Then, in our church practice, we need to take the Old Testament more seriously. It astounds me, given the overwhelming use of psalms as central to gathered worship in the first four centuries, the absolute importance given to psalmody for the first . . . Continue reading →
HeidelQuotes
How Olevianus Characterized The Kingdom Of God
48 Q. Since, then, you say that the additional name “Christ” or “Anointed” implies that He came with the command of the Father to establish a royal priesthood, explain first what the kingdom of Christ is. A. A kingdom is a kind . . . Continue reading →
Organs Were “Purely Secular” Instruments Until The 10th Century
Known from the time of classical antiquity, the organ remained a purely secular instrument until the 10th cent., when it began to appear in major churches, such as Glastonbury and Winchester. What liturgical part, if any, it played remains largely unknown until . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: Psalm 88 Is A Form Of Prayer For The Afflicted
O Jehovah! God of my salvation! Let me call upon you particularly to notice what I have just now stated, That although the prophet simply, and without hyperbole, recites the agony which he suffered from the greatness of his sorrows, yet his . . . Continue reading →
Pastor: A Plea For The Gospel
The gospel really does become again a strange announcement, totally unexpected to fallen ears—especially when sermons are caught between “evangelical” encouragement and culture wars bellicosity. Anonymous, 2017.
Westminster Confession On The Threefold Distinction In The Law And The Abrogation Of The Mosaic Judicial Laws
3. Beside this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a church under age, ceremonial laws, containing several typical ordinances, partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, his graces, actions, sufferings, and benefits; and partly, holding . . . Continue reading →
Calvin On The Threefold Distinction In The Law And The Abrogation Of The Mosaic Civil Laws
The moral law (to begin first with it) is contained under two heads, one of which simply commands us to worship God with pure faith and piety; the other, to embrace men with sincere affection. Accordingly, it is the true and eternal . . . Continue reading →
Herman Hoeksema On The Twofold Kingdom
Hoeksema insisted that the Christian church, “as the manifestation of Christ’s body on earth, is universal in character; hence the church as an institution could not raise the American flag nor sing the national hymns.” The flag could be flown in the . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus: The Mosaic Civil Laws Pointed To Christ And Are Fulfilled
The use of the judicial, or civil laws, was, That they might contribute to the preservation of the Mosaic polity. That they might be types of the government of the church in the kingdom of Christ, inasmuch as the princes and kings . . . Continue reading →
How The Dutch Reformed Lost The Psalms
The king’s arbitrary actions roused very little public dissent. Most clergy were happy to get paid regularly again and their parishioners welcomed the restoration of the national church, even if it was subject to closer government control. Opposition against the new regime . . . Continue reading →
Pan-Protestant Rejection Of An Earthly Golden Age Before Christ Returns
They condemn also others who are now spreading certain Jewish opinions, that before the resurrection of the dead the godly shall take possession of the kingdom of the world, the ungodly being everywhere suppressed. Augsburg Confession (1530) art. 17 We further condemn . . . Continue reading →
Bavinck: Prayers For The Dead Undermine Christ’s Intercession
If the doctrine of purgatory is untenable, all offerings and prayers for the dead automatically fall with it. Veneration of the dead by sacrifices and prayers was common among pagans. Intercession for the dead became a practice among the Jews later (2 . . . Continue reading →
Olevianus On The Distinction Between Law And Gospel
10 Q. What is the difference between the law and the gospel? A. The law is a doctrine that God has implanted in human nature and has repeated and renewed in His commandments. In it He holds before us, as if in . . . Continue reading →
Caspar Olevianus Defines The Gospel
9 Q. Could you give a more definitive explanation of what the gospel is? A. The gospel, or the good news that delights the heart of the poor condemned sinner, is a revelation of the fatherly and immutable will of God, in . . . Continue reading →
Lesbian Atheist: Nature, Science, And Facts Matter
Although I describe myself as transgender (I was donning flamboyant male costumes from early childhood on), I am highly skeptical about the current transgender wave, which I think has been produced by far more complicated psychological and sociological factors than current gender . . . Continue reading →
Synod of Herbon (1586): Weekly Communion Most Corresponds To Christ’s Ordinance
45. The Lord’s Supper shall be celebrated at least every month, and everyone at their location should strive that if the whole congregation cannot participate every Sunday (which most corresponds to Christ’s ordinance and to apostolic custom and is greatly desired), at . . . Continue reading →
Machen: The Regulative Principle Governs The Church
Machen’s reasoning here was an extension of the Regulative Principle. In the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition this principle has typically been applied to public worship. It teaches that we may only worship God as he has commanded us to worship him in . . . Continue reading →
Second Helvetic Confession: No More Special Revelation
Wherefore when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is proclaimed, and received by the faithful; and that neither any other Word of God is to be . . . Continue reading →
Why The Reformed Churches Do Not Re-Baptize Roman Converts
XXVIII. In this belief we declare that, properly speaking, there can be no Church where the Word of God is not received, nor profession made of subjection to it, nor use of the sacraments. Therefore we condemn the papal assemblies, as the . . . Continue reading →
The Late-Modern Emperor Has No Clothes
…Perhaps the dumbest man in the room is not the man who cannot understand gibberish, but the man who cannot see gibberish for what it is. And perhaps the most dangerous people on campus are those who understand this human weakness and . . . Continue reading →