Covenant theology seems to be all the rage these days. According to E. P. Sanders, the “pattern of religion” known as Second Temple Judaism can be described as “covenantal nomism.” Continue reading →
Which Covenant Theology?
History of Reformed Theology
Luther Distinguished Law And Gospel In 1519
Now, what need is there to go through all of Latomus, point by point, since what has been said thoroughly refutes his entire position and confirms mine? I have sufficiently shown that his whole work consists of begging the question, for he . . . Continue reading →
When Old Testament Scholars Do Historical Theology
It comes out about as accurate as Historical Theologians doing serious Old Testament work. I say this because I recently asked whence folk (Federal Visionists among them) get the idea that Martin Bucer’s soteriology marked a substantial break from Martin Luther’s. I . . . Continue reading →
Review: Plans for Holy War: How the Spiritual Soldier Fights, Conquers, and Triumphs By John Arrowsmith
The Reformed and Presbyterian world is currently enjoying a steady stream of recently-translated sixteenth- and seventeenth-century treatises and writings heretofore only available in Latin—texts written by luminaries like Theodore Beza, Caspar Olevianus, William Ames, Robert Rollock, Francis Turretin, and Johann Heidegger, to . . . Continue reading →
The New Perspective, Mediation, and Justification
After all these centuries the Reformation’s doctrine of justification is still disputed in some circles, particularly among a relatively small but vocal group associated with the so-called new perspective on Paul. Continue reading →
The Covenant of Works in Moses and Paul
In the controversy between Protestants and Roman Catholics there has been no question whether Jesus obeyed God’s law, but only to what effect. Did Jesus obey the law so as to make it possible for us to cooperate with grace toward future justification, or did he obey God’s law for us (pro nobis) to accomplish our justification once for all? The Protestants affirmed the latter and denied the former. Nevertheless, despite the unity among confessional Protestants on justification, questions have persistently arisen among them concerning the nature, intent, and effect of Jesus’s law keeping and its relation to the justification of sinners. Continue reading →
What Puritan Meant According to William Perkins (1)
Who counts as a Puritan and what does that adjective mean? These are important questions that need to be investigated. Like the adjective evangelical it is widely used both in academic and popular literature but there is no consensus as to what it means or who belongs to that category. Continue reading →
Measuring The Health Of A Church
For many the eighteenth century is regarded as the “century of mission,” or perhaps the century of the so-called First Great Awakening.1 But if fidelity to the Reformed Confession is a mark of the health of the church, there are many ways in . . . Continue reading →
Do This and Live: Christ’s Active Obedience as the Ground of Justification
In the controversy between Protestants and Roman Catholics there has been no question whether Jesus obeyed God’s law, but only to what effect. Did Jesus obey the law so as to make it possible for us to cooperate with grace toward future justification, or did he obey God’s law for us (pro nobis) to accomplish our justification once for all? The Protestants affirmed the latter and denied the former. Nevertheless, despite the unity among confessional Protestants on justification, questions have persistently arisen among them concerning the nature, intent, and effect of Jesus’s law keeping and its relation to the justification of sinners. Continue reading →
Muller On The Distinction Between Scholasticism And Orthodoxy
The term scholasticism has a narrower reference than the term orthodoxy: it well describes the technical and academic side of this process of the institutionalization and professionalization of Protestant doctrine in the universities of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. If the . . . Continue reading →
Muller: Protestant Orthodoxy “Altered But Little” The Theology Of The Reformation
By the death of Calvin, all of these founders of the Reformed tradition had produced their major writings and had prepared their churches for the next generation—having argued the basic doctrinal positions of the Reformed faith, whether in their larger more systematic . . . Continue reading →
Muller: Scholasticism Is A Method Not A Doctrine
In my own usage, throughout the study, I have attempted to work with terms that have substantive use in the historical documents and I have tried to confine my meanings to the meanings of the era. Thus, ‘scholastic’ indicates an academic style . . . Continue reading →
Muller: The Reformation Was Not An Attack On All Medieval Theology
When this orthodox or scholastic Protestantism is examined in some depth and viewed as a form of Protestant theology in its own right rather than as merely a duplication or reflection of the theology of the Reformation, it is clearly a theology . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast Q&A: What Should Confessional Reformed Christians Think Of Edwards?
Dr Clark answers a question on how Reformed Christians should think about Jonathan Edwards. Continue reading →
Why Did Arminianism “Win”?
Sometime back, Howard wrote to ask, “How and when did Arminianism become the predominate view?” That is a good question. First, we should distinguish between Jacob Arminius (James Harmenszoon, 1560–1609) and the Arminians (or the Remonstrants). Relative to the conclusions Arminian/Remonstrant theology later . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: For Turretin Justification Was Not A Cold, Academic Matter
For Turretin, justification was not a matter of cold, academic speculation. Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Beza Defended Justification Through Faith Alone
Beza was a staunch defender of justification through faith alone. Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Turretin On The Harmony Of Paul And James On Justification
Francis Turretin on the harmony between Paul and James on justification. Continue reading →
Muller: Protestant Scholasticism Was A Continuation Not A Corruption Of The Reformation
When this orthodox or scholastic Protestantism is examined in some depth and viewed as a form of Protestant theology in its own right rather than as merely a duplication or reflection of the theology of the Reformation, it is clearly a theology . . . Continue reading →
Heidelminicast: Amandus Polanus On The Free Justification Of The Sinner
Amandus Polanus on the justification of the sinner before God. Continue reading →