Touching the latter, how far he will extol the peppercorn of our own works, and righteousness to justification and salvation he does not here (though afterward, he does) in express words signify. But that he means to extol them, he does enough . . . Continue reading →
History of Reformed Theology
Review: The Labors of a Godly and Learned Divine, William Perkins: Including Previously Unpublished Sermons By Matthew N. Payne and J. Stephen Yuille
The English Reformed theologian William Perkins (1558–1602), is perhaps the most prominent and influential of all English-speaking divines. As preacher and lecturer at Great St. Andrews and Christ’s College, Cambridge, he “influenced a generation of young students including Richard Sibbes, John Cotton, . . . Continue reading →
Review: Puritan Portraits: J. I. Packer on Selected Classic Pastors and Pastoral Classics By J. I. Packer
J. I. Packer is a significant figure in a variety of circles. He is one of the last voices representing that generation of British evangelicalism which had roots in the Reformation, which was articulate, warm, and evangelical in the best sense of . . . Continue reading →
Shedd: Thomas Was Right, Scotus Was Wrong
A controversy respecting the atonement sprang up between Duns Scotus and the followers of Aquinas, which involved fundamental principles in ethics and religion, and divided the Romish Church into two great parties of Thomists and Scotists. Duns Scotus denied the Anselmic doctrine . . . Continue reading →
Saturday Psalm Series: Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs, and Instruments in the Vulgate (Part 2)
The Latin Bible was a major formative influence on the way the Reformed theologians interpreted Scripture. The King James Version/Authorized Version (1611) particularly reflects the influence of the Latin Bible, but its influence reverberates in many English translations. It influenced their word . . . Continue reading →
Saturday Psalm Series: Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs, and Instruments in the Vulgate (Part 1)
We Reformed folk like to think that what we do now in public worship is what we have always done. This is especially easy to do when we are cut off from or unaware of the original sources and practices of our . . . Continue reading →
Review: Petrus van Mastricht’s Theoretical-Practical Theology Volume 3: The Works of God and the Fall of Man
Although it is bad practice to believe in golden ages in the absolute sense, the present is certainly a high point for the church in the specific sense of the English-speaking world gaining increasing access to rich material from Protestant Orthodoxy that . . . Continue reading →
A New Devotional Drawn From The Works Of “The Sweet Dropper”
Many English (and Dutch) speaking Christians have a particular affection for and connection to that varied and complex movement known as Puritanism, usually described in this space as English Reformed theology. One of the English Reformed theologians to whom my friend Paul . . . Continue reading →
The Narcissism of Evangelical Latitudinarianism
This essay was written before I published Recovering the Reformed Confession (2008), which, remarkably and quite unexpectedly, remains in print. In it, I interacted with a book review published in Christianity Today which serves as a symbol of the way Pietists and modern evangelicals . . . Continue reading →
Ridley, Latimer, And Cranmer: The Oxford Martyrs
One of the most interesting bits of Oxford history is the story of the Oxford Martyrs and the statue by which they are remembered. The history of the monument itself is fascinating. In 1833, John Henry Newman (1801‑90), an Anglican priest, began . . . Continue reading →
Remembering Meredith Kline
Princeton Theological Seminary was established with the intention of combining excellent scholarship with an intelligent, hearty commitment to the Reformed theology, piety, and practice summarized in the Reformed confessions. It has not always been easy to maintain that marriage. Princeton Seminary was . . . Continue reading →
The Reformation On Law And Gospel Language
The Reformation made clear the distinction between law and gospel in reference to the Old and New Testaments of Scripture. Continue reading →
Beza On Law And Gospel
We divide this Word into two principal parts or kinds: the one is called the ‘Law,’ the other the ‘Gospel.’ For all the rest can be gathered under the one or other of these two headings…Ignorance of this distinction between Law and . . . Continue reading →
Audiogram: The Remonstrants And Common Grace
The Reformed and the Remonstrants share terminology for common grace but hold to different meanings. Continue reading →
Second Council Of Orange On Death Through Sin
CANON 2. If anyone asserts that Adam’s sin affected him alone and not his descendants also, or at least if he declares that it is only the death of the body which is the punishment for sin, and not also that sin, . . . Continue reading →
Second Council Of Orange Contra Pelagianism
CANON 1. If anyone denies that it is the whole man, that is, both body and soul, that was “changed for the worse” through the offense of Adam’s sin, but believes that the freedom of the soul remains unimpaired and that only . . . Continue reading →
Aquinas On The Source Of Truth
Aquinas did not view truths of reason and truths of revelation as incompatible or in need of synthesis. Underlying the theological project of Aquinas’ two Summas is the assumption that what is true is true whatever its immediate source, given that all . . . Continue reading →
How Not To Write A Thesis On The Atonement
At least two delegates at the Synod of Dort (1618-19) were toying with alternate language regarding the atonement. Continue reading →
Warfield: Lewis Sperry Chafer’s Theology Is Like Fire And Water
Mr. Chafer is in the unfortunate and, one would think, very uncomfortable, condition of having two inconsistent systems of religion struggling together in his mind. He was bred an Evangelical, and, as a minister of the Presbyterian Church, South, stands committed to . . . Continue reading →
1689 Vs. The Westminster Confession (7): On The Fall, The Covenant Of Works, And The Covenant Of Grace
Our comparison and contrast of the WCF with the 2LC continues through chapters 6 and 7, “Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof” and “Of God’s Covenant with Man.” WCF 6.1 2LC 6.1 1. Our first parents, being seduced . . . Continue reading →