Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? A. The Word . . . Continue reading →
Archives
The Savoy Declaration (1658)
Chapter 1 Of The Holy Scripture Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that . . . Continue reading →
Westminster Larger Catechism (1648)
Q. 1. What is the chief and highest end of man? A. Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever. Q. 2. How doth it appear that there is a God? A. The very light . . . Continue reading →
Westminster Shorter Catechism (1648)
Shorter Catechism Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? A. . . . Continue reading →
¿Debería Ser Bautizado Otra Vez?
Hace algunos días, me hicieron esta pregunta: ¿Debería ser Bautizado Otra Vez? pero, lo cierto es, que suelen hacérmela muy a menudo. Esto suele ocurrir en el contexto, de una clase con nuevos miembros en la iglesia cuando alguien que, apenas va . . . Continue reading →
Gregory I (c.540–604 AD) Epistles 5.18 To The Bishop Of Constantinople
Gregory to John, Bishop of Constantinople. At the time when your Fraternity was advanced to Sacerdotal dignity, you remember what peace and concord of the churches you found. But, with what daring or with what swelling of pride I know not, you . . . Continue reading →
Three Messages To Millennials: Marriage, Church, And Work
Marriage On March 7, 2014, the Pew Research Center published the results of a new Survey:Millennials in Adulthood. Bradford Wilcox has a summary in the NRO. According to the study, Millennials have become disconnected from some basic institutions: marriage, church, and work—though not . . . Continue reading →
The 1946 OPC Minority Report On The Regulative Principle And Songs In Worship
Minority Report of the Committee on Song in the Public Worship of God Submitted to the Fourteenth General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.The above-mentioned committee presented to the Thirteenth General Assembly a report bearing upon the question of the regulative principle . . . Continue reading →
How Not To Train Pastors
I see that someone is starting an(other?) online seminary. The whole business of online/distance seminary education is troubling. Because the confessional Reformed churches (i.e., NAPARC) are conservative and theologically oriented, we tend to attract ideologically committed folks. That’s okay but it means . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: Short Treatise On The Lord’s Supper (1541)
The following is Calvin’s Short Treatise on the Lord’s Supper (Petit traicté de la saincte cène; 1541). As general background to the theology, piety, and practice of the Lord’s Supper and to Calvin’s doctrine of the Supper, we should put this treatise . . . Continue reading →
S-T-O-P Means Stop
Introduction In 25 years of ministry one of the most profound changes I’ve seen is the growing inability and/or unwillingness of Americans to read texts according to the intent of the author. One of the major reasons for this change was the . . . Continue reading →
Places In The New Testament Speaking Directly About The Civil Magistrate
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, . . . Continue reading →
Johannes Althusius (1557–1638): A Brief Introduction To A Pioneering Reformed Social Theorist
Introduction We seem to live in a Malthusian age, i.e., an age of increasing scarcity or perhaps fear of scarcity, where concern over how to divide an economic (and environmental) pie of limited size (called a “zero sum game”) has replaced the . . . Continue reading →
Preaching And Application
Application in preaching is a thorny issue. There is no real question among Reformed folk whether preachers should apply the text of Scripture to the congregation. Most Reformed preachers agree in substance with William Perkins on application. The basic principle in application . . . Continue reading →
The Cruelty Of Nominalism
Are Symbols Arbitrary? Recently there has been considerable controversy generated in a university classroom where the prof required students to create a sign with the word “Jesus” on it and then to step on the same. One student, a Mormon, refused and was . . . Continue reading →
The Necessity And Limits Of The Imitation Of Christ
There is no question among orthodox Christians, i.e., those who believe and obey God’s Word, who believe the catholic creeds, who have a substantial connection to the ancient church, whether Christians ought to seek to imitate Christ. The questions are how do we imitate . . . Continue reading →
Canones Synodi Dordrechtanae
JUDICIUM SYNODI NATIONALIS REFORMATARUM ECCLESIARUM BELGICARUM, Habitæ Dordrechti Anno MDCXVIII. et MDCXIX. Cui Plurimi insignes Theologi Reformatarum Ecclesiarum Magnæ Britanniæ Germaniæ, Galliæ, interfuerunt, de Quinque Doctrinæ Capitibus in Ecclesiis Belgicis Controversis: Promulgatum VI. Maii MDCXIX. PRÆFATIO IN NOMINE DOMINI ET SERVATORIS NOSTRI . . . Continue reading →
The 5 Articles Of Remonstrance (1610)
ARTICLE I. That God, by an eternal, unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ, his Son, before the foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ’s sake, and through Christ, those who, . . . Continue reading →
On The Necessity And Efficacy Of Good Works In Salvation
Introduction There is no question among orthodox, i.e., confessional, Reformed folk whether good works are necessary as a consequence, evidence, and a fruit of justification and sanctification by grace alone, through faith alone. There is no question whether God’s moral law, whether summarized in . . . Continue reading →
Confessio Belgica
Articulus I: De Natura Dei Corde credimus, et ore confitemur omnes, unicam esse et simplicem essentiam spiritualem, quam Deum vocamus; eumque aeternum, incomprehensibilem, invisibilem, immutabilem, infinitum, omnipotentem, summe sapientem, iustum, et bonorum, omniumque nonorum fontem uberrimum. Articulus II: De Cognitione Dei Duobus . . . Continue reading →