Two Kenyan pastors, both ministering in Three Forms of Unity churches, have just completed this new translation of the Heidelberg Catechism into Swahili. Our federation of churches has 10 congregations in it, mostly from some of the poorest and most neglected tribes. . . . Continue reading →
Saints and Sinners Unplugged is a podcast hosted by Ken Jones, whom you know from the White Horse Inn radio show, Aldo Leon, Jose Prado, and David Menendez. Each of these men is a pastor of a congregation in the Miami metro . . . Continue reading →
This is episode 3 in the series, What Must A Christian Believe? So far we have looked at the biblical and early Christian practice of confessing the faith and what it means to say Credo or “I believe.” That is what we . . . Continue reading →
This is episode 1 in the series, “What Must A Christian Believe?” I chose this title for two reasons: 1) Since I began pastoral ministry in 1987 it is one of the questions I have received most often; 2) it is Question . . . Continue reading →
IN WHAT DOES THE POWER OF THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN DIFFER FROM CIVIL POWER? The points of difference are many, and such as are apparent. 1. Ecclesiastical discipline is exercised by the church; civil power by the judge or . . . Continue reading →
“IN WHAT DOES THE CHURCH DIFFER FROM THE STATE? The chief differences between the church and the state are the following: 1. The state is a society which is bound by certain civil laws for the maintenance of external propriety and order, . . . Continue reading →
31. Why is He called Christ, that is Anointed? Because He is ordained of God the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of . . . Continue reading →
53. Q. What do you believe concerning the Holy Spirit? A. First, he is, together with the Father and the Son, true and eternal God. Second, he is also given to me, to make me by true faith share in Christ and . . . Continue reading →
During this season, which many Christians call “Holy Week,” I am perversely drawn to Saturday.
2. How many things are necessary for you to know, that in this comfort you may live and die blessedly?
40. Why was it necessary for Christ to suffer “death”? Continue reading →
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
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The Word is that through which the Holy Spirit commences and confirms faith in us, and for this reason, should go before the sacraments. The sacraments are means through which the Holy Spirit confirms faith already called into exercise, and for this . . . Continue reading →
The following is a recent sermon (July 26, 2020), delivered in the Escondido United Reformed Church from Hebrews 10:1–18 and Lord’s Day 5 of the Heidelberg Catechism. The United Reformed Churches follow the ancient Christian pattern of meeting twice each Lord’s Day. . . . Continue reading →
The Heidelberg Catechism is in three parts: Law, Gospel, and Sanctification or Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude. This is not an artificial interpretation of the Catechism nor is it an artificial arrangement of the Christian faith. Question 2 outlines the Catechism for us: Continue reading →
First, by His resurrection He has overcome death, that He might make us partakers of the righteousness which He has obtained for us by His death. Secondly, by His power we are also now raised up to a new life. Thirdly, the . . . Continue reading →
Although the Protestant movement gained political legitimacy with the Religious Peace of Augsburg in 1555, Luther’s reformation had not yet been won. Rome still sought to regain the Palatinate and, by the middle of the 16th century, controversies had already divided the . . . Continue reading →
Introduction The Heidelberg Catechism is justly regarded as one of the finest summaries of the Christian faith ever written. First published in 1563, the catechism is used by more than a million Christians globally. The first question of the catechism is among . . . Continue reading →
Caspar Olevianus (1536–87) was an influential figure in the development of Reformed (as distinct from other versions of) covenant theology. He was a student of John Calvin (1509–64) and Theodore Beza (1519–1605). Like them, he was a Roman Catholic humanist scholar who . . . Continue reading →
That there is a Reformed doctrine of salvation is clear from the confessions and catechisms of the confessional Presbyterian and Reformed churches. We are saved by grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide), in Christ alone. God’s Word says: “For . . . Continue reading →