He calls it a tasting of the good word of God; by which he means, that the will of God is therein revealed, not in any sort of way, but in such a way as sweetly to delight us; in short, by . . . Continue reading →
Law and Gospel Distinction
Bavinck On Gospel In The Narrow Sense
And indeed, strictly speaking, there are no demands and conditions in the gospel but only promises and gifts. Faith and repentance are as much benefits of the covenant of grace as justification (and so forth). Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4.454 (HT: James . . . Continue reading →
Why the Reformation Cannot Be Avoided
Joel writes in response to the post, “Is the Gospel Preached or Lived?” to ask for a response to his post responding to criticisms of the expression “living the gospel.” The substance of the post is to observe that the NT uses . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus On The First Two Proofs Of The Christian Religion
IV. what are the evidences by which the truth of the christian religion or the doctrine of the church is confirmed? . . . 1. The purity and perfection of the Law. It is impossible that that religion should be true and . . . Continue reading →
Do You See How He Makes This Distinction Between Law And Gospel?
Do you see how he makes this the distinction between law and gospel: that the former attributes righteousness to works, the latter bestows free righteousness apart from the help of works? This is an important passage, and one that can extricate us . . . Continue reading →
Peter Martyr Vermigli on Law and Gospel
In the history of Christian theology there have been two ways of speaking about the relation between law and gospel: 1. historically and 2. theologically or hermeneutically. These two ways of relating law and gospel are complementary. The first way of relating . . . Continue reading →
Perkins on the Two Covenants in Gal 4:24-25
(HT: Particular Voices) The two testaments are the Covenant of works and the Covenant of grace, one promising life eternal to him that does all things contained in the law; the other to him turns and believes in Christ. And it must . . . Continue reading →
Perkins on “The Law is Not of Faith”
Thanks to Particular Voices for posting a page from William Perkins’ commentary on Galatians 3:12. Thanks to Rich Barcellos for pointing me to it. I took the liberty of transcribing the text and updating the spelling to make it more accessible. Perkins . . . Continue reading →
Les Mis, Law, and Gospel
Mike Horton at the WHI talks with David Zahl from Mockingbird about the book turned play turned film Les Miserables and how the the law and the gospel are reflected in it. It’s a terrific interview.
Why Complementarianism Can’t Be a “Gospel” Issue
For those who have not been following this discussion, here is a quick rundown as a preface to my point. On August 16, 2012 Denny Burk posted a Gospel Coalition video on his blog in which he noted that Tim Keller suggested . . . Continue reading →
Herman Witsius on Preaching Law and Gospel
Herman Witsius (1636–1708) was a significant figure in the period of High Reformed Orthodoxy (c. 1640–1700). He attempted to build a bridge between the Cocceians and the Voetians, traditionally understood as two competing camps within Dutch Reformed orthodoxy. The debate between the . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus on What Is the Sum and Substance of Scripture
In the prolegomena (prefatory remarks) to his published lectures on the Heidelberg Catechism, Zacharias Ursinus (1534–83), the primary author of the catechism and the one authorized by Frederick III to explain the catechism wrote: “The doctrine of the church consists of two . . . Continue reading →
When the Good News Becomes Bad-In Korean
It’s here. Thanks to Chris Won for the translation and to Inwoo Lee for posting it. Here’s the (English language) original.
Resources on the Law/Gospel Distinction
The distinction between law and gospel is one of the most fundamental aspects of the Protestant Reformation. It was essential to the Reformation and it was a basic part of both early Reformed theology and Reformed orthodoxy. For a variety of reasons . . . Continue reading →
Lutheran or Reformed?
1. The law promises no good thing to miserable sinners; it promises good only to those who observe it. 2. The law has no force in itself for removing sins; it has force only for punishing. 3. The law cannot be fulfilled . . . Continue reading →
Another Area Where a Two-Kingdoms/Spheres Ethic Would Help
Rome still doesn’t seem to understand how grave the problem of pedophile priests is. NPR (HT: RNS) reports on the new measures adopted by the Vatican, including revisions to canon law, to address the crisis.
The Old Harmony is New Again
Philip Benedict concedes that the Harmony was a more hopeful than a realistic expression of Protestant unity. But he adds that it was “one example of the conviction of many Reformed that the bonds of brotherhood ought to encompass the Lutheran churches . . . Continue reading →
What is the Power of the Christian Life?
For Christians who believe God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures and who confess the Reformed faith there can be no question whether we ought to live the Christian life. The question is, however, how do we live the Christian life? From where do . . . Continue reading →
Audio From The Inaugural Lecture
The lecture title is: “‘That We Should Retain the Distinction between Law and Gospel’: Hermeneutical Conservatism in Early Reformed Orthodoxy.” The audio is here.
Just Say NO to "Golawspel"
Brian Cochran has a helpful post on this. Thanks to Kim for the term “Golawspel.” There’s a lot of that going around these days.