“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 →
Heidelberg Catechism
Are Believers Prophets, Priests, And Kings And In What Ways?
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 →
Christian, Fear Not. You Have The Holy Spirit (Or Better, He Has You)
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 →
Silent Saturday
During this season, which many Christians call “Holy Week,” I am perversely drawn to Saturday.
What Must You Know To Live And Die Blessedly?
2. How many things are necessary for you to know, that in this comfort you may live and die blessedly?
Christ’s Death And Ours (Isa 52:13–53:12; Heidelberg 40–44)
40. Why was it necessary for Christ to suffer “death”? Continue reading →
What Is Your Only Comfort In Life And In Death?
What is your only comfort in life and in death?
Continue reading →
Ursinus: The Holy Spirit Uses The Word To Create Faith And The Sacraments To Confirm Faith
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 →
Liability, Inability, Inevitability, And, Incarnability
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 Reasons Christians Do Good Works
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 →
45. What benefit do we receive from the resurrection of Christ?
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 →
The Necessity Of Good Works: Ursinus’ Exposition Of Heidelberg 64
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 →
Your Only Comfort In Life And In Death
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 Olevian And The Substance Of The Covenant Now $10.00
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 →
With The New Geneva Podcast On Reformed Comfort: Salvation In The Heidelberg Catechism
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 →
The Heidelberg Catechism Confesses Salvation By Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone
It has become fashionable among some who identify as confessionally Reformed and among so-called Reformedish (i.e., Baptists who identify with aspects of Reformed theology) types to claim that the Reformed doctrine of salvation hold that there two stages to salvation: initial and . . . Continue reading →
With The Regular Reformed Guys On The Heidelberg Catechism
The first job of the HB is to call attention to the Heidelberg Catechism, an outstanding Reformed catechism published in 1563 in the Palatinate, the capital of which was Heidelberg. Composed of 129 questions and answers about the Christian faith beginning with . . . Continue reading →
What Distinguishes The Gifts God Gives To Believers From Those He Gives To Unbelievers?
Objection. 1. But the wicked receive many of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, who nevertheless do not ask or desire them. Therefore these things are not merely given to such as desire them. Answer. The wicked do indeed receive many gifts; . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus On The Rule Of Worship
It must be commanded by God. No creature has the right, or power to institute the worship of God. But good works (we speak of moral good) and the worship of God are the same. Moral good differs widely from natural good, . . . Continue reading →
The Reformed Churches: The Judgment Is A Source Of Comfort To Believers
52. What comfort is it to you, that Christ “shall come to judge the living and the dead”? That in all my sorrows and persecutions, with uplifted head, I look for the very same one, who before offered Himself for me to . . . Continue reading →