Q327 M. Do you think that the water is a washing? of the soul? S. By no means; for it were impious to snatch away this honour from the blood of Christ, which was shed in order to wipe away all our . . . Continue reading →
Sacraments
Heidelberg 71: What’s Baptism Got To Do With It?
Scripture does not say that baptism is the instrument of salvation any more than the Noahic flood or the Red Sea were the instruments of salvation. No, faith is the sole instrument of salvation. We were delivered through, i.e., out of of the flood and the Red Sea. Continue reading →
Heidelberg 69: How Is Baptism A Sign And Seal?
69. How is it signified and sealed to you in Holy Baptism, that you have part in the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross? Thus: that Christ instituted this outward washing with water and joined therewith this promise: that I am . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 68: How Many Sacraments?
68. How many Sacraments has Christ instituted in the New Testament? Two: Holy Baptism and Holy Supper (Heidelberg Catechism) To Protestants, whether confessional or more broadly evangelical, it may seem obvious that there are only two sacraments but to the 60 . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 67: The Sacraments Are True Signs And Seals Of Christ And His Gospel (2)
67. Are both the Word and the Sacraments designed to direct our faith to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation? Yes truly, for the Holy Spirit teaches in the Gospel and assures us by . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 67: The Sacraments Are True Signs And Seals Of Christ And His Gospel (1)
67. Are both the Word and the Sacraments designed to direct our faith to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation? Yes truly, for the Holy Spirit teaches in the Gospel and assures us by . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: A Sacrament Is An Outward Sign And Seal Of God’s Promises
First, we must consider what a sacrament is. It seems to me that a simple and proper definition would be to say that it is an outward sign by which the Lord seals on our consciences the promises of his good will . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 66: Sacraments Are No More Or Less Than Gospel Signs And Seals (3)
66. What are the Sacraments? The Sacraments are visible holy signs and seals appointed of God for this end, that by the use thereof He may the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the Gospel: namely, that of . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 66: Sacraments Are No More Or Less Than Gospel Signs And Seals (2)
66. What are the Sacraments? The Sacraments are visible holy signs and seals appointed of God for this end, that by the use thereof He may the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the Gospel: namely, that of . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 66: Sacraments Are No More Or Less Than Gospel Signs And Seals (1)
66. What are the Sacraments? The Sacraments are visible holy signs and seals appointed of God for this end, that by the use thereof He may the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the Gospel: namely, that of . . . Continue reading →
Household Baptisms In Acts And Teen-Aged Children Of Adult Converts
Adam writes to ask about the baptism of fifteen-year old children of an adult convert. Should they be baptized before or after catechesis? § Hi Adam, This is a great question and a difficult one. I think it is correct to say . . . Continue reading →
Seed, Seeds, And Infant Baptism
The new covenant is the new administration of the Abrahamic covenant. Just as the typological (looking forward) sign and seal of admission to the administration of the covenant of grace was applied to Abraham’s children (beginning with Ishmael) so the sign and . . . Continue reading →
A Really Short Case For Infant Baptism (117 words)
There are about 60 million evangelicals in North America. Most of them assume or hold a Baptist interpretation of redemptive history, a Baptist hermeneutic (way of reading Scripture), and consequently, a Baptist view of the sacraments or signs and seals of the . . . Continue reading →
Audio: What Moses And Zipporah Mean For Baptism
Back in 2002 I gave a chapel talk on Exodus 4:24–26. It’s a difficult but not an impossible text. “At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint . . . Continue reading →
What’s The Use Of Infant Baptism?
Rob writes to say that one a loved one is emerging from one of the Baptist traditions into a Reformed/Presbyterian church setting.1 In addition they are expecting a covenant child and are, of course, thinking through infant baptism. As he’s tried to . . . Continue reading →
R. C. Sproul On Infant Baptism, Sin, And Patience
I believe that people who reject infant baptism, for example,—I think they’re wrong—but I believe they’re zealous about it because they want to practice the sacraments the way they believe God intended them to be practiced. And they believe it would be . . . Continue reading →
Calvin On The Danger Of Abusing The Lord’s Table
29. He who shall eat unworthily, eateth judgment to himself. He had previously pointed out in express terms the heinousness of the crime, when he said that those who should eat unworthily would be guilty of the body and blood of the . . . Continue reading →
Does Baptism Save?
Merrit asks this question. “Two friends and I have been talking about this verse (1 Peter 3:21) and passage for quite some time today. The more we seem to talk about it the more confused I seem to get about it.” Merritt, . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Mike Horton On Sanctification And The Means Of Grace (2)
If Christians have often been tempted to mysticism (the quest to meet God without instruments, media, or means) they have also been tempted to magic, tempted to turn the sacraments into things they are not. The medieval Western church taught and the . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Sanctification And The Means Of Grace
It is easy to imagine that sanctification is the result of an immediate action by God upon the soul. By “immediate” I mean that the Spirit is thought to act without using means. In the history of the church more than a . . . Continue reading →