There are truly important works that have simply been forgotten or unjustly ignored. One of those is William Ames’ Fresh Suit Against Human Ceremonies in defense of the Reformed theology and practice of worship. Another is William Perkins’ 1597 treatise, A Reformed . . . Continue reading →
Part 4. In part 4 we saw that William Perkins taught that believers are given new life by the Spirit and by the same Spirit given faith and through that faith united to Christ. It is particularly useful to be aware of . . . Continue reading →
The Background to the Current Discussion There is concern by some in the Reformed community that there is too much emphasis on grace, in the doctrine of sanctification, and not enough emphasis on obedience and even godly fear. The question has arisen how . . . Continue reading →
Part 3. William Perkins on Mystical Union: The benefits which we receive by this Mystical union are manifold. For it is the ground of the conveyance of all grace. The first is, that by means hereof every Christian as he is a . . . Continue reading →
Last time we saw that, according to William Perkins, semi-Pelagianism asserts that the will (or other faculties) are able to operate in salvation partly on the basis of nature, i.e., they are not entirely dependent upon grace. In contrast, the Reformed argue . . . Continue reading →
William Perkins (1558-1602), in his 1595 Exposition of the Apostles’ Creed, on the question of effectual call, wrote: Againe, if the Vocation of every man be effectual, then faith must be common to all men either by nature, or by grace, or . . . Continue reading →
Edited by and some translations by R. Scott Clark On Law and Gospel On the Covenant of Redemption (pactum salutis) On the Covenant of Works (foedus operum) On the Covenant of Grace (foedus gratiae) On Justification On Union with Christ On the . . . Continue reading →
Wes White continues his analysis of the Joint Federal Vision Statement from 2007 (content no longer available). The latest post is on their denial of the Protestant distinction between law and gospel. It is a good indicator of the prevailing theological, hermeneutical, . . . Continue reading →
The single most pressing question I hear is: “How can I know God’s will?” Prospective seminary students want to know whether they should attend seminary. Couples want to know whether they should get married. Ministers want to know whether to take a . . . Continue reading →
Kevin DeYoung, on of the authors of a terrific book on the emergent/emerging movements has a blog and he writes today about a conference just held at his congregation with Collin Hansen. He makes a couple of points to which I want . . . Continue reading →
Part 3. Prior to the modern period the predominant question in the West was, “What has God said?” There were different answers to this question. Rome pointed to the church as the source of revelation and the Protestants pointed to Scripture as . . . Continue reading →
Olevianus, Beza, Perkins, Twisse, The Marrow Men: Lutherans? You decide.
If you love Reformed theology (whether from Europe or from the UK) you will love this book. William Ames was probably the greatest student of William Perkins. If you identify with the Heidelberg Catechism, if you are looking for resources for understanding . . . Continue reading →
Lane at Green Baggins has been addressing this. Here’s part 1 and part 2 and part 3. The answer, of course, is no. Here are some resources: There is an entire chapter, chock full O’ quotations from classic Reformed theologians and footnoted references to . . . Continue reading →
One of the great academic questions surrounding British Reformed theology is the definition of “Puritan.” Some scholars have despaired of being able to define it and its use is highly problematic. It is so because it is so frequently used to describe . . . Continue reading →
Olevianus, Beza, Perkins, Twisse, The Marrow Men: Lutherans? You decide. Caspar Olevianus (1536-87). For this reason the distinction between law and Gospel is retained. The law does not promise freely, but under the condition that you keep it completely. And if someone . . . Continue reading →
In the first part of this essay I sketched three different approaches to preaching, offered an alternative, and then gave a provisional template for sermons. The principal goal of the essay is to encourage preachers to be faithful to the text, which . . . Continue reading →
These were the top five posts for the week of June 23–29. Continue reading →
Table Of Contents Articles Podcasts Sources Articles R. Scott Clark, “Reformed Christians and Lent First Things March 31, 2023 R. Scott Clark, “Relevance” Leads Back To Rome Carl Trueman, Ash Wednesday: Picking And Choosing Our Piety Brian Lee. Repent of Lent R. . . . Continue reading →
McGraw’s advice about how to learn Latin has some useful and interesting aspects, but he seems to endorse a sort of inductive approach and uses the words “very little effort” (37). He seems to discourage memorization. Continue reading →