When error is admitted into the Church, it will be found that the stages of its progress are always three. It begins by asking toleration. Its friends say to the majority: You need not be afraid of us; we are few, and . . . Continue reading →
The New Covenant In My Blood (Luke 22:20) (Part 6)
We ask now what it means to the world? But if the church of Jesus Christ is to remember Him in His finished work of Prophet, Priest, and King, for her, she must do so before the eyes of the whole world. . . . Continue reading →
The Selective Memory Of Apocalyptic Chatter
As I have recounted on other occasions, I grew up with my younger brother and our mother and grandmother in Pomona, California, attending mostly Baptist churches where it wasn’t unusual to hear conversations after the service about the founding of the State . . . Continue reading →
Faith, Love, and Piper: Distinguishing Reformed Categories
What’s love got to do with it? According to John Piper’s recent book What is Saving Faith?, affectional elements, including one’s love, satisfaction in and treasuring of God, are included in the definition of justifying faith itself—though, this may not come as a . . . Continue reading →
Witsius On Aspects Of True Faith
A True faith in God through Jesus Christ is the principal act of that spiritual life, which is begun in the elect by regeneration, as well as the fountain head, from whence, all those living works which follow after regeneration, proceed: the . . . Continue reading →
The New Covenant In My Blood (Luke 22:20) (Part 5)
And because He suffered for us and not for Himself, He could remain forsaken of God. Thus He was not hopeless, because of an endless death, when He cried, “It is finished.” It was finished. He was again accepted of the Father. . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast For June 19, 2022: What Happens When Christians Try To Be “Relevant” And Why The Focus On The Confessions?
Despite our fondest wish to get back to the series on the Canons of Dort, the Science tells us that it is time for only our second ever best of episode. In this episode we feature some audio from January 2010, where . . . Continue reading →
Christian, Get Involved
One of the more pernicious misrepresentations of the distinction between the eternal and temporal spheres of Christ’s kingdom, which Calvin called the “twofold kingdom” (Institutes, 3.19.15), is that it counsels or leads Christians to withdraw from society (e.g., politics). Nothing could be . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: Repentance Is A Fruit Of Faith
Even though we have taught in part how faith possesses Christ, and how through it we enjoy his benefits, this would still remain obscure if we did not add an explanation of the effects we feel. With good reason, the sum of . . . Continue reading →
The Fundamental Significance Of The Lord’s Supper (pt 3)
Further than is obviously implied in this, it seems also a necessary for us just now to inquire into the precise meaning of a sacrificial feast. Its general law is laid down by the apostle Paul in the tenth chapter of First . . . Continue reading →
The Pride Flag And A Divided Movement
For a flag to be a powerful, sacred symbol of unity and purpose, it has to symbolize a real common sense of unity—a unified moral vision around which individuals can rally as part of a larger imagined community. That the Pride flag . . . Continue reading →
Get Your Spring, 2022 NTJ Here
In order to help make the latest issue of the NTJ more easily available, the editor has allowed us to host it. Nicotine Theological Journal 16.2 (Spring, 2022) Resources How To Subscribe To Heidelmedia The Heidelblog Resource Page Heidelmedia Resources The Ecumenical . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel And “This Insidious Revolution”
The moral revolution has overwhelmed western civilization, and is especially manifested in the LGBTQ+ and critical social justice movements.10 Intersectionality is the new reigning religion in the West, and her prophets, priests, and rulers are seated on the highest thrones of earthly . . . Continue reading →
Thomas and Rome on Predestination
To many Romanists, Thomas Aquinas stands out as the epitome of their tradition. His thinking was the basis for Trent, Vatican I and II. His teaching is extolled as the loftiest and most important Roman “Catholic” theology. In contrast, the average evangelical . . . Continue reading →
New In Print: NTJ 16.2 For Spring, 2022
The Spring 2022 issue of the Nicotine Theological Journal is now available. This issue features essays by D. G. Hart, “The PCA In A Negative World” Brad Isbell, “What’s In A Denominational Name” R. Scott Clark, “Old Side Presbyterians and The Ordinary . . . Continue reading →
The Fundamental Significance Of The Lord’s Supper (pt 2)
The reason why Christ made a change to the symbols representative of his sacrificed self is obvious enough. He to whom all the Paschal lambs from the beginning had been pointing, was about to be offered up. The old things were passing . . . Continue reading →
“Who Are You Calling Dull?”: The Aesthetic Prowess of Protestant Reformers
The earlier Protestant tradition that produced a Milton, Bach, or Rembrandt, and later a C. S. Lewis or Makoto Fujimura was neither anti-intellectual nor aesthetically dull. Luther, a Renaissance-trained polymath, was the first individual since Jerome to translate the entire Bible into . . . Continue reading →
PCA SJC Takes Jurisdiction In Herron Case
The Presbyterian Church in America’s (PCA) highest ecclesiastical court is taking over a case allegedly mishandled by an Indiana presbytery, a letter from the presbytery shows. The case surrounds a former Indiana pastor accused of sexually harassing multiple women. The move comes . . . Continue reading →
The Fatal Mistake Of A Reasonless Christianity
It is worse than useless for Christians to talk about the importance of Christian morality, unless they are prepared to take their stand upon the fundamentals of Christian theology. It is a lie to say that dogma does not matter; it matters . . . Continue reading →
Review: Coleman and Rester, Eds., Faith in the Time of Plague
The past two-and-a-half years of COVID-19 fears, restrictions, and dissensions have led to strenuous circumstances for many professions and vocations. The callings of pastors and ministers have been no exception. It has been especially difficult for sessions, consistories, diaconates, and congregations in . . . Continue reading →