Perkins On The First Mark Of Faith

The second question is, when faith begins first to breed in the heart? Answer. When a man begins to be touched in his conscience for his sins, and, upon feeling of his own spiritual poverty, earnestly hungers and thirsts after Christ and . . . Continue reading →

Featley: The Sweet Dipper (Part 1)

In this series I intend to consider what was perhaps the earliest Reformed response to the Particular Baptist movement, a treatise by the Anglican theologian and Westminster Divine, Daniel Featley (1582–1645), which recounts a disputation (think of a debate) between Featley, an . . . Continue reading →

There Is Hope!

In Proverbs 13:12, we read that, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick . . .” Thousands of counseling hours over more than ten years at Baylight have made this biblical truth visibly evident. Life’s dominating circumstances can surely weigh anyone down, but nothing . . . Continue reading →

Malthus or Althusius? An Introduction To A Pioneering Reformed Social Theorist (Part 2)

According to John Witte Jr., Althusius did consider the question of religious liberty, whether a private person has the right to “alter amend, or even abandon” the duties prescribed under the first table (the first four commandments) of the Decalogue. Continue reading →

Review: The Search For Christian America By Mark A. Noll, Nathan O. Hatch, And George M. Marsden

Christians often mimic the tactics of non-Christians in the social and political realms. For example, the “cancel culture” found in legacy media and social media is also found in evangelical media and Christian social media. American politicians and pundits use scare tactics, . . . Continue reading →

The Second Commandment Is God’s Word

In recent decades, there has been a renewed appreciation for and embrace of a “Calvinistic” (i.e. Biblical) soteriology in which God is recognized as sovereign in all the affairs of men and even in salvation. Dr. T. David Gordon suggests this phenomenon . . . Continue reading →

Malthus or Althusius? An Introduction To A Pioneering Reformed Social Theorist (Part 1)

We seem to live in a Malthusian age—an age of increasing scarcity, or perhaps fear of scarcity, where concern over how to divide an economic (and environmental) pie of limited size (called a “zero sum game”) has replaced the idea of expanding . . . Continue reading →

Luther On The Two Words

The second word of God is neither Law nor command and demands nothing of us. But when the first word of the Law has worked misery and poverty in the heart, then He comes and offers us His blessed and life-giving Word. . . . Continue reading →

The Custom Of God’s Churches: Head Coverings And Cultural Appropriateness (Part 2)

Sometimes passages take on a life of their own in church life or in church history, confronting us with perennial discussions about specific and difficult questions. Such is the case with 1 Corinthians 11:2–16, where Paul discussed the need for modesty and . . . Continue reading →