Love means protecting the defenseless. God teaches that life is his gift. He commands us to preserve not only our own lives but also the lives of others, and he has appointed government authorities in part for this purpose by means of . . . Continue reading →
Your Picture Of Jesus Is Inherently Idolatrous
Over the years as a pastor, I have been asked why making an image of Jesus is wrong. In fact, I have been frequently criticized for my position that making images of Jesus is forbidden in the second commandment. I have come . . . Continue reading →
Pray Especially For The Little Ones
A Christian friend in Tel Aviv writes to say, Continue reading
Zeno’s Porch Is Not Solomon’s
I am puzzled by the assertion that, in order to hold to ecumenical truth (e.g., the eternal generation of the Son), one must be a Platonist. Continue reading
The Lord’s Supper Is Not Penance
In our course on the Reformed Confessions the end of the semester brings us near the end of the Belgic Confession, to article 35 on the Lord’s Supper. It is a marvelous confession of what God’s Word teaches us about the nature . . . Continue reading →
Trueman: The Psalms Are Better For What Ails Us Than Critical Race Theory
Does critical race theory contain some truths? Yes. Neil Shenvi recently pointed this out. Does it offer helpful insights that cannot be better found elsewhere? I have yet to see any. Indeed, I consider the Psalter itself to offer a far better . . . Continue reading →
Calvin A Cousin To Dispensationalism?
This striking passage occurs in an essay published on the Aquila Report today: Continue reading
P&R Polity Is Not Perfect But It Is Preferable To The Others
In the last few weeks there has been published, on social media, some fairly stinging comments about the problems inherent with way confessional Presbyterian and Reformed (hereafter P&R) churches govern themselves. These comments seem mainly to born of frustration with the way . . . Continue reading →
Who Gets To Criticize Machen?
I was thinking about Machen as I was listening Mike and Steve on NoCo Radio discussing the new collection of Machen’s radio addresses, Things Unseen. Continue reading
A Word Of Encouragement For Pastors
Mondays can be difficult days for pastors. My seminary did not hold classes on Mondays so that students and professors, who were filling pulpits on the Sabbath, would not have to travel on the Sabbath. The idea was (and remains) that they . . . Continue reading →
The Ministers Of London On The Validity Of Roman Catholic Baptisms (1647)
CONSIDERATION TWO. That though a ministerial succession should be granted to be drawn through the Church of Rome, and that from the days of the first apostasy in that church to the times of Protestant Reformation, yet thereby the truth of that . . . Continue reading →
New Resource Page: On Covid And Religious Liberty
The Covid crisis has been one of the greater challenges faced by the church in the West in recent years. In the USA and elsewhere it has divided congregations and probed weaknesses in our theology, piety, and practice. It has raised questions . . . Continue reading →
Another Way To Find A Confessional Reformed Church In North America
It can be difficult to locate a confessional Reformed congregation in North America since, for most of the continent (outside of the Southeast USA, Grand Rapids, Philadelphia, and Ontario, Canada) they can be difficult to find. Someone has already made a Google . . . Continue reading →
Recovering A Vital Truth About Preaching: It Is God’s Ordained Means To Bring Sinners To Faith
…One of the most helpful things ever written on the question of faithfulness and effectiveness in preaching comes from the “Directory of Public Worship” published and authorized in 1645 by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster and subsequently adopted by the General . . . Continue reading →
Was Clark Pinnock The Beginning Of The Young, Restless, and “Reformed” Movement?
The name Clark Pinnock (1937–2010) does not appear in Collin Hansen’s Young, Restless, and Reformed (2008) but perhaps it should have? Continue reading
On Being Reformed (E-Book) Now $14.99 Until May 11, 2021
The e-book version of On Being Reformed, which is typically ridiculously expensive, is now discounted to $14.99. The code is STUDY21. Continue reading
Take That Amazon
Ursinus On The Two Kingdoms
IN WHAT DOES THE POWER OF THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN DIFFER FROM CIVIL POWER? The points of difference are many, and such as are apparent. 1. Ecclesiastical discipline is exercised by the church; civil power by the judge or . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus On The Difference Between Church And State
“IN WHAT DOES THE CHURCH DIFFER FROM THE STATE? The chief differences between the church and the state are the following: 1. The state is a society which is bound by certain civil laws for the maintenance of external propriety and order, . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Introducing Rollock’s Commentary On Ephesians
One of the goals of Office Hours is to let the listener know about the work of the faculty in the classroom and in the study. For more than a decade I have had the privilege of editing a series of English . . . Continue reading →