Office Hours With Sujin Pak On Calvin’s Hermeneutics And More

R. Scott Clark

on August 3, 2020 | 1 Comment

Few Bible interpreters in the history of the church have been as prolific and influential as John Calvin (1509–64). Love or hate him, one cannot ignore him. He wrote commentaries upon much of Scripture. As a humanist, he was a careful, sensitive, . . . Continue reading →

Muller: According To Reformed Theology, Pagan Philosophy Knows God Naturally But Not As Redeemer

Inwoo Lee

on July 24, 2020 | 1 Comment

“Pagan philosophy knows something of God as creator from the order of nature but, ultimately, because of sin, fails to move from that knowledge to true religion and idolatrously confuses creature and Creator. Scriptural revelation, therefore, is necessary for us to have . . . Continue reading →

What The Reformed Can Learn From A 1532 Synod: Free Justification Leads To Free Sanctification

R. Scott Clark

on July 16, 2020

The Reformed theology, piety, and practice is about as old as the Reformation itself. Scholars often describe the Reformation as if it were the child of the second phase of the Reformation. This is because when they think of the Reformed Reformation, . . . Continue reading →

Arminius Was Not Only A Synergist But He Also Denied The Imputation Of Christ’s Active Obedience

Inwoo Lee

on July 13, 2020 | 1 Comment

“Arminius’ views clearly belong to the category of those of Karg and Piscator: he not only attributes no soteriological purpose to Christ’s active obedience, he also restricts the purpose of the nominally passive aspects of Christ’s obedience in life and ministry to . . . Continue reading →

Of Icons, Wonder Years, And The Gospel

R. Scott Clark

on July 2, 2020 | 9 Comments

The Wonderjaar We are in the midst of a wave of iconoclasm (image-breaking), which reminds me of the wave of iconoclasm that swept through the Netherlands in 1566, the so-called wonderjaar. About how the story of this episode has been told Judith Pollaman writes, . . . Continue reading →

What The Reformed Can Learn From A 1532 Synod: Preach Christ

R. Scott Clark

on June 25, 2020 | 2 Comments

God at all times has tied, as it were, the knowledge of Himself to certain suitable actions and signs, and these figures, shadows and types all point to Christ Jesus. Appearing in these last days, He has finished His course in the . . . Continue reading →

Turretin: We Are Justified Now And Shall Be Vindicated At The Last Day

R. Scott Clark

on June 19, 2020

Francis Turretin distinguished between justification and vindication. Continue reading →

What The Reformed Can Learn From A 1532 Synod: Christ Our Wisdom

R. Scott Clark

on June 19, 2020

But what need is there of many words? “All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge lay hidden in Christ” (Col. 2). Why should a Christian preacher seek wisdom in other histories and in supplementary books, without displaying those riches and that treasury . . . Continue reading →

What The Reformed Can Learn From A 1532 Synod: Christ Is Our Only Hope

R. Scott Clark

on May 22, 2020

Therefore, Christ our Lord is the base and foundation for the spiritual edifice. Outside of Him there is no hope of salvation. But in Christ there is no loss or condemnation to be feared. He is the cornerstone, the rock, the entrance, . . . Continue reading →

Boston And Rutherford: Baxter Turned The Covenant Of Grace Into A Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on May 18, 2020

Let us take a watchword from holy and learned Rutherford: ‘We would beware (says he) of Mr. Baxter’s order of setting repentance and works of new obedience before justification; which is indeed a new covenant of works.’ Continue reading →

Arminius Did Not Marry Calvin’s Daughter

R. Scott Clark

on May 9, 2020 | 4 Comments

In Death By Love Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears write: James Arminius was John Calvin’s son-in-law and greatly appreciated Calvin. He said that, after the Scriptures, he believed Calvin’s writings to be the most profitable study for God’s people. Therefore, the acrimony that sometimes . . . Continue reading →

Calvin: We Need To Distinguish Between The Internal And The External Relation To The Covenant Of Grace

R. Scott Clark

on April 29, 2020

For when Scripture speaks of the sons of God, sometimes it has respect to eternal election, which extends only to the lawful heirs; sometimes to external vocation, according to which many wolves are within the fold; and though, in fact, they are . . . Continue reading →

Owen: God Revealed To Moses The Incarnation And Mediation Of Christ

R. Scott Clark

on April 29, 2020

That God did spiritually and mystically represent unto Moses the incarnation and mediation of Christ, with the church of the elect which was to be gathered thereby, and its spiritual worship. And moreover, he let him know how the tabernacle and all . . . Continue reading →

Vos: The Covenant Of Grace Was Present In, With, And Through The Old Testament Types And Shadows

With An Extended Comment Replying To Some Recent Criticisms Of Reformed Theology

R. Scott Clark

on April 20, 2020 | 4 Comments

We shall now be prepared to understand how the recognition, that the two worlds exist and have existed side by side from the beginning, enables the author of Hebrews to solve the chief problem of the history of redemption and revelation. For . . . Continue reading →

What The Reformed Can Learn From A 1532 Synod: God Should Be Preached Only As He Is Known In Christ

R. Scott Clark

on April 19, 2020 | 4 Comments

How disgraceful it is for a servant of Christ not to know the command of His Lord, and to pursue some other, useless preoccupation, and fail to take an interest in the things which concern His Lord, who is our everlasting blessedness! . . . Continue reading →

The Reformed Churches Confess Luther’s Translation Of Romans 3:28: Allein

R. Scott Clark

on April 17, 2020 | 7 Comments

In his 1521 translation of the Greek New Testament into German, the so-called September Testament, which he completed in about 11 weeks (seminary students take note, that is two weeks shy of one semester) Luther’s most controversial decision may have been to . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 148: With Harrison Perkins On Archbishop Ussher And The Covenant Of Works

Heidelcast

on April 16, 2020 | 4 Comments

We are interrupting the Heidelcast series on the Doctrine of God, I AM that I AM to talk with the Rev Dr Harrison Perkins, (PhD, Queen’s University Belfast) about his new book on Archbishop James Ussher (1581–1656). He was primate of the . . . Continue reading →

Bavinck Distinguished Law And Gospel

R. Scott Clark

on April 15, 2020 | 3 Comments

Perkins: We Exclude Good Works From The Act Of Justification And Salvation

Inwoo Lee

on April 9, 2020

“And here let it be remembered that we are not patrons of licentiousness and enemies of good works. For though we exclude them from the act of our justification and salvation, yet we maintain a profitable and necessary use of them in . . . Continue reading →

New In Print: The Works of William Perkins Volume 9

R. Scott Clark

on April 8, 2020 | 1 Comment

Few theologians are as important to Reformed tradition as William Perkins (1558–1602). Remarkably, as important as he was, Perkins works went out of print and remained so for centuries. We are truly fortunate to have a new edition of Perkins. To their . . . Continue reading →

The Heidelblog

History of Reformed Theology