On February 14, 2023 Evangel Presbytery of the PCA overtured the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) to petition the United States federal government by saying: God declares in Sacred Scripture that civil government, no less the Church, is . . . Continue reading →
Author: R. Scott Clark
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 is professor emeritus of church history and historical theology at Westminster Seminary California, where he taught for 29 years. He also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007 and the Heidelcast since 2009.
Walking Two Miles With Roman Oppressors: Christ’s Pilgrim Ethic (2)
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to . . . Continue reading →
Walking Two Miles With Roman Oppressors: Christ’s Pilgrim Ethic (1)
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to . . . Continue reading →
Should You Attend An Ecumenical Service? (Part 2)
An old friend wrote recently to ask whether it is appropriate for a confessional Presbyterian and Reformed (P&R) pastor or congregation to participate in an ecumenical service. In Part One of this series, we discussed our terms. Now we continue the question: should . . . Continue reading →
Saturday Psalm Series: Principal Place: A Pragmatic Plea For Psalmody
The Modern church has earned a dubious distinction: we live in the most psalm-less period in the history of the church. A Quick History Of Psalmlessness We know that the Jews sang psalms. We know that our Lord sang psalms with his . . . Continue reading →
Christ Is Lord Of All, But…
The question of thinking like a Christian is an important topic and one close to my heart. We discuss this very question each fall in the Historical Theology orientation course. We read and discuss a roundtable discussion published some years ago in . . . Continue reading →
Should You Attend An Ecumenical Service? (Part 1)
An old friend wrote recently to ask whether it is appropriate for a confessional Presbyterian and Reformed (P&R) pastor or congregation to participate in an ecumenical service. This is an interesting and challenging question. Let us start by defining our terms. What . . . Continue reading →
Is the PCA Doomed?
While our Constitution does not require the candidate’s affirmation of every statement and/or proposition of doctrine in our Confession of Faith and Catechisms, it is the right and responsibility of the Presbytery to determine if the candidate is out of accord with . . . Continue reading →
Grace and Peace to Aliens and Strangers
If there is one religion which has defined our time—that is, postmodern, pluralist, post-Christian America—it is the religion of prosperity and success, progress and self-fulfillment. Continue reading →
Pilgrims Not Transformers
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household. (Eph 2:19; NASB95) All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them . . . Continue reading →
Hebrews 11, The Faith, And The Substance Of The One Covenant Of Grace (Part 2)
What then about Hebrews 11:1? Substance (ὑπόστασις) is attributed to faith (πίστις)—by the way, “faithfulness” does not work here at all as a translation of faith. Steve Baugh is exactly correct when he writes, “My understanding of Hebrews 11 proceeds from the . . . Continue reading →
The Canons Of Dork #14 For March 4, 2023
What’s in a name? Continue reading →
Nature, Grace, Sex, And Analogies
Josh Butler, a fellow at the newly launched Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics and author of a forthcoming book, Beautiful Union (Multnomah, 2023), has written a provocative essay, “Sex Won’t Save You (But It Points To The One Who Will).”1 He raises some . . . Continue reading →
Are Our Revivals Like Pentecost? (Part 2)
Is Pentecost Repeatable? The short answer is yes and no (see Part One for context with Asbury Revival). Luke records a “second Pentecost” among the Gentiles in Acts 10:34–38. In Caesarea, Peter had a vision (Acts 10:9–16) showing him that the Old . . . Continue reading →
Are Our Revivals Like Pentecost? (Part 1)
The revival that broke out in the chapel of Asbury University on February 8, 2023 is spreading. Campus Reform, a publication devoted to reporting on the state of civil liberties on American college campuses, reports that there are “seven student-led revivals across . . . Continue reading →
Reformed Piety And Practice
When Martin Luther (1483–1546) entered the Augustinian convent at Erfurt in 1505, it was a considered decision and the fulfillment of a vow he had made when he cried, “St. Anne, help me! I will become a monk.” So he did. Luther . . . Continue reading →
Why Reformed Folk Become Lutheran
Over the years I have watched a trickle of Reformed folk leave confessional Reformed churches for confessional Lutheran churches and in every case of which I know there was one reason: assurance. In Lutheranism, those folk found a clear, unequivocal message of . . . Continue reading →
Asbury Is Ending Another Revival
From 1987–93, I was co-pastor and then solo pastor of a small congregation in Kansas City, MO. We were surrounded by Baptist, Pentecostal, and Roman Catholic congregations. I was there during the so-called Kansas City Prophets movement. The excitement of revival and . . . Continue reading →
Hebrews 11, The Faith, And The Substance Of The One Covenant Of Grace (Part 1)
For a lot of modern evangelicals, the Bible is a disconnected series of character studies followed by the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and the Revelation. Continue reading →
Saturday Psalm Series: Ruling In The Midst Of His Enemies—Psalms 2 & 110
If you have been watching this space or listening to the Heidelcast, you will be aware that various contributors and friends of the Heidelblog have been paying some attention to the renewed interest in postmillennial eschatology and to its child, the theorecon . . . Continue reading →














