I saw the evil of legal preaching, which lies in one of two things, or in both. 1. In laying too much stress upon the works of the law, our duties and strength: Or, 2. In pressing evangelical doctrines without an eye to that which is the spring of the church’s edification, the Spirit of the Lord… O Lord, thou knowest how much of it is in this poor church.
Thomas Halyburton, “Of Legal Preaching” in Memoirs of the Rev. Thomas Halyburton (William Collins, 1838), 261-62.
RESOURCES
- Resources on the Distinction Between Law and Gospel
- Subscribe to The Heidelblog!
- Download the HeidelApp on Apple App Store or Google Play
- Browse the Heidelshop!
- The Heidelblog Resource Page
- Heidelmedia Resources
- The Ecumenical Creeds
- The Reformed Confessions
- The Heidelberg Catechism
- The Heidelberg Catechism: A Historical, Theological, & Pastoral Commentary (Lexham Press, 2025)
- Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008)
- Why I Am A Christian
- What Must A Christian Believe?
- Heidelblog Contributors
- Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button or send a check to
Heidelberg Reformation Association
1637 E. Valley Parkway #391
Escondido CA 92027
USA
The HRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Donald John MacLean
Donald John MacLean is President and Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Seminary, UK. He is a minister in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of England and Wales, and a trustee of the Banner of Truth and Tyndale House. He is married to Ruth and they have two children.
More by Donald John MacLean ›