Covenant Theology

The Logic Of Fruit As Evidence

by on January 16, 2016

The Patristic Period One of the earliest concerns of the Christian church, beginning with the apostles and intensifying through the patristic and medieval periods, was that those who profess the Christian faith should live in a way befitting their profession of faith. . . . Continue reading →

Abraham, Moses, And Circumcision

by on January 8, 2016 | 6 Comments

Introduction Since the early to mid-19th century, American evangelical Christianity has been largely dominated by a set of assumptions about the nature of redemptive history and the progress of revelation that may be called Baptistic. Not everyone who holds these assumptions or . . . Continue reading →

Theological Error Seeps In

by on November 25, 2015 | 24 Comments

Years ago, in the second house in which Mrs Heidelblog and I lived, water seeped into the basement every time it rained and it rained frequently. As the ground became soaked water would push in and up through the basement. We had . . . Continue reading →

Burying The Lead On Baxter

by on November 12, 2015 | 21 Comments

There is a phrase in journalism called “burying the lead” (or, since about 1979, the cloying variant lede). The lead (lede) is the paragraph in which the most important, salient facts are contained. In the old days (c. 1975), the writer was . . . Continue reading →

Another Helpful Distinction: Filial Versus Servile Fear

by on November 9, 2015 | 1 Comment

I was fortunate to have been raised in a two-parent family. I had a great Dad. I had what today would be considered an “old school” upbringing. Mom did most (maybe all) of the spanking but Dad made his presence felt. There . . . Continue reading →

The Synod Of Dort On Election, Conditions Of Salvation, And Fruit (2)

Does The Doctrine Of Perseverance Turn The Covenant Of Grace Into A Covenant of Works?

by on November 7, 2015 | 2 Comments

Here the true nature of the Remonstrant doctrine of perseverance emerges: God helps those who help themselves by cooperating with his “assisting grace.” This is quite another picture of salvation. Here God has not parted the Red Sea and led us through, by the hand, as it were (Jer 31:32; Ex 14:16). Rather, according to the Remonstrants, God has covenanted to co-act with those who do what lies within them (facientibus quod in se est, Deus non denegat gratiam). Continue reading →

An Important Distinction Between Kinds And Functions Of Conditions

by on November 5, 2015 | 2 Comments

When we use the word “condition,” the first sense that probably comes to mind, in English usage, is the first definition offered by the Oxford English Dictionary: “convention, stipulation, proviso.” There is another sense to the word, however, as it was used . . . Continue reading →