For justification is withdrawn from works, not that no good works may be done, or that what is done may be denied to be good, but that we may not rely upon them, glory in them, or ascribe salvation to them. John . . . Continue reading →
Justification
New Online: Covenant, Justification, And Pastoral Ministry As A PDF
Thanks to the support of donors like you, the Heidelberg Reformation Association is pleased to be able to publish online Covenant, Justification, and Pastoral Ministry. For about the last year, we have been publishing online the chapters of the CJPM serially. Now we . . . Continue reading →
New Insight Into Olevianus And Ursinus On The Imputation Of Active Obedience
The publication of this new research, completed only in the last month, may surprise some readers, disappoint others, and delight still others but it is important research that changes what we know about the origins and development of the controversy over the . . . Continue reading →
On Precisionism And Latitudinarianism (Again)
In 1520 Martin Luther published one of his most influential treatises, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church. In it he attempted to set the church free from bondage to human opinion by unleashing again, as it were, God’s Word as the . . . Continue reading →
Regensburg And Regensburg II: Trying To Reconcile Irreconcilable Differences On Justification
Introduction When in 1618 the Reformed theologian J. H. Alsted (1588–1638) declared that the Protestant doctrine of justification is that “article of faith by which the church stands or falls” (articulus stantis et candentis ecclesiae), he was only repeating what all Protestants . . . Continue reading →
When Pastors Do Not Pay Attention
Remarkably, after two decades of controversy over the self-described Federal Vision movement, there are pastors and teachers who do not seem to understand it.1 One can see why one might have been confused in the early days of the discussion, but now, . . . Continue reading →
Video: “Our Hermit Broke Through”—The Reformation’s Defense Of Sola Fide
Last January, Dr Clark joined Dr Mike Horton, Dr Jonathan Linebaugh, Dr Andreas Stegmann, and Dr Ashley Null to celebrate the Reformation solas in a conference put on by the Wittenberg Center for Reformation Studies. Here is Dr Clark’s talk on the . . . Continue reading →
Why Evangelicals Cannot Be Trusted With The Bible
Carolyn Arends wants to give an argument for the benefits of God’s moral law, but she lacks the categories by which to do it. Her argument has only two categories: good/bad, and relationships. The title and subtitle of her essay should alarm . . . Continue reading →
Justification by Faith Alone: No Christian Life without It
Whenever the doctrines of justification and sanctification are to be considered, the instinctive reaction of a Protestant ought to be to draw a distinction between them. Continue reading →
Simul Iustus et Peccator: The Role of Justification in Pastoral Counseling
As shepherds of Jesus’s flock, pastors wrestle with the wounds and waywardness of the human heart. They counsel the guilty, who are consumed by self-condemnation. They counsel the defensive, who try to deflect God’s heart-piercing word through self-justification and blame-shifting. 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 →
Erskine: Were Paul Alive He Would Excommunicate Richard Baxter
…1. As to doctrinal legalists, we might bewail and refute the legal schemes that take place in the world. I name these two: 1. The Popish Scheme, denying the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. The imputed righteousness of Christ is blasphemed by the . . . Continue reading →
Colquhoun: If Any Quality In Us Or Good Work By Us Is A Condition Of Justification, The Covenant Of Grace Has Become A Covenant Of Works
Hence, it is also manifest that if any good quality or work of ours were made the condition of our justification or title to eternal life, this would turn the covenant of grace exhibited in the gospel into a covenant of works. . . . Continue reading →
The Moralist’s Catechism
Moralism is the teaching (doctrine) that God approves (accepts or justifies) of us either because we have cooperated with his grace (semi-Pelagianism) or because we have kept the law without his help (Pelagianism). According to moralism, God approves of us because of . . . Continue reading →
Machen: Justification Sola Fide Is Liberating
[Justification by faith alone] has been a liberating doctrine; to it is due most of the freedom that we possess today, and if it is abandoned freedom will soon depart. If we are interested in what God thinks of us, we shall . . . Continue reading →
Luther: In Christ We Are No Longer Under The Law For Justification
Therefore Paul separates the spiritual people of the new covenant from the Law when he says that this people is not the child of Hagar, who had a husband, but of Sarah, the free woman, who does not know the Law. In . . . Continue reading →
Free E-Book: Beza, Polanus, And Turretin On Justification
For the month of August, 2024, Reformation Heritage Books is giving away copies of the electronic (e-book) version of R. Scott Clark and Casey Carmichael ed. Justification By Faith Alone: Selected Writings From Theodore Beza (1519–1605), Amandus Polanus (1561–1610), and Francis Turretin . . . Continue reading →
Luther: A Christian Is Simultaneously Sinner And Righteous
Thus a Christian man is righteous and a sinner at the same time, holy and profane, an enemy of God and a child of God.* None of the sophists will admit this paradox, because they do not understand the true meaning of . . . Continue reading →
What The Confessional Reformed Churches Have Said About Doug Wilson
The Heidelberg Reformation Association has received a queries in recent days asking about our view of Doug Wilson, a proponent of theonomy, Christian Reconstruction, Christian Nationalism, and the Federal Vision movement, among other things. We think that the best way to respond is to let the study committees of the confessional Presbyterians Reformed churches answer the question. As a service to the Christian public we have harvested the most salient portions from three study committee reports and we present them here for your consideration. Continue reading →
Prayer As A Means Of Grace
Fix writes to ask about prayer as a means of grace. I’ve thought quite a bit lately, about the question of prayer as a means of grace. Question 1: When the Westminster Divines spoke of prayer as a means of grace, were . . . Continue reading →