R.Scott Clark is the President of the Heidelberg Reformation Association, the author and editor of, and contributor to several books and the author of many articles. He has taught church history and historical theology since 1997 at Westminster Seminary California. He has also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.
In a recent foreword to a book advocating Norman Shepherd’s peculiar brand of covenant theology, John Frame attacks some of Shepherd’s critics as “stupid, irresponsible and divisive.” Apparently, someone complained about Frame’s lack of civility so he issued an apology that the . . . Continue reading →
One of the gravest problems raised by Rev. Shepherd’s book, The Call of Grace is its refusal to honor the Biblical, confessional and Reformed theological distinction between Law and Gospel as expressed in the two covenants in the historia salutis. The covenant . . . Continue reading →
2. But in respect of the case of the infants, which you say ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after their birth, and that the law of ancient circumcision should be regarded, so that you think that . . . Continue reading →
3. And they shall put off their clothes. 4. And they shall baptize the little children first. And if they can answer for themselves, let them answer. But if they cannot, let their parents or someone from their family answer for them. . . . Continue reading →
“Advice to Young Preachers” appears in the Summer issue of Expositor, a publication of Steve Lawson’s OnePassion Ministries.
A HB reader writes to ask about to think about and vote in a congregational election for elders when one does not know the nominees. This is a difficult question for a couple of reasons. First, we have little to no evidence . . . Continue reading →
In Luke 12:50, as part of a wide-ranging discourse with strong eschatological overtones, our Lord Jesus characterizes his coming death in a striking way. He said, “But I have a baptism with which to be baptized and how I constrained until it . . . Continue reading →
Within the world created by the various apps I used, I got plenty of shares and retweets. But this masked how ineffective I had become outside, in the real world. The only causes I was actually contributing to were the causes of . . . Continue reading →
And this is the firm tradition of the universal Church, in respect of the baptism of infants, who certainly are as yet unable “with the heart to believe unto righteousness, and with the mouth to make confession unto salvation,” as the thief . . . Continue reading →
Here we come to the issue of psalms versus hymns. Our fathers ruled that, with a few exceptions, only the singing of psalms was permitted in the assembly of believers. When hymns were introduced in 1807 (by unlawful ecclesiastical might) many people . . . Continue reading →
8 Q. Just as there is only one way to salvation, the crucified Christ, there is also only one doctrine of salvation that freely and graciously offers us Christ and all His benefits for our possession. What is this doctrine? A.* The . . . Continue reading →
Therefore read these words “me” and “for me” with great emphasis, and accustom yourself to accepting this “me” with a sure faith and applying it to yourself. Do not doubt that you belong to the number of those who speak this “me.” . . . Continue reading →
It was a wonderful day yesterday at Escondido URC. In the morning we had two baptisms, one of an adult convert who had never been baptized. So, like the adult baptisms we see in Acts, he received the sacrament, sign, and seal of baptism as a sign of his admission to the Christ-confessing covenant community. My Baptist friends rejoice with us. We also, however, baptized the infant of professing believers. We did so because we are convinced from God’s Word that is what God commands. The pattern begins in Genesis 17 and continues to the book of Acts (2:38–39; ch. 16 [all]). In his sermon our pastor, Chris Gordon, argued for the propriety of infant baptism on the basis of Matthew 19:13–15. Was he right to do so? Continue reading →
The Reformed churches and Reformed theologians (i.e., those who confess and teach within the bounds of the Reformed confessions, e.g., the French Confession (1559), the Scots Confession (1560), the Belgic Confession (1561), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), the Second Helvetic Confession (1566), the . . . Continue reading →
Paul was a theologian of the twofold kingdom. In what Calvin called the “spiritual” aspect of the kingdom we find a covenant of grace in which sinners are accepted (justified) and saved by God out of his free favor (sola gratia), through . . . Continue reading →
In some circles it has become axiomatic that sexual sins are no worse and no different from any other sins. This is only half true. To be faithful to Scripture we must divide the question because there are two things to be . . . Continue reading →
…Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms . . . Continue reading →
It was announced this week that another pastor was recently removed from ministry. It has happened before and, sadly, it will happen again. As I write, a series of cases are running through my mind but one of themes that unites them . . . Continue reading →
Our older Reformed writers regularly mentioned “two kingdoms” in different ways. E.g., in the opening line to his 1576 Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed (translated into English and available in the Classic Reformed Theology series) Caspar Olevianus (1536-87) employed the distinction in . . . Continue reading →
Recently a well-known Presbyterian minister posted a short sentence on a social media site that caused some controversy. My intent here is not to comment directly on his language but to notice and respond to some of the reaction because it illustrates . . . Continue reading →