When Christians receive the Lord’s Supper or when people are baptized, what happens? Is it the case that, as Rome claims, at consecration, the elements of bread and wine are transformed (transubstantiated) so that they are no longer, in substance, bread and . . . Continue reading →
There are myriad temptations in ministry. One persistent temptation is to stop ministering and start mastering. There are many reasons mastering is tempting. All congregations are non-profit organizations. Most are under-funded and understaffed or staffed with volunteers. Often the pastor is the . . . Continue reading →
Q. 109. What sins are forbidden in the second commandment? A. The sins forbidden in the second commandment are, all devising, counseling, commanding, using, and any wise approving, any religious worship not instituted by God himself; the making any representation of God, . . . Continue reading →
96. What does God require in the second Commandment? That we in no wise make any image of God, nor worship Him in any other way than He has commanded us in His Word. 97. May we not make any image at . . . Continue reading →
Few figures in the history of Christianity are as notorious as Judas Iscariot but for all his infamy, we know remarkably little about him. Nevertheless, he plays a major role in the gospel narratives and in Acts chapter 1. He was certainly . . . Continue reading →
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It seems proper, in the mean time, to remark that, amongst the various acts of faith which we are about to describe, there is one which holds the principal place, and in which, as it unites us to Christ and justifies us, . . . Continue reading →
Thomas Aquinas (c.1224–74) was one of the most important Christian teachers in the period and though he was eclipsed in the centuries after, his work returned to prominence in the 16th–19th centuries particularly among Roman theologians, for whom Thomas became the theologian . . . Continue reading →
2017 is a “Reformation Year.” It is the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Theses and an opportunity to remember the Reformation basics. One of those is the distinction between law and gospel. One of the five most basic distinctions Luther recovered for . . . Continue reading →
The other day a sports-talk show host, whom I enjoy, said, “Me and him talked about it.” I was taken aback. As I understand it, this fellow is the child of a school teacher who would surely not permit him to speak . . . Continue reading →
Where there is the beating of drums, the noise and clatter of pipe and lute, the clanging of cymbals, can any of fear God be found? Jerome, The Perpetual Virginity of the Blessed Virgin, §22.
But I see four men free, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like the Son of God. Daniel 3:25
Passion City, an evangelical congregation in Atlanta founded in 2009 by Louie Giglio (whom the reader may remember from the inauguration controversy), announced this week that the congregation will be taking a Sabbath from the Sabbath this Lord’s Day and the next. . . . Continue reading →
For God had promised Christ, not to one person or to another, but to the whole seed of Abraham. If the Jews were deprived, for the most part, of the joy that was offered to them, it arose from their unbelief; just . . . Continue reading →
The traditional definition of racism, the definition that I learned as a boy and that was generally accepted until recently is this: racism (rāˌsizəm) noun. prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s . . . Continue reading →
The Good news is the message that Jesus Christ is God the Son incarnate, who obeyed in the place of his people, suffered for them, was crucified, dead, and buried for them, was raised for their justification, and is coming again. We . . . Continue reading →
Christianity they will tell us is a life and not a doctrine. Now that seems to be a devout and pious utterance, but it is radically false all the same, and to see that it is false you do not need even . . . Continue reading →
One of the several reasons that it is difficult to have a reasoned discussion about the events that transpired in Charlottesville is that the groups like neo-Nazis and the Klan provide such an almost irresistible opportunity for self-righteousness. The history of these . . . Continue reading →
The twentieth (and now twenty-first) century had a devastating effect on the regions of Appalachia in the East, the farms of the Midwest, and the fishing and forestry areas along the coastlines. Mechanization and industrialization have motivated a rural exodus, leaving depleted . . . Continue reading →
In its 36-year history, Westminster Seminary California has had three presidents: Bob Strimple, Bob den Dulk, and Bob Godfrey. This month WSC welcomes its fourth president, the Rev. Mr. Joel E. Kim, ThM. He has taught at WSC since 2005. He is . . . Continue reading →