As far back as the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil symbolized a spiritual issue. Eating from it would bring death but not because the fruit was physically poisonous. Indeed, its fruit was “good for food” (Gen. . . . Continue reading →
HeidelQuotes
Perkins: Two Natures, One Christ
The second question is, how Christ could obey, being God, and satisfy for us, being man? Answer. Christ must be considered, not merely as God, or as man, but as God-man or man-God. For the Godhead does not redeem us without the . . . Continue reading →
Luther: The Divine Curse Requires Divine Righteousness
Thus the curse, which is divine wrath against the whole world, has the same conflict with the blessing, that is, with the eternal grace and mercy of God in Christ. Therefore the curse clashes with the blessing and wants to damn it . . . Continue reading →
Why Our Worship Leaders Emulate Mick Jagger
Of course, our culture has many problems, but it does not say good things about our churches that by failing to see any difference between serious and frivolous music they are also in danger of losing the ability to distinguish adolescence from . . . Continue reading →
Free Speech Watch: Harvard Fails
Harvard is consistently ranked one of the best universities in the United States. But FIRE frequently finds itself in the odd position of giving this all-star academic school failing grades. Simply put, Harvard has never performed well in FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings, finishing below . . . Continue reading →
Christian: Is Your View Of Faith Mormon Or Christian?
Back in 1829, Joseph Smith claimed that God appeared to him saying: Cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things; did I not speak peace to . . . Continue reading →
Perkins On Self Love
Men’s hearts are so possessed with self-love, and they are so addicted to their own praise, that it is grief to them to hear any praised beside themselves; whereas love binds us as well to take care for the good name of . . . Continue reading →
Johnson: The Relation Between Types & Fulfillment Is Real
To be responsible to the Bible’s divine Author and credible to our hearers, our identification of typological similarities (as well as contrasts between type and antitype) must be warranted by evidence in the text of Scripture, not merely the product of our . . . Continue reading →
What Luther Actually Said About The Moral Law
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Christians are people who never sin or feel sinful. Rather, because of their faith in Christ, God simply doesn’t attribute their sin to them. This teaching is comforting to those who have terrified consciences. For . . . Continue reading →
You Need Not Be A Jerk While Defending The Faith
In his first epistle, the Apostle Peter famously said that followers of Jesus should “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks” (1 Pet 3:15). Throughout the long history of the church, this has been the primary prooftext for . . . Continue reading →
Ben Sasse: What Hamas Did Is Evil. There Is No Defense For Terrorism
I will not tiptoe around this simple fact: What Hamas did is evil and there is no defense for terrorism. This shouldn’t be hard. Sadly, too many people in elite academia have been so weakened by their moral confusion that, when they . . . Continue reading →
Perkins: Worshiping God Outside of The True Christ Is Idolatry
The Jew worships God out of Christ; and so does the Turk; yea and the papists worship God, but yet outside of the true Christ; for (as has been shown elsewhere) the Christ of the papists is a counterfeit Christ. And in . . . Continue reading →
Fesko Critiques Piper’s Appeal to the Reformed Tradition
In his most recent response to Harrison Perkins’s TGC review of his book, Piper cites John Calvin as an example of someone who includes affections as a part of faith: “‘In a word, faith is . . . a warm embrace of Christ.’ . . . Continue reading →
Guy Waters Reviews & Critiques Piper on the Nature of Faith in the Act of Justification
But it must be also said that WSF’s thesis that saving faith is essentially affectional, and the arguments advanced in support of that thesis, are unable to sustain the weight of Piper’s Reformational convictions. We may see this dynamic by pursuing two . . . Continue reading →
Johnson: The Relation Between Type And Fulfillment
Similarly, the Davidic lament of Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” belonged on Jesus’ lips (Matt. 27:46) not because the sufferings portrayed in the psalm had no referent in David’s own experience but because David himself—in his . . . Continue reading →
Luther On The Imputation Of Sin
And all the prophets saw this, that Christ was to become the greatest thief, murderer, adulterer, robber, desecrator, blasphemer, etc., there has ever been anywhere in the world. He is not acting in His own Person now. Now He is not the . . . Continue reading →
Johnson: Were The Apostles Irresponsible Interpreters Of Scripture?
Old Testament texts may both refer (even retrospectively) to an Old Testament event (type) and find fulfillment (prospectively) in a New Testament event (antitype). Matthew’s application of Hosea 11:1, “Out of Egypt I called my son,” to the sojourn of Joseph and . . . Continue reading →
Machen On The Trinity
What the New Testament ordinarily does is to state parts of the doctrine, so that when we put those parts together, and when we summarize them, we have the great doctrine of the three persons and one God. For example, all passages . . . Continue reading →
Trueman: The Death of Communal Institutions Presents An Opportunity
My village had two churches, the Anglican parish church and the Baptist chapel. In the nineteenth century, both were central to village life. The current primary (elementary) school was founded by the Baptists in the nineteenth century when their children were effectively . . . Continue reading →
Luther On The First Commandment
You shall have no other gods. 1 What this means: You shall have Me alone as your God. What is the meaning of this, and how is it to be understood? What does it mean to have a god? Or, what is . . . Continue reading →