John Piper, Future Grace: The Purifying Power of the Promises of God, rev. ed. (New York: Multnomah, 2012)—A Thorough Review

Harrison Perkins

on September 13, 2021 | 29 Comments

Pastor John Piper is well-known for his role in sparking the “young, restless, and Reformed” movement, mainly through his emphases on God’s sovereignty and serious expository preaching. There are no doubt numerous present members of Reformed churches who ended up there because of initial investigations of Reformed theology that began with hearing or reading John Piper. Personally, Piper was my first exposure to a thorough and biblical explanation of predestination in some of the appendices of the 2003 edition of Desiring God, which I was told to read shortly after becoming serious about my faith. Continue reading →

A True Epitaph: “Saved By Grace”

R. Scott Clark

on August 29, 2021

On a tombstone in the old graveyard behind the Meeting House at Knockbracken, nestling among the evergreens, rising from the grass, on a well-mown grassy mound, is a plain and modest headstone: etched upon its granite face is the name of both . . . Continue reading →

Owen: Either We Are Justified Sola Fide Or By An Inherent Righteousness

Inwoo Lee

on August 25, 2021 | 3 Comments

It is true, that all those who place the formal cause or reason of our justification in ourselves, or our inherent righteousness, and so either directly or by just consequence, deny all imputation of the righteousness of Christ unto our justification,

Perkins: Eternal Life Is By Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone

Inwoo Lee

on June 24, 2021

If the inheritance of life eternal be by the law, it is no more by the promise. But it is by the promise because God gave it unto Abraham freely by promise. Therefore it comes not by the law. The opposition between . . . Continue reading →

The Gospel Is About Justice But Not That Kind Of Justice

by R. Scott Clark on June 24, 2021

In an article in By Faith Online (Feb, 2021) Megan Fowler writes, “Moses Lee believes Gen Z isn’t asking philosophical questions about epistemology [theory of knowing]. Gen Z wants to know that the gospel is beautiful and true, and that it is deeply concerned about justice.” Continue reading →

Perkins: We Are Not Justified By Our Works Either Before Or After Our Justification

"Cooperation Is Not In The Act Of Justification, Nor In The Work Of Our Salvation"

Inwoo Lee

on May 19, 2021 | 5 Comments

“[I] answer, that not only works done before faith are excluded, but also works that follow faith and are done in the estate of grace. For Paul here reasons thus: If no flesh be justified by works, then not we believers; but . . . Continue reading →

Marshall: The Moralists Try To Put Us Back Under The Covenant Of Works Because They Do Not Understand The Gospel Mystery Of Sanctification

Inwoo Lee

on May 2, 2021 | 5 Comments

“[T]hat we must be reconciled to God, and justified by the remission of our sins, and imputation of righteousness, before any sincere obedience to the law; that we may be enabled for the practice of it. They account, that this doctrine tends . . . Continue reading →

Owen: In Order To Appreciate The Glory Of Christ’s Righteousness Imputed We Must First Know Our Sin

Inwoo Lee

on May 1, 2021

The deformity of soul which came upon us in the loss of the image of God, wherein beauty and harmony of all our faculties, in all their actings in order unto their utmost end, did consist; that enmity unto God, even in . . . Continue reading →

William Perkins: Both Justification And Salvation Are Through Faith Alone

Inwoo Lee

on February 14, 2021

“Faith therefore justifies because it is an instrument to apprehend and apply that which justifies, namely, Christ and His obedience. As the Israelites stung of fiery serpents were cured, so are we saved (John 3:14). The Israelites did nothing at all, but . . . Continue reading →

Walter Marshall’s Antidote To Nomism

Inwoo Lee

on February 2, 2021

Why Caution About Jonathan Edwards Is In Order

R. Scott Clark

on December 26, 2020 | 14 Comments

Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) is America’s most famous theologian and perhaps its most famous philosopher too. He is an important and influential figure and worth seeking to understand for those reasons alone. We should think about Edwards for other reasons, however, He is . . . Continue reading →

With The Guilt, Grace, Gratitude Podcast Talking About The History Of The Reformation

R. Scott Clark

on November 30, 2020 | 1 Comment

I had fun talking with Nick Fullwiler of the Guilt, Grace, Gratitude podcast about the history of the Reformation. What led to it and why did it happen? Is there a new Reformation under way today? Do we need a Reformation today . . . Continue reading →

For Reformation Week 2020: Why Luther Was Right About “Alone” In His Translation Of Romans 3:28

R. Scott Clark

on October 27, 2020 | 3 Comments

Resources How To Subscribe To Heidelmedia The Reformed Churches Confess Luther’s Translation Of Romans 3:28: Allein Resources On The Reformation Solas

Are Good Works Enough?

R. Scott Clark

on October 26, 2020

Good works proceed from saving faith; faith that does not bear fruit is not saving faith (see James 2:19). James 2:24 is talking about works as fruit and evidence of saving faith, not meritorious works that save us. In fact, James reminds . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 160: As It Was In The Days Of Noah (7): Christ’s Abounding Graces

Heidelcast

on October 19, 2020 | 1 Comment

One of the principal reasons I became an amillennialist in eschatology was my study of 1 and 2 Peter. One of the reasons that, after study, investigation, and prayer, I rejected the claims of the Pentecostal moment is the triumphalism of the . . . Continue reading →

In His Covenant Faithfulness He Remembered Us In Our Low Estate

R. Scott Clark

on September 1, 2020 | 1 Comment

It is Yahweh who remembered us in our low estate, for his covenant faithfulness endures forever; and snatched us from our foes, for his covenant faithfulness endures forever; he who gives food to all flesh, for his covenant faithfulness endures forever. Give . . . Continue reading →

Marrowmen: Our Good Works Are Not Instrumental Or Causal In Our Justification Or Salvation

R. Scott Clark

on August 28, 2020 | 8 Comments

“If a sinner, being justified, has all things at once that are necessary for salvation? And if personal holiness, and progress in holy obedience, is not necessary to a justified persons’s possession of glory, in case of his continuing in life after . . . Continue reading →

Brakel: It Is Contrary To The Reformed Confession To Say Justification Is Acquired By Good Works

Inwoo Lee

on August 27, 2020

If one maintains that a right to eternal life is acquired by his good works, and that this right is granted by way of justification by works, all would nevertheless be attributed to man, and therefore he that has performed these good . . . Continue reading →

Hodge: Justification By Our Works Is Impossible

Inwoo Lee

on August 22, 2020 | 1 Comment

In the first place, that the righteousness by which we are justified before God is not of works, is not only asserted, but proved. The apostle’s first argument on this point is derived from the consideration, that the law demands a perfect . . . Continue reading →

Machen: Justification Sola Fide Is The Central Doctrine Of The Christian Faith

Inwoo Lee

on August 7, 2020

The Pauline doctrine of justification by faith alone, which we have just treated at considerable length, is, as we have seen, the very foundation of Christian liberty. It makes our standing with God dependent not at upon what we have done, but . . . Continue reading →