The word “Gospel” is so familiar and frequently used that it is possible to lose sight of its genuine meaning, “good news.”
Search results for “Heidelcast antinomianism”
With The RenewalCast On Distinguishing Law And Gospel
With the RenewalCast On A Reformation Basic: Distinguishing Law and Gospel Continue reading →
Marrowmen: Our Good Works Are Not Instrumental Or Causal In Our Justification Or Salvation
“If a sinner, being justified, has all things at once that are necessary for salvation? And if personal holiness, and progress in holy obedience, is not necessary to a justified persons’s possession of glory, in case of his continuing in life after . . . Continue reading →
An Appreciation Of J. I. Packer And A Dissent
On 17 July, 2020 J. I. Packer (b. 1926) went to be with our Lord. Like Carl Trueman I am thankful for Packer. As a young evangelical, Packer and John R. W. Stott saved me from the mindless evangelicalism toward which I . . . Continue reading →
Boston: Sanctification Through Faith Alone Is A Gospel Mystery
The gospel method of sanctification, as well as of justification, lies so far out of the ken of natural reason, that if all the rationalists in the world, philosophers and divines, had consulted together…” Thomas Boston, Preface to The Marrow of Modern . . . Continue reading →
The Most Heavenly Thought Of The Most Heavenly Man Does Not Deserve Heaven
The most holy and heavenly man that ever breathed, durst not adventure the salvation of his soul upon the most heavenly thought that ever he conceived. Our impressions of this will help to keep your hearts right in point of righteousness; so . . . Continue reading →
Resources On Dispensationalism
Dispensationalism describes a way of reading the Bible and a system of theology the nearest roots of which are in the 19th century. There have been premillennial (traditionally known as “chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . . . Continue reading →
Resources On The Twofold Kingdom
TABLE OF CONTENTS Sources Books Essays, Quotations, and Reviews Sources The Language Of A “Twofold Kingdom” Has Deep Roots In Reformed Orthodoxy “Two Kingdoms” circa 115-50? Chrysostom On Two Kingdoms Christendom Was A Renewal Of The Old Testament Theocracy What The Reformed . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To Jesus, Grace, Salvation, And Sanctification
Since the 1970s and 80s the Dispensational-evangelical world has been involved in a running controversy over “the Lordship of Christ.” On one side are those Dispensationalists allied with Lewis Sperry Chafer, Charlies Ryrie, and Zane Hodges, who assert that so long as . . . Continue reading →
Resources On The Controversy Over “Final Salvation Through Works”
For the last several years several writers identified with the broader Reformed movement have proposed that Christians are saved initially by grace alone, through faith alone but finally through faith and works. There are two claims here: 1) salvation is in two . . . Continue reading →
Heidelblog Resources
Media Resources (Podcasts, Interviews, and Videos) Heidelmedia Heidelcast How To Find Things On The Heidelblog Using the HB Effectively Top Ten HB Posts Through The Years Heidelblog Contributors What Do Christians Believe and Why? The Ancient Ecumenical Creeds The Reformed Confessions What . . . Continue reading →
Sanctification Is A Work Of God’s Grace: Resources On Sanctification
It is held by some who think of themselves as evangelical and Reformed that justification is by grace alone (sola gratia) but sanctification is by grace and works, i.e., that it is synergistic. To my great shame, I remember once answering a . . . Continue reading →
On The Necessity And Efficacy Of Good Works In Salvation
Introduction There is no question among orthodox, i.e., confessional, Reformed folk whether good works are necessary as a consequence, evidence, and a fruit of justification and sanctification by grace alone, through faith alone. There is no question whether God’s moral law, whether summarized in . . . Continue reading →
Resources On Conditions In The Covenant Of Grace (Updated)
Some thoughts relative to the current discussion about the nature of conditions in the covenant of grace: First, we cannot get this right unless we distinguish between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. Part of the problem in this . . . Continue reading →
Heidelberg 56: In The Church: The Forgiveness Of Sins
There are few things more difficult than forgiving when one has been wronged. First, when a wrong has been done, quite apart from its effect for us (and its affect in us), justice itself has been violated. Second, to be wronged is . . . Continue reading →
When The Good News Becomes Bad
The word “Gospel” is so familiar and frequently used that it is possible to lose sight of its genuine meaning, “good news.” This question is vital as we face a series of movements within our churches which seek to redefine the meaning . . . Continue reading →
The Year That Was On The HB
Thanks for reading the Heidelblog this year. You were one of more than 200,000 people who visited the HB in 2014, where there were 690,000 downloads (hits). Most readers come to the HB from Twitter. Readers also found the HB via various Facebook . . . Continue reading →
Witsius And Turretin On The Necessity And Efficacy Of Good Works In Salvation
Introduction There is no question among orthodox, i.e., confessional, Reformed folk whether good works are necessary as a consequence, evidence, and a fruit of justification and sanctification by grace alone, through faith alone. There is no question whether God’s moral law, whether summarized in . . . Continue reading →
You Might Be An Antinomian (Or Maybe Not)
Intermittently over the last 30 years we’ve been discussing justification. It began when Norman Shepherd, who taught at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, proposed in class that sinners are justified through faith and works. He used that language. He used it in a . . . Continue reading →
ReformedCast: On The Distinction Between The Law And The Gospel
Thanks to Scott Oakland for inviting me to do episode 145 of the ReformedCast. We talked about the distinction between law and gospel. Scott asked good questions and we were able to cover a lot of what is currently being discussed now: . . . Continue reading →