With this wicked doctrine, by which he commands men to doubt the favor of God toward them, the pope has removed God and all His promises from the church, has undermined the blessings of Christ, and has abolished the entire Gospel. Then . . . Continue reading →
HeidelQuotes
Believer: God Is Not Punishing You For Your Sin
“Did I give my grandmother cancer?” One of my students asked this as tears began to well up in her eyes. My heart broke as I realized she thought God was punishing her for sin and lack of faith by making her . . . Continue reading →
Kline: The First Resurrection In Revelation 20:6
One of the critical points in the exegesis of Revelation 20 is the interpretation of prōtos in the phrase, “the first resurrection” (v. 5). Premillennarians understand it in the purely sequential sense of first in a series of items of the same kind. They . . . Continue reading →
Luther On The Chief Point Of Scripture
Moreover, the chief point of all Scripture is that we should not doubt but hope, trust, and believe for a certainty that God is merciful, kind, and patient, that He does not lie and deceive but is faithful and true. He keeps . . . Continue reading →
Perkins: The End Of The Law Is Conviction
Mark further, the end of the law is conviction. And the end of our conviction is that the promise of mercy may be given to them that believe. Here is notable comfort, with encouragement to all good duties. Does the law as . . . Continue reading →
Calvin Contra Biblicism
Nearly half a century after R. T. Kendall published “Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649,” the debate of “Calvin versus the Calvinists” rages on. Kendall’s was not the first attempt at pointing out supposed discontinuity between Calvin and his successors, of course. . . . Continue reading →
Vermont Accused Of Discriminating Against Christian School
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Mid Vermont Christian School and two families filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday [November, 21, 2023] against Vermont officials for denying the Christian school and its students from participating in the state’s tuition program and sports league because of . . . Continue reading →
Riddlebarger On The Analogy Of Faith
A third critical factor [for the historic Protestant hermeneutic] is the analogia fidei or the “analogy of faith.” This refers to the importance of interpreting an unclear biblical text in light of clear passages that speak to the same subject rather than . . . Continue reading →
It Is Only Stupid If You Change The Terms
Do Reformed preachers not see the stupidity of telling people not to rely on their works while also saying genuine faith produces good works? It just seems like double-speak to avoid being labeled Catholic or Arminian. I reply: this Reformed preacher fails . . . Continue reading →
Machen’s Meals
100 years have passed since the publication of J. Gresham Machen’s classic polemic-apologetic book Christianity and Liberalism. The world has changed a lot in the intervening century. The Protestant churches certainly look different, with the mainline (in and for which Machen fought) hurtling . . . Continue reading →
Riddlebarger: The Prophets Cast Messianic Glory In Mosaic Terms
The Old Testament prophets and writers spoke of the glories of the coming messianic age in terms of their own premessianic age. They referred to the nation of Israel, the temple, the Davidic throne, and so on. These all reflect the language, . . . Continue reading →
Perkins: Salvation Is A Public Donation
Lastly, in that Paul says, God “gave” and freely bestowed the “inheritance by the promise,” it must be considered that this giving is no private but a public donation. For Abraham must be considered as a public person. And that which was . . . Continue reading →
Luther: Not Our Merit But Christ’s
But by what merit have we received this righteousness, sonship, and inheritance of eternal life? By none. For what could be merited by men confined under sin, subjected to the curse of the Law, and condemned to eternal death? Therefore we have . . . Continue reading →
Kline: The Abrahamic Covenant Is An Administration Of The Covenant Of Grace
By its identification with the gospel of Jesus Christ the Abrahamic Covenant is seen to be a promissory anticipation of the new covenant. It is a subadministration of the overarching Covenant of Grace, which as a whole is mediated by the Son . . . Continue reading →
Riddlebarger On The Reformation Principles Of Interpretation
Three major presuppositions underlie the historic Protestant system. The first is that the New Testament should explain the Old. This is one of the most basic principles of Bible study. The New Testament must be seen as the final authority and interpreter . . . Continue reading →
Johnson: We Need Both Biblical And Systematic Theology
Both systematic theology and biblical theology are essential to our study of Scripture for preaching. One contribution of systematic theology, including the historic creeds and confessions of the church, is to safeguard our interpretation of a particular text, lest we misread (and . . . Continue reading →
Perkins Opposed Two-Stage Justification
. . . we must here observe the opposition between the law and the free promise of God in the justification of a sinner. “For if life come by the law, it comes not by the promise,” says Paul. And, “If they . . . Continue reading →
Lessons From the Case of the “Jonesboro 7”
They wanted to see a gospel centered PCA congregation planted in their town, Jonesboro, Arkansas. It was harder than they thought it would be. In this instance, it was especially hard. Tucked within the thousands of pages of the 2023 General Assembly . . . Continue reading →
Luther: A Christian Must Believe He is In A State Of Grace
I have indicated in a variety of ways that the Christian man must believe for a certainty that he is in a state of divine grace, and that he has the cry of the Holy Spirit in his heart, especially when he . . . Continue reading →
Perkins On The First Use
When Paul says [in Gal. 3:22], “We are all shut up under sin,” he puts us in mind of our most miserable condition that we are captives of sin and Satan, enclosed in our sins as in a prison, like imprisoned malefactors . . . Continue reading →