. . . though this flattening of the covenant relationship throughout the course of history, before and after the fall, may have a superficial appeal, it has huge implications for the way we interpret the respective “work” of Adam and Christ, the . . . Continue reading →
Covenant Theology
Seven Short Points About Republication
The (re)republication of a book on the question of the republication of the covenant of works under Moses has hit the Reformed interwebs. Follow the link above for quotes from Reformed sources, audio, and posts explaining the history, the current controversy, and . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 73: Nomism And Antinomianism (11)
Last time we considered what some folk mean by the expression “the law of Christ” and, in contrast, what the Bible means by it. It’s neither a new covenant of works, as if we could obey our way into acceptance with God . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 72: The Covenant Of Grace And Race
If you’ve been near social media or a television recently you probably know about the troubles in Ferguson, Missouri. It’s a predominantly African-American suburb of St Louis where, around Noon on Saturday August 9, 2014 a Mike Brown, a young, 18-year old, . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 71: Nomism And Antinomianism (10)
We’ve come to the 3rd part of the Marrow, “Of the law of Christ.” This is a phrase that occurs frequently in this discussion. Neither the antinomian nor the neonomian are satisfied with the law of Christ the way it is. The . . . Continue reading →
A Really Short Case For Infant Baptism (117 words)
There are about 60 million evangelicals in North America. Most of them assume or hold a Baptist interpretation of redemptive history, a Baptist hermeneutic (way of reading Scripture), and consequently, a Baptist view of the sacraments or signs and seals of the . . . Continue reading →
Boston: Man Under The Covenant Of Works
7. Lastly, In his person. Being a sinful man under the covenant of works, he is a cursed man; For it is written, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law . . . Continue reading →
R. C. Sproul On Infant Baptism, Sin, And Patience
I believe that people who reject infant baptism, for example,—I think they’re wrong—but I believe they’re zealous about it because they want to practice the sacraments the way they believe God intended them to be practiced. And they believe it would be . . . Continue reading →
Calvin On The Danger Of Abusing The Lord’s Table
29. He who shall eat unworthily, eateth judgment to himself. He had previously pointed out in express terms the heinousness of the crime, when he said that those who should eat unworthily would be guilty of the body and blood of the . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 70: Nomism And Antinomianism (9)
The issue before this week is this: The nomist (i.e., the legalist) will frequently deny that he is a legalist. We can even get the nomist to profess orthodox things about the doctrine of justification but here’s an acid test—by the way . . . Continue reading →
Moses Was Not Abraham
In March I had the privilege of contributing to the 9 Marks blog. The point of my post there (and here) was not to argue the specifics of the paedobaptist (infant baptizing) case but, nevertheless, in response to that contribution a correspondent . . . Continue reading →
Does Baptism Save?
Merrit asks this question. “Two friends and I have been talking about this verse (1 Peter 3:21) and passage for quite some time today. The more we seem to talk about it the more confused I seem to get about it.” Merritt, . . . Continue reading →
Olevianus On Christ As Mediator Of The Covenant Of Grace
[T]he Son of God, having been constituted by the Father as Mediator of the covenant, the guarantor on two counts: 1) He shall satisfy for the sins of all those whom the Father has given him (John 17) and he decreed from . . . Continue reading →
Witsius: The Law Given At Sinai Was A Repetition Of The Covenant Of Works
XLVIII. Secondly, we more especially remark, that when the law was given from Mount Sinai or Horeb there was a repetition of the covenant of works. For those tremendous signs of thunders and lightnings, of an earthquake, a thick smoke and black . . . Continue reading →
Faith Alone Is The Instrument Of Justification AND Salvation
Controversy can be ugly and painful and the recent controversy over sanctification has been both at times. It can also be helpful by bringing greater clarity and this controversy has been useful in that respect. Some orthodox Reformed pastors are being charged . . . Continue reading →
A Brief Refresher On Norman Shepherd’s Doctrine Of Conditions In The Covenant
…Just as Adam was obliged to meet the conditions of the covenant that God graciously established with him, so believers are obliged to meet the conditions of the covenant of grace in order to inherit eternal life. Just as Christ was obliged . . . Continue reading →
Seven Essential Distinctions In The Covenant Of Grace
Wes Bredenhof, pastor of Providence Canadian Reformed Church (Hamilton, ON) has published a helpful post. Here is part of it: We distinguish between the administration of the covenant of grace in this era and administrations of the covenant of grace in previous . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Divine Covenants And Moral Order
In the 16th and 17th centuries, indeed, from the 2nd century until the 20th century there was little question among Christians whether God has revealed his moral law in nature and in the conscience. In the 20th century, however, that verity came to . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 63: Nomism And Antinomianism (6)
The Heidelcast is working through The Marrow of Modern Divinity (1645). Last time we began looking at the doctrine of the covenant of grace. We saw that the principle of the covenant of grace is fundamentally different from that of the covenant of works. . . . Continue reading →
ReformedCast: On The Distinction Between The Law And The Gospel
Thanks to Scott Oakland for inviting me to do episode 145 of the ReformedCast. We talked about the distinction between law and gospel. Scott asked good questions and we were able to cover a lot of what is currently being discussed now: . . . Continue reading →