As a child I was fascinated by “magicians” such as Harry Blackstone Jr. For a few dollars one could order a kit or study library books and learn to do “magic.” Of course, it was not magic at all. It was merely . . . Continue reading →
In the previous essay we saw that the Reformed Churches defended perseverance by grace alone (sola gratia) against the Remonstrant attempt to deny perseverance by making grace resistible and conditional rather than sovereign and free. To see that we looked at the . . . Continue reading →
As Bob Godfrey has well illustrated in his new book on the Canons of Dort, Saving the Reformation, the theology of the Synod of Dort was eminently pastoral. Synod was precise in its response to the Remonstrants but it was not technical. . . . Continue reading →
Years ago I was challenged by a churchgoer that I have no right to critique another church’s worship unless I have personally attended and witnessed for myself what is happening. I took this challenge and visited the local evangelical church in which . . . Continue reading →
Lent as we know it today did not arise out of this biblical understanding of fasting. Rather, Lent came about as a superstitious misunderstanding both of the purpose of fasting in general and the purpose of Christ’s forty-day fast in the wilderness . . . Continue reading →
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
In a recent essay Andrew Wilson writes: I consider the absurd antics of some of the paper-waving, foundation-faced prosperity preachers who appear on Christian television. I acknowledge that much new church liturgy fails to acknowledge the realities of sin and suffering, and . . . Continue reading →
Raised and educated in liberal Roman Catholic settings, Rosaria Champagne Butterfield earned her PhD from The Ohio State University and was a tenured professor of English and Women’s Studies at Syracuse University where she taught until 2002. In her late 20s she adopted . . . Continue reading →
Jeffrey Stivason has a helpful interaction with an August 2018 essay by Wesley Hill in which Hill seeks to justify the Revoice Conference, held last July (2018), and in which justifies his conclusion that he has an immutable same-sex attraction. Stivason notes that . . . Continue reading →
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
There has always been a great temptation to append the adjective Christian to whatever one favors in order to justify it. Recently we have seen the phenomenon of so-called “Gay Christians” in an apparent attempt to synthesize homosexuality and Christianity. This attempt . . . Continue reading →
At the Heidelblog we are passionate in our commitment to the local church. We do not want listeners and readers to substitute the HB for the local, visible church. Unless you are in our congregation we are probably not going to be . . . Continue reading →
Someone once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Who first said it is disputed. It has been attributed to P. T. Barnum, to a banker, and to other possible sources. Whoever said it first, it captures the spirit of skepticism perfectly. . . . Continue reading →
Christians have often been tempted to fall into one of three great errors when it comes to the doctrine of conversion (or regeneration). Historically, the word regeneration has signified two related but distinct ideas: a) Sanctification, i.e., the progressive Spirit-wrought, graciously given . . . Continue reading →
Recently, a well-meaning “New Calvinist” (more on this nomenclature in part 2) posted some very blunt language on Twitter about the relationship between divine sovereignty and various ways in which people suffer in this world. He wrote that if you experienced X . . . Continue reading →
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
In Acts 21 we read a somewhat startling episode involving a New Testament prophet named Agabus: This is the same Agabus of whom we read earlier in Acts: Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of . . . Continue reading →
Christians have long struggled to affirm the truth that God saves freely, sovereignly, unconditionally and the truth that he uses means to bring his elect to new life and true faith. During the Middle Ages particularly, the church came to think that . . . Continue reading →
Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →
Years ago I remember hearing a wise elder say to me that if my sermon could be accepted in a Jewish synagogue then it is not a distinctively Christian sermon. I’ve thought a lot about that over the years. What makes Christian . . . Continue reading →