Dave forwards to the HB a comment from a friend, who shall remain anonymous: I have a personal relationship with Christ but my Christ is not an ass and He wants everyone to do what makes them happy including gays being allowed . . . Continue reading →
CJPM Now Available as an E-Book
The Nine FV Points Rejected By The PCA General Assembly 2007
1. Rejects the bi-covenantal structure of Scripture as represented in the Westminster standards (i.e., views which do not merely take issue with the terminology, but the essence of the first/second covenant framework) An individual is “elect” by virtue of his membership . . . Continue reading →
The Federal Vision Confession On Baptismal Union With Christ And Apostasy
We affirm that apostasy is a terrifying reality for many baptized Christians. All who are baptized into the triune Name are united with Christ in His covenantal life, and so those who fall from that position of grace are indeed falling from . . . Continue reading →
The Moralists Will Be Back
An HB Classic
It is an historical fact that moralism (the confusion of justification with sanctification) never dies, it just goes dormant periodically. The Reformation defeated 1000 years of moralism only to see forms of it re-emerge in the Protestant churches even before Luther died. . . . Continue reading →
The Leithart Verdict Is In: The News is Not Good for Orthodoxy
Peter Leithart is a teaching elder (TE) in the Presbyterian Church in America. Until recently he was a minister, laboring outside the bounds of his presbytery, in a Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC) congregation in Moscow, ID. The CREC is the . . . Continue reading →
Mosheim On Romanist Missions In The Early 17th Century
4. From these colleges and societies issues those swarms of missionaries who travelled over the whole world so far as it is yet discovered, and from among the most ferocious nations gathered congregations which were, if not in reality, yet in name . . . Continue reading →
A Day in the Life of the Rev Mr Joe Presbyterian
An HB Classic
The question came up on the PB whether pastors are overworked. Most people work hard but not everyone works in the same way the pastor does. Some compared the pastor’s work to physical labor. That’s a poor comparison. The labor of the . . . Continue reading →
Advice Regarding Your MA (Historical Theology) Thesis
[Written originally June, 2011] Students frequently ask the same questions when beginning their MA (Historical Theology) thesis. They are not certain where to begin. The prospect of a 30,000 word project itself seems daunting and then there is the problem of choosing . . . Continue reading →
How Christians Are And Aren’t Distinguished From The Rest Of Humanity
For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of humanity by country, language, or custom. 2 For nowhere do they live in cities of their own, nor do they speak some unusual dialect, nor do they practice an eccentric way of life…4For . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours: Hywel Jones on Hebrews 8
The Christians to which the book of Hebrews was written were struggling with the temptation to leave that which is unseen for that which is seen, to go backwards in the history of redemption to those things that are described as “shadows” . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 15: Belgic Confession 36 on the Civil Magistrate and the Advance of the Gospel
An HB Classic
What is the role of the civil magistrate in advancing the ministry of the church? The HC had mail from Jason about Belgic Confession Art 36 on the civil magistrate. At first reading it seems to teach that the magistrate needs to . . . Continue reading →
He is Not Here, For He Has Risen as He Said
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 14: Reforming Worship and the Basis for Marriage
The Heidelcast answers mail from Sam about how to pursue the reformation of worship in a congregation and about how much doctrinal agreement is necessary for a marriage.
Of Musical Instruments, Worship, Choirs, Levites, And Blood
The use of instruments in worship was admittedly part of the Temple service. It had no place in the Tabernacle before David’s day, beyond the use of two silver trumpets made by Moses, in the hands of the priests. There is not . . . Continue reading →
Saturday and the Silence of the Lamb
During this season, which many Christians call “Holy Week,” I am perversely drawn to Saturday. Perhaps it is because the Saturday between “Good” Friday and Resurrection Day is, for others a sort of relief. For them it is a day off from the . . . Continue reading →
Luther On Papacy, Priesthood, And The Crucifixion
We should learn here that no one should place his trust in men, even if he is in an estate ordained by God. But if we are not to believe nor put our trust in Annas and Caiaphas, how are we to . . . Continue reading →
Online Classes: Just Because They’re Hip and Convenient Doesn’t Mean They Educate
One of the primary purposes for the HB is to but there are limits to what can be done online. The limits of online education/distance ed is has been a frequent topic here and here on the HB. The maxim is this: . . . Continue reading →
Machen’s Testimony before the House and Senate Committees on the Proposed Department of Education (1926)
The following is a transcript of the proceedings of the Senate Committee on Education and Labor, and the House Committee on Education, February 25, 1926, Congress of the United States, Washington D.C. — The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 o’clock . . . Continue reading →
Available Now: A Faith Worth Teaching
New Resource on the Heidelberg Catechism
This is the 450th Anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563). The HB, of course, is devoted to explaining and applying the catechism and to pointing you to worthy resources to that end. This is one of them. Here’s my jacket blurb: As a . . . Continue reading →