While all duties are commanded in the law, all privileges and blessings are offered in the gospel. While the former are required of all, the latter are presented to all. Christ and all the blessings of His great salvation are in the . . . Continue reading →
Grace
Colquhoun: This Is The Record
“This is the record,” says the apostle John, “that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (1 John 5:11). That God has given to us an offer of eternal life in and with His Son . . . Continue reading →
“Wretched Man That I Am”—Or Was? Part 2
The Scripture citations in this confession are provided only when a Scripture passage is directly quoted or is clearly alluded to—so there is only one direct reference to our passage. It is highly significant, however. Continue reading →
“Wretched Man That I Am”—Or Was? Part 1
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man can come to the Father except through Me.” I remember reading these words in John 14 as an unbelieving but religion-curious college student. My conscience was convicted—though I was . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: Christ Brings Only To the Father Those Given To Him By The Father
Christ brings none to the Father, but those given him by the Father; and this donation, we know, depends on eternal election; for those whom the Father has destined to life, he delivers to the keeping of his Son, that he may . . . Continue reading →
Luther On The Difference Between Hagar’s Children And Sarah
Therefore the Law or the old covenant contains only physical promises, to which some such condition as this is always attached: “If you will hear My voice” (Ps. 95:7); “If you will keep My covenant” (Ex. 19:5); “If you walk in My . . . Continue reading →
Luther: The Law And The Gospel Make Promise On Different Conditions
For the Law did not have promises added to it about Christ and His blessings, about deliverance from the curse of the Law, sin, and death, and about the free gift of the forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and eternal life. But the . . . Continue reading →
Luther: If You Are Under The Law You Are A Slave
Now it should be noted that the Holy Spirit insults the people of the Law and of works here by calling them “sons of the slave woman.” It is as though He were to say: “Why do you boast about the righteousness . . . Continue reading →
Luther On Law And Grace
Therefore we are pronounced righteous, not on the basis of the Law or of works or of our own righteousness but on the basis of pure grace. Paul insisted on the promise so vigorously and stressed it so often because he saw . . . Continue reading →
Luther: Not Our Merit But Christ’s
But by what merit have we received this righteousness, sonship, and inheritance of eternal life? By none. For what could be merited by men confined under sin, subjected to the curse of the Law, and condemned to eternal death? Therefore we have . . . Continue reading →
Luther: A Christian Must Believe He is In A State Of Grace
I have indicated in a variety of ways that the Christian man must believe for a certainty that he is in a state of divine grace, and that he has the cry of the Holy Spirit in his heart, especially when he . . . Continue reading →
Weeds in the Astro Turf
We live in the desert. It is not the sort of cactus-filled desert where Snoopy’s brother Spike lives (that is east of us a few hours) but it is desert nonetheless. That means water is at a premium and people respond by . . . Continue reading →
Review: Arminius and the Reformed Tradition: Grace and the Doctrine of Salvation By J. V. Fesko
In his work Arminius and the Reformed Tradition: Grace and the Doctrine of Salvation, J. V. Fesko, the Harriet Barbour Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi, makes a narrow yet explosive claim—namely, that Jacob Arminius’s (1560–1609) . . . Continue reading →
Make No Compromise With Sin—Judas, Revoice, and Raising the Black Flag
When the black flag was hoisted in warfare, it indicated no quarter would be given to the enemy. This is the sort of war we must make against our own sin, because sin seeks only to dominate us until it destroys us. . . . Continue reading →
S. M. Baugh on “Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude”: Part 3 — Gratitude
If you do a search in the ESV for the word “grateful” you only get three hits in the whole Bible, two of which produce the word “ungrateful” (Luke 6:35; 2 Tim. 3:2), leaving only one place where the word “grateful” is . . . Continue reading →
William Perkins: Grace Admits No Partner
The Galatians are removed not only from the doctrine of Paul, but also from the grace of God. And the reason is because they joined the works of the law with Christ and His grace in the cause of their justification and . . . Continue reading →
The Good News Of Union With Christ: A Primer on the Resurrection (Part 2)
Resurrection & Sanctification All those who are justified, will also be sanctified. What is Sanctification? “Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more . . . Continue reading →
The Good News Of Union With Christ: A Primer On The Resurrection (Part 1)
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a supernatural historical event that is well attested in the Biblical data. Furthermore, the resurrection of Christ is central to the biblical story of God redeeming his people, and thus, it is an . . . Continue reading →
The First Thing A Christian Must Know
You do not have to hang around Reformed teachers and pastors very long before hearing about “guilt, grace, and gratitude.” We like it because it is a handy summary for the structure of the Christian religion. And it is a way to . . . Continue reading →
The Mystery of Sanctification
The intricacy of LEGO products has changed immensely since I was a child. I remember the basics of rectangle and square blocks, thin flat pieces that work as a ceiling or something, and the occasional exciting hinge piece to mount a door. . . . Continue reading →