In recent decades, there has been a renewed appreciation for and embrace of a “Calvinistic” (i.e. Biblical) soteriology in which God is recognized as sovereign in all the affairs of men and even in salvation. Dr. T. David Gordon suggests this phenomenon . . . Continue reading →
Recovering the Reformed Confession
Our Aim Is Love: Dr. A. Craig Troxel—WSC 2024 Annual Conference
Wisdom says, “keep the heart with all vigilance, because from it flow the springs of life.” Paul agrees. To safeguard love as the proper aim of the ministry, we must also consider its source in a “pure heart.” The fountainhead impacts everything . . . Continue reading →
Lessons From the Case of the “Jonesboro 7”
They wanted to see a gospel centered PCA congregation planted in their town, Jonesboro, Arkansas. It was harder than they thought it would be. In this instance, it was especially hard. Tucked within the thousands of pages of the 2023 General Assembly . . . Continue reading →
Our Aim Is Love: Dr. Bradley J. Bitner—WSC 2024 Annual Conference
Paul argues in 1 Timothy 1:5-7 that being mindful of the goal in Christian ministry and discipleship keeps us from swerving and wandering. That goal is love–not a love of power or position or platforming, not a love of winning the argument, . . . Continue reading →
Just In Time For The Annual Temptation To Skip The Christian Sabbath: Updated Resource Page
The pressure to slouch toward Las Vegas is strong this year. Super Bowl parties abound. Who wants to be the odd ball who declines the invitation? Christians are strangers and aliens (1 Pet 2:11; Heb 11:10). Continue reading
The True Meaning Of Semper Reformanda
“The Reformed church is always in need of reformation.” The common mythology behind this quote, which supposedly originated with Calvin, is the idea that the church always has to be improving, revising, and changing its doctrine to accord with Scripture. Yet the . . . Continue reading →
Kapic: God Knows Himself Fully
Archetypal knowledge of God is that knowledge by which God perfectly knows himself. Neither finitude nor sin limits him. He knows all things. Most centrally, God fully knows himself. Ectypal knowledge is that understanding we have of God by means of his . . . Continue reading →
Distinguo!
Among the Reformed, distinctions were a vital tool for proper theology. Johannes Maccovius (1588–1644), Reformed scholastic theologian and delegate to the Synod of Dordt (1618–19), wrote an entire work dedicated to distinctions: A Hundredfold Most General Distinctions. Maccovius stood on the shoulders . . . Continue reading →
Posted, Predicted, Prosecuted: Galatians 3:1–14
R. Scott Clark gives a short devotion on Galatians 3:1–14. This audio was recorded as part of Westminster Seminary California’s Morning Devotions. Editor’s Note: This audio was originally published by Westminster Seminary California in 2005. ©Heidelberg Reformation Association. All Rights Reserved. RESOURCES . . . Continue reading →
Dr. Clark on the Active Obedience of Christ: WSC Annual Conference
R. Scott Clark on The Foolishness of the Gospel at the Westminster Seminary California Annual Conference. Note: This audio was originally recorded in 2004. RESOURCES Subscribe To The Heidelblog! The Heidelblog Resource Page Heidelmedia Resources The Ecumenical Creeds The Reformed Confessions The . . . Continue reading →
After Calvin: Recommended Reading
There is a popular view of church history that tells a story in which there was a pure, believing church during the apostolic age and then, for all intents and purposes, there was not a church (except for the Waldensians who alone . . . Continue reading →
Dr. Clark on The Crusades: The Pilgrim Radio Interview
R. Scott Clark joined Pilgrim Radio Network to talk about the Crusades. Note: This audio was originally recorded in 2012. RESOURCES Subscribe To The Heidelblog! The Heidelblog Resource Page Heidelmedia Resources The Ecumenical Creeds The Reformed Confessions The Heidelberg Catechism Resources On . . . Continue reading →
Audio: Selling Jesus—Dr. Clark On The White Horse Inn
R. Scott Clark joined the hosts of White Horse Inn to take a look at the ways in which consumerism and market values have influenced contemporary Christian thought and practice. Continue reading →
Audio: How Not to Be a Heretic
You and I are not the first ones to read the Bible. Christians as individuals and the church as a corporation has been hearing, meditating upon, and reading God’s Word for its entire history. One of the principal fruits of that corporate . . . Continue reading →
Confessionalism Is Beautiful Too
My purpose is, however, to highlight how men on the more confessional or “traditionalist” end of the PCA spectrum have done a poor job using language to communicate the beauty, loveliness, and grandeur of simple, ordinary, plain, vanilla, Old School, Reformed, Westminster, . . . Continue reading →
The Problem of the Minimalist Definition of “Reformed”
An essay on being Reformed was brought to my attention (the essay is no longer published on the original source) many years ago now. It is an interesting piece because it represents a widely held position among Evangelicals and the broader Reformed . . . Continue reading →
Fesko Critiques Piper’s Appeal to the Reformed Tradition
In his most recent response to Harrison Perkins’s TGC review of his book, Piper cites John Calvin as an example of someone who includes affections as a part of faith: “‘In a word, faith is . . . a warm embrace of Christ.’ . . . Continue reading →
Review: Reformation Worship: Liturgies From the Past For The Present Ed. B Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey
Unless you are a member of a congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America (RPCNA, “the Covenanters”) or another similar denomination, in all probability the way your congregation worships today is not much like the way Reformed and Presbyterian congregations . . . Continue reading →
The Rejection of Errors: The Antithesis and The Eschaton
Most Reformed Christians know something about the Canons of the Synod of Dort. Fewer of us have actually read the Canons. One aspect of the Canons that is sometimes neglected is the rejection of errors. There are five heads of doctrine (with three . . . Continue reading →
Abraham, Moses, and Baptism
I am in the midst of an interesting discussion of baptism with a friend. This friend has Baptist convictions, yet he understands Reformed theology better than many of the Reformed. He is quite sympathetic to historic and confessional Reformed theology. For example, . . . Continue reading →