Recovering the Reformed Confession

Kapic: God Knows Himself Fully

by on December 30, 2023

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!

by on December 29, 2023

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

by on November 20, 2023

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 →

After Calvin: Recommended Reading

by on November 17, 2023 | 14 Comments

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 →

Audio: How Not to Be a Heretic

by on November 6, 2023 | 1 Comment

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

by on October 26, 2023 | 1 Comment

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”

by on October 20, 2023 | 7 Comments

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 →

Review: Reformation Worship: Liturgies From the Past For The Present Ed. B Jonathan Gibson and Mark Earngey

by on October 12, 2023

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

by on September 15, 2023 | 4 Comments

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

by on August 11, 2023 | 26 Comments

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 →

Are Church Members Free Agents?

by on August 4, 2023 | 16 Comments

One of the biggest developments of the modern era of sports is the rise of the “free agent.” Under “free agency” an athlete is bound to a team only for a short period of time, at the end of which he becomes . . . Continue reading →

Re-Publication of the Covenant of Works (1)

by on June 16, 2023 | 9 Comments

As Michael Horton acknowledges in his work on covenant theology, one of the more difficult issues in covenant theology is how to relate the Mosaic Covenant to the earlier Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant. Complicating matters is the old Dispensational doctrine . . . Continue reading →