorses the utterly bankrupt canard that journalists should avoid what they call “false balance.”2 The notion that we should avoid “false balance” is directly contradictory to the . . . Continue reading →
Hodge: Justification By Our Works Is Impossible
In the first place, that the righteousness by which we are justified before God is not of works, is not only asserted, but proved. The apostle’s first argument on this point is derived from the consideration, that the law demands a perfect . . . Continue reading →
A Belated National Radio Day Note: Podcasting Is The New Radio
When radio began it was something for hobbyists to do. Few homes had radios. Stations were locally owned by frequently (or so it seems) idiosyncratic businessmen who correctly saw it as an effective way to advertise their service or product. Stations went . . . Continue reading →
Colquhoun: Ignorance Of The Difference Between Law And Gospel Leads To Self-Righteousness
Ignorance of the difference between the law and the gospel promotes also, in a great degree, the strength and influence of a self-righteous temper. When a man is driven to acts of obedience by the dread of God’s wrath revealed in the . . . Continue reading →
Boston: Christ Fulfilled The Condition
It is by this, and this alone, the salvation of sinners becomes a debt: therefore this alone is the condition of the covenant. For the reward is of debt to him, and him only, who fulfills the condition of a covenant: to . . . Continue reading →
Presbycast: In Defense Of Moderation
The Presbycast boys talk with pastor Job Dalomba (read more about him here) and seminarian Nate Paschall about the challenges of remaining moderate in an age riven by ideological, cultural, and political extremes. Resources How To Subscribe To Heidelmedia Advice From A . . . Continue reading →
On Sale Until August 20, 2020: On Being Reformed $24.00
If you have been waiting for this expensive little volume to drop to a reasonable price, here it is. Order here. Code: BIGPAL20 MORE INFORMATION Office Hours: On Being Reformed Paul Helm Reviews On Being Reformed Pre-Order Now—On Being Reformed: Debates Over . . . Continue reading →
The New York Times, Sioux Center, And Calvinism
I guess that Dutch Calvinists in Orange City and Sioux Center, IA do not often feature prominently in the New York Times but they did in an August 9, 2020 story by Elizabeth Dias. The dateline is Sioux Center, IA, one of . . . Continue reading →