…Wilson presents his [theonomic] position as something distinct from theonomists like Greg Bahnsen. However, as an OPC minister, Greg Bahnsen affirmed the Westminster Confession too. He too affirmed what the Westminster Confession says about “general equity.” He was a “Westminster theonomist.” What . . . Continue reading →
Search results for “federal vision”
Irony and the Presbyterian Church in America (Part 3): Strategic Planning And Corporate Culture Change
When the 35th GA convened at Memphis’ Cook Convention Center June 12–14, 2007, the PCA was changing from the inside out. Its expanded Overtures Committee met for the first time, and the CMC (Cooperative Ministries Committee) was begun. CofCs (Committee of Commissioners) . . . Continue reading →
Did The Reformation Corrupt The Gospel By Baptizing Babies?
That is just one of a series of claims made recently by my friend Mark Dever, who is a devout Baptist. Rather than reading my summary of Mark’s claims, you should watch this brief video clip for yourself, to which I will . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 9
Because it seems that advocates of the Dispensational Lordship doctrine suspect anyone who critiques them of latent antinomianism, let me say here that I agree entirely with MacArthur when he writes, “and any ‘salvation’ that does not alter a lifestyle of sin . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 8
In a controversy, the temptation is to become competitive and to try to defeat one’s opponent, rather than to seek the truth. Controversy is an opportunity for the mortification (putting to death) of sin and vivification (the making alive of the new . . . Continue reading →
When Is a Church Not a Church?
I was searching for something the other day and ran across chapter 18 of the Scots Confession (1560) which speaks to the “Notes” (from the Latin, nota or “mark” or “indicator”) of the True Kirk (church). Ordinarily, when I think of the . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 7
In chapter three, MacArthur turns to Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in John 3. Since I have been primarily critical of his methods and conclusions, let me begin with some areas of agreement. When he writes, “the central theme of the Old Testament . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 6
There are real, substantive differences between the way MacArthur writes in The Gospel According to Jesus and the way those of us in the confessional Reformation traditions speak about good works and salvation. This does not mean that MacArthur does not say . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 5
As we engage the book proper, it is useful to remember that GAJ is organized in five parts: 1) Today’s Gospel: Good News or Bad?; 2) Jesus Heralds His Gospel; 3) Jesus Illustrates His Gospel; 4) Jesus Explains His Gospel; 5) Jesus . . . Continue reading →
Heidelmedia Archive
Table of Contents HEIDELCAST Audio Interviews Cross Talk Conference Talks Lectures Sermons and Chapel Talks Video The Abraham Paradigm (video series) OFFICE HOURS Audio Interviews AGR | Reformed Christians Are Weird (Chris Gordon, Chad Vegas, Scott Clark) | Feb 18, 2025 AGR . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 4
In his introduction, MacArthur asks what is perhaps the central question in this debate: “What is the gospel?”36 He says that it is not merely an academic question (and all God’s people say, Amen!). He is exactly right when he writes, “And . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)
John MacArthur’s book The Gospel According to Jesus has been in print since 1988 and has gone through three editions. It has been widely and deeply influential in Dispensational circles and beyond. Some of its adherents use it as a measure of . . . Continue reading →
R. Scott Clark Archives
I teach church history and historical theology and I am a minister in the United Reformed Churches in North America. This website is a collection of essays, some of which have been published in print and some of which have been published . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 3
In his preface to the anniversary edition of GAJ (2008), MacArthur tells the story of how this volume came to be—emerging from a series of 226 sermons in the Gospel of Matthew, over the span of seven and one-half years.31 For what . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 2
Before we dive into the preface of GAJ, we should shore up two points from the first installment: 1) The Modernity of Dispensationalism; and 2) The fundamental nature of the distinction between law and gospel. Dispensationalism: A Modern Paradigm Dispensationalism is a Modern . . . Continue reading →
The Gospel According To John (MacArthur)—Part 1
The controversy over the so-called Lordship Salvation doctrine has its proximate roots in a series of sermons through the gospel of Matthew preached by John MacArthur from about 1978 to 1985.1 He published the first edition of The Gospel According to Jesus . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast: Is Confessional Reformed Theology Antinomian?
At the most recent Shepherds Conference held at Grace Community Church, GCC pastor/elder Phil Johnson responded, at some length, to some criticisms of The Gospel According to Jesus, which criticisms were published here in 2019. Continue reading →
Should You Attend An Ecumenical Service? (Part 2)
An old friend wrote recently to ask whether it is appropriate for a confessional Presbyterian and Reformed (P&R) pastor or congregation to participate in an ecumenical service. In Part One of this series, we discussed our terms. Now we continue the question: should . . . Continue reading →
Covenant Theology And Infant Baptism
As evangelical Christians continue to come into contact with historic Reformed writers and the Reformed confessions they often notice some significant discrepancies between what they have known and believed, what is being presented as “Reformed,” and what they are reading in older . . . Continue reading →
How Not To Train Pastors (Part 3)
I wrote this and “How Not To Train Pastors (Part 1)” and “How Not To Train Pastors (Part 2)” near the very beginning of the Heidelblog in 2007. This portion of the essay began as a response to a correspondent on the . . . Continue reading →