The Synod of Dort is one of the most important events in the history of the Reformed Churches. From 1618–16 delegates from the Reformed Churches the Netherlands, the British Isles, and Europe attended (or, in the case of France, were prevented by . . . Continue reading →
Tish Harrison Warren, a priest in the ACNA (a denomination in the Anglican tradition), writes in Christianity Today, We have an impoverished and inadequate political theology. It took us generations to get here, and this one election, regardless of the results, will . . . Continue reading →
It is Reformation Day 2020. As far as I know, magisterial (Reformed and Lutheran) Protestants have been observing October 31 as Reformation Day since the 17th century. Longtime readers of this space will may remember my critique of October 31 as Reformation . . . Continue reading →
William Ames, A Sketch of the Christian’s Catechism. Classic Reformed Theology. Todd Rester, trans. (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2008). Ames (1576–1633) exposits a particular text of Scripture that supports the main thoughts for a given Lord’s Day in the Heidelberg Catechism . . . Continue reading →
[T]he metrical psalms were the ‘secret weapon of the English Reformation,’ ‘perhaps the most powerful of the persuasive weapons in the armoury of English Protestantism,’ ‘a potent weapon’ against Catholicism….Psalm-singing was never universally welcomed (Queen Elizabeth seems snobbishly to have disapproved of . . . Continue reading →
Few Bible interpreters in the history of the church have been as prolific and influential as John Calvin (1509–64). Love or hate him, one cannot ignore him. He wrote commentaries upon much of Scripture. As a humanist, he was a careful, sensitive, . . . Continue reading →
The Reformed theology, piety, and practice is about as old as the Reformation itself. Scholars often describe the Reformation as if it were the child of the second phase of the Reformation. This is because when they think of the Reformed Reformation, . . . Continue reading →
“Arminius’ views clearly belong to the category of those of Karg and Piscator: he not only attributes no soteriological purpose to Christ’s active obedience, he also restricts the purpose of the nominally passive aspects of Christ’s obedience in life and ministry to . . . Continue reading →
God at all times has tied, as it were, the knowledge of Himself to certain suitable actions and signs, and these figures, shadows and types all point to Christ Jesus. Appearing in these last days, He has finished His course in the . . . Continue reading →
Francis Turretin distinguished between justification and vindication. Continue reading →
But what need is there of many words? “All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge lay hidden in Christ” (Col. 2). Why should a Christian preacher seek wisdom in other histories and in supplementary books, without displaying those riches and that treasury . . . Continue reading →
DEFINITION Historical theology refers to the discipline of narrating the development of Christian theology. SUMMARY Historical theology is closely related to but distinct from the discipline of Church History, which is more interested in the institutional history of the church and its . . . Continue reading →
Therefore, Christ our Lord is the base and foundation for the spiritual edifice. Outside of Him there is no hope of salvation. But in Christ there is no loss or condemnation to be feared. He is the cornerstone, the rock, the entrance, . . . Continue reading →
Let us take a watchword from holy and learned Rutherford: ‘We would beware (says he) of Mr. Baxter’s order of setting repentance and works of new obedience before justification; which is indeed a new covenant of works.’ Continue reading →
It is time for the monthly Heidelcast call-in show and, as always, we have thoughtful and interesting questions on how to learn church history (and what to read), whether I agree with the 1646 edition of the Westminster Confession of Faith or . . . Continue reading →
In Death By Love Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears write: James Arminius was John Calvin’s son-in-law and greatly appreciated Calvin. He said that, after the Scriptures, he believed Calvin’s writings to be the most profitable study for God’s people. Therefore, the acrimony that sometimes . . . Continue reading →
The Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving baptism even to infants. The apostles, to whom were committed the secrets of the divine sacraments, knew there are in everyone innate strains of [original] sin, which must be washed away through . . . Continue reading →
For in respect of the observance of the eighth day in the Jewish circumcision of the flesh, a sacrament was given beforehand in shadow and in usage; but when Christ came, it was fulfilled in truth. For because the eighth day, that . . . Continue reading →
How disgraceful it is for a servant of Christ not to know the command of His Lord, and to pursue some other, useless preoccupation, and fail to take an interest in the things which concern His Lord, who is our everlasting blessedness! . . . Continue reading →
In his 1521 translation of the Greek New Testament into German, the so-called September Testament, which he completed in about 11 weeks (seminary students take note, that is two weeks shy of one semester) Luther’s most controversial decision may have been to . . . Continue reading →