When I look back on my earlier life, I see the converse is also true. As I first stepped out of the closet in the 1990s, I made a conscious decision to ignore natural law. Once I made that choice, I could . . . Continue reading →
HeidelQuotes
Pietists And Rationalists Together
Some of theologians of the era tended toward pietism or, among the Dutch Reformed, toward the Nadere Reformatie, and many evidenced affinities for the newer rationalist philosophies. Continue reading →
Saved By The Blood Of The Lamb
I was blinded by the devil, Born already ruined, Stone-cold dead, As I stepped out of the womb Continue reading →
The Whole Manner Of Worship
For since the whole manner of worship which God requires of us is written in them at large, it is unlawful for any one, though an Apostle, to teach otherwise than we are now taught in the Holy Scriptures Continue reading →
Justification: One Of The Two Chief Articles Of Our Faith
The doctrine of justification, which now follows, is one of the chief articles of our faith, not only because it treats of those things which are fundamental, but also because it is most frequently called in question by heretics. The controversies between . . . Continue reading →
Not For Carvers Or Artists
Although Christ assumed human nature, yet he did not on that account assume it in order to provide a model for carvers and painters. He denied that he had come “to abolish the law and the prophets” (Matt. 5:17). But images are . . . Continue reading →
Notes On Calvin’s Doctrine That Justification Sola Fide Is The Principal Axis Of The Christian Religion
Christ was given to us by God’s generosity, to be grasped and possessed by us in faith. By partaking of him, we principally receive a double grace: namely, that being reconciled to God through Christ’s blamelessness, we may have in heaven instead . . . Continue reading →
Avoid Strange Teaching, Endless Genealogies, Speculation, And Self- Appointed Teachers Of The Law
As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any strange doctrine, who hold useless speculations, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, rather than the . . . Continue reading →
The Author Of The Belgic Confession On 16th-Century Pentecostalism
There be some who have daily some new command from God, to make known unto their brothers and strangers. Some are rapt into an ecstasy and have their appearance and countenance changed, lying upon the ground certain hours. Some tremble and quake . . . Continue reading →
The Alliance Of Confessing Evangelicals In 1998: We Still Disagree With Rome
The first of these two documents, “Evangelicals and Catholics Together,” was a call to the Christian world to form a united front against the destructive influences of secular culture in such areas as ethics, statism, and the relativization of truth. In the . . . Continue reading →
The Didache Calls Abortion Murder
You shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit pederasty, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not steal, you shall not practice magic, you shall not practice witchcraft, you shall not murder a child by abortion . . . Continue reading →
Waters: What Is And Is Not Kingdom Work
One further problem with this approach is that virtually any activity can become “kingdom work.” McKnight commends a Chicago, Ill. congregation that opened and operated a laundromat, “health facilities,” a gym, and a “pizza joint” for the wider community. He sees these . . . Continue reading →
Luther: The Antinomians Preach Easter But Not Pentecost
That is what my Antinomians, too, are doing today. They are preaching finely and (I can think nothing else) with real seriousness about Christ’s grace, the forgiveness of sins, and the other things that can be said concerning redemption. But they flee . . . Continue reading →
Boston On Works And Grace In Galatians 4
Ver. 24. Which things are a typical history; for these two women represent the two covenants, with the churches thereto adhering respectively; the one from Mount Sinai, to wit, the covenant of works, which was given there, and where the Jewish synagogue, . . . Continue reading →
Our Fear Of Silence And The Weightiness Of The Moment
Further—and this is my big takeaway—there is no need to distract us from the weightiness of the moment. We are meant to reckon with it. The producers wanted us to. There is a lesson here for us as Christians. Each week we . . . Continue reading →
The New Covenant: A Revision And Expansion Of The Abrahamic
Jesus’ new covenant is not only a revision of the Abrahamic covenant but also an incorporation of a new body of people. This new covenant is said to be for all who believe in Jesus–not only believing Jews but also believing Gentiles. . . . Continue reading →
The Leiden Synopsis On The Distinction Between Law And Gospel
While it is from the Law (about which we disputed above) that we come to know the contagion and defect of our spiritual illness, that is, of sin, it is from the Gospel that we learn of the remedy for it. —Synopsis . . . Continue reading →
A Moral World As Plastic As Our Neural Pathways
One would not allow alcoholics to have the last word on liquor licensing laws or crack addicts on drug policy. Yet when it comes to sexual morality, that is the kind of world in which we now live. The availability of pornography . . . Continue reading →
Owen: The Least Dram Of Holiness Never Flowed Except From Christ Through The Gospel
1. This whole matter of sanctification and holiness is peculiarly joined with and limited unto the doctrine, truth, and grace of the gospel; for holiness is nothing but the implanting, writing, and realizing of the gospel in our souls. Hence it is . . . Continue reading →
The Purpose Of Political Correctness Is To Humiliate
Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, nor to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded . . . Continue reading →