Extramarital affairs can start because of sexual chemistry—and Christians should never underestimate the power of this kind of chemistry. We hear stories of pastors having affairs, and we wonder how that could happen. Of course he knew better—he is a pastor! What . . . 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 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.
The Unexamined Premise Behind Mars Hill: Transformationalism
One of the unexamined themes Of the podcast series, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, is the stated purpose of the Mars Hill congregation and movement: to transform the Seattle metro. Continue reading
In By Grace, Stay In By Works Is Not Good News
God’s verdict of not guilty and his imputing of his own righteousness to us at the beginning of the Christian life is by faith alone… that’s how we get started. James is answering the question ‘does the ongoing and final reckoning of . . . Continue reading →
Right And Wrong Reasons For Leaving Your Local Church
In recent years, I have noticed the growing trend of people who leave their local church without any reflection as to whether their departure is a sinful one. To be sure, there are legitimate reasons to leave a local church. That’s what . . . Continue reading →
Yes, He Really Does Teach Final Salvation Through Works
John Piper has been teaching “final salvation through works” (his language) at least since the publication of Future Grace (1995). Continue reading
In A Belated Bit Of Good News: The EEOC Actually Defends Religious Liberty
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against The Kroger Company Monday. In the lawsuit, the EEOC claimed Kroger Store No. 625 in Conway violated federal law when it fired two employees who asked for a religious accommodation to . . . Continue reading →
After Obergefell: The Slippery Slope Slides To Polyamory
The Sexual Revolution Requires That You Approve Of Every New Mutation
Natasha Aggarwal LL.M. ’21 didn’t know much about polyamory until last spring, when she became a clinical student in the LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic at the WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. But after working at the clinic with the newly . . . Continue reading →
Piper’s Sea Shell Sermon Illustrates How Far The YRR Movement Was From The Reformation
So I am listening to the latest episode in the Christianity Today podcast series, “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill.” Like the others it is illuminating, compelling, and frustrating simultaneously. Continue reading
Repenting Of Our Agnosticism
For a few months I have been thinking about a phrase I first encountered in 1995 when I was teaching an introductory course in theology at Wheaton. We were using Alister McGrath’s reader as the primary text for the class and he quoted Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–45) as saying that, in Modernity, we must learn to live “etsi Deus non daretur” (as if God is not a given). Continue reading →
Just In Time For The Latest ESS Dustup: With Presbycast On The Athanasian Creed
Even as we were recording this episode last night a new round of controversy (on social media) arose over the orthodoxy of the doctrine of the so-called “eternal subordination of the Son” or the “eternal functional subordination of the Son” AKA “eternal . . . Continue reading →
Does The Analogy Hold Or How Does Science Work?
I am in the throes of trying to finish the third draft of the commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude), so I have not been listening to a lot of my podcasts. Mostly these days I hear myself say, . . . Continue reading →
Grammar Guerrilla: Wake, Woke, Woken And Transitive And Intransitive Verbs
The widespread use of woke, the past tense of wake, as an adjective is ungrammatical but there are other issues with the use of forms of wake. The conjugation of wake is: wake (present): It is time to wake up and smell . . . Continue reading →
With The Guilt, Grace, Gratitude Podcast On The Mosaic Covenant And The Republication Of The Covenant Of Works
It Is Not As Difficult As It Might Seem
It was good to talk with Nick, of the Guilt, Grace, Gratitude podcast about the Mosaic covenant generally and the question of the republication of the covenant of works specifically. This might seem like an impossible topic but it is not if . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours With Bob Godfrey On The Anxious Bench
Much of modern evangelical theology, piety, and practice, is not driven by Scripture as much as it is driven by history. Many evangelicals assume, as I once did, that the altar call is a biblical practice. They do not know, as I . . . Continue reading →
It Is Baked Into The Cake
This morning I read an account of a NAPARC pastor who confessed to violating his vows, of abusing his congregation, of violating the sixth and ninth commandments. Continue reading
Trueman: The Danger Of A Carefully Curated Silence
When I was preaching week by week to the same congregation, one of my fundamental convictions was that I needed to keep politics out of the pulpit. Perhaps I should express that more precisely: I needed to keep party politics out of . . . Continue reading →
They Turned The Covenant Of Grace Into A Covenant Of Works (Or Why The Distinction Between Law And Gospel Matters)
Understanding The Duplex Regimen Would Also Help
…In replying to DeYoung, Kwon and Thompson could have replied in kind, foregrounding the theological questions raised by DeYoung. Indeed, they could easily have made the case that on the merits of DeYoung’s own theology he should be far more concerned about . . . Continue reading →
A Note To My Hometown About The Drag Queen Story Hour And The Powers That Be
The lede in the Lincoln Journal-Star says it all (and perhaps more than the writer intended): “A planned drag queen story hour started like a normal event for the Lincoln group, said organizer Waylon Werner-Bassen.” He was talking about a private event . . . Continue reading →
Pandemic Living: Facts About Loneliness
Everyone likes to be alone; no one likes to be lonely. Being alone is fine. We need time by ourselves. Being lonely is not fine. We are made to be social. Large portions of Americans are disconnected from normal connecting institutions. And . . . Continue reading →
What Reformed Churches Can Learn From Mark Driscoll
…A new megachurch in Lynden was drawing out the boomers from classic Reformed churches by the thousands. This church purchased the local shopping mall and created the closest thing as they could achieve, in appearance and message, to Rick Warren’s Saddleback church, . . . Continue reading →