But now, having run through these various arguments, to what conclusion do we come? Are they sufficient to set aside our reasoned conviction, derived from some such argument as Dr. Hodge’s, that infants are to be baptized? A thousand times no. So . . . Continue reading →
Christian Life
The Fruit Of The Spirit: The Eighth Fruit—Self-Control (Part 1)
Self-control is not a popular virtue. Few people really want to restrain themselves from pleasure or self-gratification. Very few people are concerned about regulating their grief, anger, or frustration. Instead, indulging in pleasure is a priority for many. People give full vent . . . Continue reading →
Bavinck: All Heretics Quote Scripture
Every sectarian and heretical school of thought initially begins with an appeal to Scripture against the confession and would have us believe that its deviation from the doctrine of the church is required by Scripture. But in most cases further investigation leads . . . Continue reading →
Bringing Singles Into The Church
The OPC raised me well. Even in my earliest memories, my church felt like home. But when I returned as a young adult from serving two years on a mission field, I began to feel deeply the tension of being single and . . . Continue reading →
The Fruit Of The Spirit: The Seventh Fruit—Gentleness (Part 2)
To get a true understanding of the fruit of gentleness, we must first think about the gentleness of Christ, which we meditated on in part one. Now we can start to think about gentleness in our own Christian lives. Jesus said we . . . Continue reading →
Clarifying Issues In Schreiner’s Soteriology
The rest of the book focuses mostly on aspects of Paul’s explanation of salvation in Galatians. Schreiner defends the traditional Protestant view that the Galatian error involved legalistic tendencies to require some kind of work—namely, circumcision—as a condition of law keeping for . . . Continue reading →
The Fruit Of The Spirit: The Seventh Fruit—Gentleness (Part 1)
I am guessing most of us are familiar with the word gentle. If you helped your friend move into an apartment, he probably told you to be gentle with the box containing dishes. When your son was holding his newborn brother, you . . . Continue reading →
Some Kentucky Presbyterians Opposed Slavery
John Rankin (1793–1886) was another towering figure among Southern Presbyterian abolitionists, whose work in both Kentucky and Ohio had a profound impact on the movement to end slavery. Born in Tennessee, Rankin was raised in a devout Presbyterian family that instilled in . . . Continue reading →
Bavinck: Pelagius Scatters Flowers On Graves
The difference between Augustine and Pelagius, Calvin or Castellio, Gomarus and Arminius is not that the latter were that much more gentle, loving, and tenderhearted than the former. On the contrary, it arises from the fact that the former accepted Scripture in . . . Continue reading →
What Is Love?
The book begins with one question: “What is love?” Our culture has its answers, but what does the Bible say? Borg then proceeds to answer many other questions we might ask. These include: does God love everyone? What about the love we . . . Continue reading →
Chrysostom: We Are Pilgrims
The first virtue, yea the whole of virtue, is to be a stranger to this world, and a sojourner, and to have nothing in common with things here, but to hang loose from them, as from things strange to us; As those . . . Continue reading →
The Church Of The Nones
Twenty minutes outside downtown Atlanta, Vinings Lake sits along a humming thoroughfare connecting Veterans Memorial Highway to the affluent suburbs north of the city. With its white steeple and brick exterior, it could easily be mistaken for another Southern Baptist church adorning . . . Continue reading →
Does Being Faithful Mean Being Busy?
There is a trend I have been observing over the last ten years or so in our Reformed circles, and now I have been hearing various voices from “the pew” expressing concern in this particular area. That is of a call for . . . Continue reading →
Counting To One And The Trinity
Western culture today parades its rebellion against nature and our Creator, against the goodness of bearing God’s image as men and women. Christians must defend the Bible’s teaching on God’s design for both sexes and how each complements the other. Many, however, . . . Continue reading →
What Would You Give To Win Your Neighbor?
Perhaps one of the reasons we have a difficult time reaching our neighbors with the gospel of Christ is that we are unwilling to sacrifice anything for their sake, breaking down relational and cultural walls that make it hard for them to . . . Continue reading →
But Even Tax Collectors
The ordo amoris isn’t a justification for cruelty, nor does it exempt us from loving strangers, enemies, etc. Loving your own is natural and necessary, but even tax collectors and sinners do that. Grace doesn’t destroy nature, and natural affection must be . . . Continue reading →
Fesko: When The Church Is Not Like Costco
It seems like far too many people treat relationships of all sorts as being disposable. As soon as they hit a rough patch of any sort they decide to pull up stakes, move on, and find a new relationship. This is especially . . . Continue reading →
Sibbes: Preaching Must Be Of Nothing But Christ
Preaching must be of Christ. Some may question, “But must nothing be preached but Christ?” Yes, nothing but Christ, or that which tends to Christ. Whatever is done in preaching to humble men, it is to raise them up again Christ. When . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Ordinary Means Ordinary (10): Is Efficiency a Virtue in the Church?
Dr Clark continues the series “Ordinary Means Ordinary” Continue reading →
Christ Fulfilled The True Covenant Of Works
Christ fulfilled the true covenant of works by being born under the Mosaic law as the situation most resembling it. Mosaic typology thoroughly signified Christ’s obedience. Read more» Harrison Perkins | Reformed Covenant Theology (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2024), 331. (HT: Reformed Dogmatika) . . . Continue reading →