Distinguishing justification and sanctification does not make the second less important or nonessential, but if we do not distinguish them, we will lose the gospel of free grace and as Christians come to think of our standing with God as contingent on . . . Continue reading →
HeidelQuotes
Luther: Assertions Of The Truth Are Essential To Christianity
For it is not the property of a Christian mind to be displeased with assertions; no, a man must be absolutely pleased with assertions, or he will never be a Christian…In Romans 10 he calls it “confession” saying “and with the mouth . . . Continue reading →
Hitler Rejected Christianity
Interestingly, when Hitler was confronted in January 1940 with the observation that people might not know where he stood religiously, he suggested that, on the contrary, it should not be difficult for people to figure it out. After all, he asserted, he . . . Continue reading →
Establishmentarian Politics And Evangelical Feast Days In The Dutch Reformed Church Calendar
Our church order has a separate article on ecclesiastical feast days which stands in a long tradition on this subject, going right back to the beginnings of Reformed churches in the Netherlands. In the following I wish to investigate the purpose and . . . Continue reading →
The Rise And Fall Of Christian Nationalism
“By any objective, scientific standard, blacks are not fully human.” “Adolf Hitler was a Christian prince.” “It was evil to permit women to vote.” “You can have either a civilization or blacks — but not both. What must be done is obvious.” . . . Continue reading →
Who Applies Grace?
[T]he adversaries imagine that they are declaring the mercy of God, because they make it common to all, but if we consider the matter more closely, we attribute much more to mercy than they do. We affirm that everything depends on it, . . . Continue reading →
Machen On The Real Defenders Of Freedom
The real defenders of liberty are those who are devoted to it for its own sake, who believe that freedom of speech means not only freedom for those with whom they are agreed but also freedom for those to whom they are . . . Continue reading →
Piper’s Covenant Theology Is Not Reformed
Keeping the covenant of God did not mean living perfectly. It meant a life of habitual devotion and trust and love to the Lord, that turned from evil and followed him in his ways. When there was a shortcoming, a covenant-keeping person . . . Continue reading →
Turretin: Good Works Are Necessary Not As The Instrument But As Evidence Of Salvation
Although we acknowledge the necessity of good works against the Epicureans, we do not on this account confound the law and the gospel and interfere with gratuitous justification by faith alone. Good works are required not for living according to the law, . . . Continue reading →
Waters: Piper Must Choose Between Edwards And The Reformation On The Definition Of Saving Faith
By way of preface, it is important to underscore the Reformational convictions in WSF that Piper repeatedly affirms – the sinner is justified through faith alone apart from works; faith is purely receptive in justification; the sinner is justified solely on the . . . Continue reading →
Isaiah Was An Amillennialist
Isaiah’s apocalypse poem does more than tell us who will be saved in the Last Days. It offers perspective on the question of the millennium: when will the Kingdom of God come and how will it appear? As the nations continue to . . . Continue reading →
Bethlehem Baptist: “Final Salvation In The Age To Come Depends On The Transformation Of Life”
We believe that this persevering, future-oriented, Christ-embracing, heart-satisfying faith is life-transforming, and therefore renders intelligible the teaching of the Scripture that final salvation in the age to come depends on the transformation of life, and yet does not contradict justification by faith alone. . . . Continue reading →
Misunderstandings About Baptism
Baptism has often been controversial. Having biblically sound thinking on it isn’t easy, but as one of the sacraments, it is important. In this blog post, I want to focus on the negative side, what baptism doesn’t mean. There are a couple . . . Continue reading →
Claims Of Revival In The UK Called Into Question
The reputation of the world’s oldest Bible Society and one of the leading international polling organizations has been tarnished in the fallout from a survey that was said to rewrite understanding of Christianity in Britain — and has now been junked for . . . Continue reading →
Why Your Neighbor Has Become A Conspiracy Theorist
They were “kidnapping our loved ones and replac[ing] them with a bitter hollow shell of what they once were.” This sounds like a line from the campy 1978 sci-fi horror flick Invasion of the Body Snatchers, about aliens from a dying planet . . . Continue reading →
SPLC Indicted For Fraud
The U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this week that it has secured an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. According to the . . . Continue reading →
Three Things You Must Understand
For convincing a man of sin, righteousness, and judgment, by the gospel. As for convincing a man of sin, and righteousness, and judgment, by the gospel, or covenant of grace, he must understand three things: 1. That not believing in Jesus Christ, . . . Continue reading →
The Sum Of The Gospel Or The Covenant Of Grace
The sum of the gospel, or covenant of grace and reconciliation, is this: “If thou flee from deserved wrath to the true Redeemer Jesus Christ, (who is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God through him,) thou shalt . . . Continue reading →
The Sum Of Saving Knowledge: The Substance Of The Covenant Of Grace Is One
The covenant of grace, set down in the Old Testament before Christ came, and in the New since he came, is one and the same in substance, albeit different in outward administration: For the covenant in the Old Testament, being sealed with . . . Continue reading →
J. Dwight Pentecost: The Rabbis Used The Right Method But Reached The Wrong Conclusions
This same literal interpretation was a marked feature of Old Testament interpretation. Jerome, in rejecting the strict literal method of interpretation, “calls the literal interpretation ‘Jewish,’ implies that it may easily become heretical and repeatedly says it is inferior to the ‘spiritual.’”1 . . . Continue reading →