What Hath Beer To Do With Calvin? Christian Liberty Is Not License

Abounding grace to sinners (Rom 5:20), i.e., God’s free favor to the undeserving, leads to Christian freedom but not to licentiousness (living without norms). Liberty is not libertinism. This doctrine is at the heart of the Reformed doctrine of the Christian life. . . . Continue reading →

Why You Should Not Let Hollywood Catechize Your Children

Had you told me that as a grown man with two adult children that I would, for any reason, write the words My Little Pony (MLP) in an article (or anywhere) I would have advised you to seek psychiatric care. Nevertheless, here we . . . Continue reading →

Romans Series: The Power of God For Salvation (27)

Romans is one of the greatest resources available to the Christian faith and life. Written in the mid-to late AD 50s to the congregation in Rome, Paul sent this pastoral letter to make clear the gospel, that salvation is from the Lord, . . . Continue reading →

Resources On Defining Reformed

Recovering the Reformed Confession

In 2009 Time Magazine hailed the rise of “The New Calvinism” among the 10 ideas that are changing the world. Behind that article was the publication of Collin Hansen’s Young, Restless, and Reformed (2008) and the formation of The Gospel Coalition (2005), . . . Continue reading →

Straight Out Of Münster

I think I first read about “web logs” about 1995, when I was teaching at Wheaton College. Then they were the domain of people writing about what they had for breakfast. They were daily, public journals where people recorded online their most . . . Continue reading →

Canons of Dort (32): Our Sovereign God Uses Means To Encourage Us

For perhaps 20 years we have been in the midst of a movement which Collin Hansen (2008) described as Young, Restless, and Reformed. Others have spoken of the “New Calvinists” (see the resources below). The one doctrine that animates these movements is the sovereignty of God. For many American evangelicals it is a given that God has his opinion and we have ours. Continue reading →

Os Cânones De Dort (2): A Crise Intensifica

Como os seguidores de Armínio foram (principalmente) eclesiasticamente separados das igrejas reformadas durante séculos, é fácil perder de vista o fato de que a crise arminiana ocorreu originalmente dentro das portas da igreja reformada. Apesar das graves reservas sobre sua teologia e ensino expressas por Plancius e outros ministros em seu Classis (presbitério), e por seus colegas Gomarus e Trelcatius Jr., Armínio foi e permaneceu como ministro em boa posição na igreja reformada (Hervormde Kerk) na Holanda. Continue reading →

On The Canons Of Dort (31): Doubts, Carelessness, and Godliness

The Remonstrants (Arminians) charged the orthodox Reformed, i.e., those who confessed the Belgic Confession (1561) and the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) sincerely (without crossed fingers) with being unconcerned about sanctification. The Remonstrants were convinced that the Reformed faith did not produce sufficient godliness. . . . Continue reading →

OS CÂNONES DE DORT (1): INTRODUÇíO E CONTEXTO

Poucos dos nossos documentos confessionais reformados são tão valiosos, porém ainda tão negligenciados quanto os Cânones de Dort. Hoje, a maioria das pessoas que os conhece pensa neles como os chamados “Cinco Pontos do Calvinismo” ou TULIP: Depravação Total, Eleição Incondicional, Expiação Limitada, Graça Irresistível e Perseverança dos Santos. Continue reading →

Does Romans 8:9–11 Require Believer’s Baptism?

A reader writes with a question about biblical interpretation and baptism: I was going through Colossians 2 when I read the footnote from the Reformation Study Bible… which sent me to page 41 for a more in-depth explanation. Infant baptism seems to make . . . Continue reading →