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 →
Assurance
Canons of Dort (24): Synod’s Pastoral Concern For Assurance
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 →
Calvin: Christians Should Not Fear That God Is Continually Offended By The Remnant Of Sin
And this is the reason why the author of The Letter to the Hebrews refers to faith all the good works of which we read as being done among the holy fathers, and judges them by faith alone [Heb. 11:2 ff.; 11:17; . . . Continue reading →
The Canons Of Dort (10): Unconditional Grace Gives Assurance
The Remonstrants were convinced that the Protestant doctrine of salvation by grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide) did not and could not produce sufficient sanctification (holiness) and obedience. Thus, without admitting to it, they turned the covenant of grace . . . Continue reading →
Olevianus: The First Benefit Of The Resurrection Is The Certainty Of Our Justification
The resurrection of Christ is a sure testimony to us that God considers us to be as just and righteous in His eyes as the body of Christ was when He arose from the dead out of all of our sins. Continue reading →
Olevianus: The Gospel Is That Salvation Is Freely Given and Received Through Faith Alone
8 Q. Just as there is only one way to salvation, the crucified Christ, there is also only one doctrine of salvation that freely and graciously offers us Christ and all His benefits for our possession. What is this doctrine? A.* The . . . Continue reading →
Not For Others Only But For Me Also
Therefore read these words “me” and “for me” with great emphasis, and accustom yourself to accepting this “me” with a sure faith and applying it to yourself. Do not doubt that you belong to the number of those who speak this “me.” . . . Continue reading →
What Creepy Clowns Tell Us About Social Anxiety
The creepy clown craze caught me off guard. I suppose my earliest exposure to clowns came through the children’s television show Captain Kangaroo, hosted by Bob Keeshan. He himself had played Clarabelle the Clown on the Howdy Doody television program, which was . . . Continue reading →
Christ Ascended, Christ Rules
Sometimes we give the impression or might be tempted to think that the last time we see Jesus in Scripture is at the end of the gospels but, of course, that is not true. We see him in Acts chapters 1 and . . . Continue reading →
Dathenus: Would You Make Christ Another Moses Again?
“Would you make Christ another Moses again? Is Christ your accuser or your Redeemer, Deliverer, Advocate, and Mediator? Has He only partly forgiven your sins or has He totally and completely forgiven them? Is He a complete or only a half Savior?” . . . Continue reading →
Ferguson: Assurance Depends On Sola Gratia, Sola Fide
If final justification is dependent on something we have to complete it is not possible to enjoy assurance of salvation. For then, theologically, final justification is contingent and uncertain, and it is impossible for anyone (apart from special revelation, Rome conceded) to . . . Continue reading →
Judas Is A Warning
Few figures in the history of Christianity are as notorious as Judas Iscariot but for all his infamy, we know remarkably little about him. Nevertheless, he plays a major role in the gospel narratives and in Acts chapter 1. He was certainly . . . Continue reading →
Does The Westminster Confession Contradict Calvin On Assurance And Faith?
For much of the 20th century it was a datum, a given, for many students of Calvin and the Reformed tradition that many of the English Reformed (especially the Westminster Assembly) abandoned Calvin and the Reformation doctrine of the faith and assurance. . . . Continue reading →
Dort: When Believers Fall Into Sin
Breaking news: Christians, believers, sin. Sometimes they fall into grievous sin. David, the man after God’s own heart, not only lusted after another man’s wife, he abused his office, committed adultery, planned and executed a murder conspiracy. Peter, as a disciple, denied . . . Continue reading →
Dort 5.1–3: Reformed Realism On Sanctification
One of the lesser known aspects of the battle with the Remonstrants (Arminians), was that they, the Remonstrants, were not satisfied with the Reformed doctrine of sanctification. That continues to be a problem today. In the 18th and 19th centuries powerful voices within what we today call “evangelicalism” were also dissatisfied with the older doctrine. They wanted more. Some of them, deeply influenced by the Remonstrants, articulated a doctrine of Christian perfection, a doctrine that believers can, if they will, attain “entire perfection” (sinless sanctification) in this life. In our day, even among some who think of themselves as Reformed (principally because they identify with the Reformed doctrines of election and the atonement) teach a version of perfectionism. Since no one in this life ever actually achieves sinless perfection, such an approach to the Christian life is bound to create a crisis of assurance. Continue reading →
There Is Only One Stage Of Justification
In recent years, however, within ostensibly confessional Protestant circles, some have been advocating versions of a two-stage doctrine of justification. One version of this proposal is that we may be said to be justified initially by grace alone, through faith alone but only finally justified on the basis of our sanctification. Some give the whole basis of our final justification to our inherent sanctification and righteousness and others only part of the basis. Continue reading →
Calvin: Assurance Fills Our Sails
The seducers that had infiltrated the Galatians and corrupted the purity of the gospel…Paul stops here, and says that if we are being forced and obliged to perform this task for God and to enter into this covenant with him, Jesus Christ . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 86: Why Good Works? (3)
Sanctification has another function in the Christian life: to bolster assurance. This doctrine has also been controversial in some circles. There is a view that says that sanctification can play no role whatsoever in assurance. There is also an approach that says that, in seeking assurance, the first place a believer looks is to his sanctification. Continue reading →
Augustine On Justification, Salvation, And Assurance
Our predestination is not wrought in ourselves, but in secret with Him, in His foreknowledge. But we are called by the preaching of repentance. We are justified in the calling of mercy and fear of judgment. He feareth not judgment, who hath . . . Continue reading →
Calvin On Freedom From Bondage To The Law
Yet, when Paul speaks of the law creating servitude, he is speaking here of the way in which the Galatians misapplied the law… Furthermore, we believe that it is impossible to keep the law of God, but that the law simply reveals . . . Continue reading →