Therefore just as Isaac has the inheritance from his father solely on the basis of the promise and of his birth, without the Law or works, so we are born as heirs by Sarah, the free woman, that is, by the church. . . . Continue reading →
Author: Tony Phelps
Tony grew up in Rhode Island. He was educated at BA (University of Rhode Island) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He worked in the insurance industry for ten years. He planted a PCA church in Wakefield, RI where he served for eleven years. In 2015–18 he pastored Covenant Reformed Church (URCNA) in Colorado Springs. He is currently pastor of Living Hope (OPC). Tony is married to Donna and together they have three children.
Calvin: There Are Two Ministers In Baptism
In Baptism, the external minister baptizes with an external element, that is water, which is received bodily. The internal minister, the Holy Spirit, baptizes with the blood of the spotless Lamb, so that he that is baptized is endowed with the whole . . . Continue reading →
Colquhoun On Natural Law
The natural law of God, or the law of nature, is that necessary and unchangeable rule of duty which is founded in the infinitely holy and righteous nature of God, to obey which all men, as the reasonable creatures of God, are . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: There Are Two Ministers In The Supper
In the Supper of the Lord, the external minister holds forth the external symbols, the bread of the Lord and the wine of the Lord, which are perceived by the organs of our body, consumed and swallowed. The internal minister, the Holy . . . Continue reading →
Perkins On What Union With Christ Does And Does Not Mean
Believers are not one with Christ by transfusion of the properties and qualities of the Godhead or manhood unto us. It may be said, how then are they one with Him? I answer, by one and the same Spirit dwelling in Christ . . . Continue reading →
Luther: Both The Law And The Gospel Make Promises
For the Law did not have promises added to it about Christ and His blessings, about deliverance from the curse of the Law, sin, and death, and about the free gift of the forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and eternal life. But the . . . Continue reading →
Riddlebarger: Dispensational Eschatology Is Jewish
Much like modern dispensationalists expect Jesus to reign over the nations in the future millennial kingdom, the Jews expected the Messiah to establish a political kingdom whereby Israel would rule over the Gentile nations. This explains why the Jews rejected Jesus as . . . Continue reading →
Bavinck: Pope Gregory I Marked A Turning Point (And Not In A Good Way)
It was he who sanctioned the external legal religion of the Roman Catholic Church and conferred on medieval Catholicism its actual character. He is the capstone of the ancient world, the foundation stone of the new. Through his liturgical writings and his . . . Continue reading →
Perkins Explains What Baptism Does And Does Not Do
The third point is, how baptism confers grace? Answer. It confers grace because it is a means to give and exhibit to the believing mind Christ with His benefits, and this it does by His signification. For it serves as a particular . . . Continue reading →
Luther: We Are No Longer Under The Types And Shadows
Now the Galatians had been forced by the false apostles to observe these same rites as something necessary for righteousness. This is why he says that they have lost grace and Christian liberty, and have turned back to the slavery of the . . . Continue reading →
Riddlebarger: What “Last Days” Really Means
This use of the phrase “last days” as marking the dawn of the new age of redemption can be seen in Peter’s Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:16–17). Peter demonstrated that the coming of Christ and his resurrection clearly meant that the last days . . . Continue reading →
Luther On What “Evangelical” Really Means
Thus there are many others today who want to be counted as evangelical theologians and who, so far as their words are concerned, do teach that men are delivered from their sins by the death of Christ. Meanwhile, however, they insult Christ . . . Continue reading →
William Perkins On Infant Baptism
Infants of believing parents are likewise to be baptized. The grounds of their baptism are these. First, the commandment of God, “Baptize all nations” (Matt. 28:19), in which words the baptism of infants is prescribed. For the apostles by virtue of this . . . Continue reading →
Ryle On The Centrality Of The Cross
But in some places “the cross” also indicates the doctrine that Christ died for sinners on the cross – the atonement that He made for sinners by His suffering for them on the cross, the complete and perfect sacrifice for sin that . . . Continue reading →
Perkins: We Receive Christ Through Word And Sacrament
Of our receiving of Christ given by God, two things must be observed. One is that we must there receive Christ where God offers and gives Him, that is, in the word and sacraments. The second is that faith is our hand . . . Continue reading →
Luther: Moralists Are Thieves
…[Paul] scolds the Galatians in great indignation for having let this divine and heavenly doctrine be stolen from their hearts so quickly and easily; it is as though he were saying: “You have teachers who want to lead you back into the . . . Continue reading →
Riddlebarger: Jesus Did Not Come To Establish A Political Kingdom
Much like modern dispensationalists expect Jesus to reign over the nations in the future millennial kingdom, the Jews expected the Messiah to establish a political kingdom whereby Israel would rule over the Gentile nations. This explains why the Jews rejected Jesus as . . . Continue reading →
Riddlebarger: The Headcrusher Must Himself Be Crushed
The entire Old Testament is filled with the expectation and promise of a coming Redeemer. He would crush the serpent but would be bruised himself. He would come from the seed of the woman (a veiled reference to the virginal conception), be . . . Continue reading →
Luther: The Law And Gospel Are Found Throughout Scripture
But you might say, “Isn’t there also much Law in the Gospels and in the Epistles of Paul, and again many promises in the books of Moses and the prophets?” Answer: There is no book in the Bible in which both are . . . Continue reading →
Perkins On The First Mark Of Faith
The second question is, when faith begins first to breed in the heart? Answer. When a man begins to be touched in his conscience for his sins, and, upon feeling of his own spiritual poverty, earnestly hungers and thirsts after Christ and . . . Continue reading →