If this marriage be made up between Christ and you, then you have put away all lovers besides Christ; the right hand will be cut off, the right eye will be put out; you will be divorced from all other husbands, particularly . . . Continue reading →
Justification
C. Fitzsimmons Allison On The Anglo-Catholic Doctrine Of Justification
The irony is that the commendable concern by Anglo-Catholics for Christology and Trinity is creedally and coherently dependent upon justification by faith but that doctrine has largely been scorned. When I first arrived at Oxford, I was interviewed by the Anglo-Catholic Chaplain . . . Continue reading →
The Roman Catholic Church Is A Tridentine Church, Not The Ancient Christian Church
That council [Trent, 1551] was convened and met intermittently for two decades in order to respond to the Protestant Reformation. It defined the Roman Catholic Church. Until that council concluded, there was still some hope that Rome might repent, that she might . . . Continue reading →
John Brown of Wamphray: Once Justified, Always Justified
This new state of Justification is continuing and permanent; not in this sense, that God renews and frequently reiterates the enstating of them into this new relative state; but in this sense, that once justified always justified; they are fixed and preserved . . . Continue reading →
Two Stages Of Justification Is Roman, Not Reformed
The Reformed understanding of Scripture is that believers are as justified and saved now as we will be at the judgment. There are not two stages of justification, initial and final. Rather, we distinguish between justification and vindication. At the judgment it . . . Continue reading →
Waters: Piper Must Choose Between Edwards And The Reformation On The Definition Of Saving Faith
By way of preface, it is important to underscore the Reformational convictions in WSF that Piper repeatedly affirms – the sinner is justified through faith alone apart from works; faith is purely receptive in justification; the sinner is justified solely on the . . . Continue reading →
Heidelvideo #12—Continuing Revelation (Part 2)
Dr. R. Scott Clark explains why the “still small voice” of 1 Kings 19 is not a promise of personal revelation and encourages Christians to seek God’s wisdom through Scripture instead. Continue reading →
Heidelvideo #11—Continuing Revelation (Part 1)
Dr. R. Scott Clark argues that the quest for “continuing revelation”—direct messages from God outside of the Bible—is directly correlated with a lack of biblical knowledge. Many are seeking a “concierge religion,” desiring personal, immediate answers to life’s specific questions (such as whom to marry or what job to take) because they feel entitled to direct divine guidance. Continue reading →
Polanus: Christ Subjected Himself To The law For Us Not To Qualify Himself
Paul supplies the tenth argument in Galatians 4:4–5: “After the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, born from a woman, made subject to the Law, to redeem those who had been subject to the Law, that we might receive adoption.” . . . Continue reading →
Polanus: Baptism Teaches Us The Imputation Of Christ’s Active Obedience
We seek the ninth argument from Galatians 3:27, “Whoever among you who has been baptized into Christ, has been clothed with Christ.” The meaning is that the church is necessary for Christ as to be covered with clothes, and under it to . . . Continue reading →
Heidelvideo #10—The Heart of Justification Explained
Dr. R. Scott Clark explores the fundamental theological divide between the Reformation and the Roman Catholic Church regarding how a sinner is justified before God. He examines the Council of Trent’s decrees to highlight why the distinction between being justified and being sanctified remains a critical barrier to conversion. Continue reading →
Polanus: Galatians 3:10 Teaches The Imputation Of Christ’s Active Obedience
In Galatians 3:10 the apostle supplies the eighth argument: “As many as are of the works of the law and under the curse. For it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not remain in all things, which are written in the . . . Continue reading →
Perkins: Our Confidence Is In Christ’s Obedience For Us
The devil begins and disputes thus. “You, O wretched man, are a most grievous sinner. Therefore, you are but a damned wretch.” The conscience answers and says, “I know that Christ has made a satisfaction for my sins, and freed me from . . . Continue reading →
Why Caution About Jonathan Edwards Is In Order
Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) is America’s most famous theologian and perhaps its most famous philosopher too. He is an important and influential figure and is worth seeking to understand for these reasons alone. We should think about Edwards for other reasons, however. He . . . Continue reading →
Baxter’s Biographer: He Adhered To His Errors On Justification To The End
To give a concise and accurate opinion of these Aphorisms, is no easy task. This difficulty arises from the great number of separate propositions, which are neither always consistent with truth nor with one another. As a book, it abounds in moral . . . Continue reading →
Did Clement of Rome Teach Justification By Faith And Works?
Legend has it that because so many converted to Christianity under the preaching of Clement of Rome, even among the Roman elite, Emperor Trajan exiled him to the marble quarries in Cherson, a colony in modern-day Ukraine. There, under the hot sun, alongside thousands of fellow Christians all parched from their labor, Clement performed a miracle. Continue reading →
Sproul on Turretin on Justification
The difference between infusion and imputation is not a matter of semantics. It is not a tempest in a teapot. It is not a simple dispute between two words. No, the difference is systemic. The entire Roman Catholic structure of salvation is . . . Continue reading →
Ernest Kevan On Baxter On The Marrow Of Modern Divinity
Richard Baxter ought to have recognized a friend in this book, but he opposed it and spoke of “The Marrow of Modern Divinity, which on pretence of Moderation is Antinomian or Libertine, and very injudicious and unsound”. Scripture Gospel Defended, “Breviate of . . . Continue reading →
Justification By Faith And Social Justice By Works (Part 3)
The late German-American political philosopher Eric Voegelin (1901–1985) observed that history is marked by recurring attempts to divinize a fallen created order as a way of escaping the anxiety of fragile and finite existence. He identified in the early church heresy of Gnosticism a paradigm for understanding how private spiritual ambitions are transposed into public political projects—from Constantinianism and medieval Christendom to the totalitarianisms of the modern left and right. Continue reading →
Justification By Faith And Social Justice By Works (Part 2)
The gospel can be turned into law—even into new religious laws, especially when sweeter fruit is available to stave off the bitter taste of judicial conviction. When fallen creatures turn down contracts with part or all of the moral law, the door invariably opens to various forms of religious innovation, new orders for spiritual justice. Continue reading →