Does the FV Really Accept the Existence of NECMs?

Over at Green Bagginses, Reed raises the question of the status of NECMs (non-elect covenant members) and how the Federal Vision (FV) views them. There’s much good there, particularly in the quotations from Turretin on temporary faith and the like. That distinction, . . . Continue reading →

Abraham, Moses, and Baptism

I’m in the midst of an interesting discussion of baptism with a friend, who has Baptist convictions but who understands Reformed theology better than many Reformed folks. He is quite sympathetic to historic and confessional Reformed theology. For example, he affirms that . . . Continue reading →

Do Presbyterians Confess That Refusing to Baptize Infants is Sin?

That’s the question I received in my inbox yesterday. The writer asks, …Whereas I know that a consistent Baptist (e.g. Mark Dever) would consider a Christian refusing to be baptized subsequent to conversion as sinning and subject to church discipline, is that . . . Continue reading →

Does Baptism "Save"?

Merrit asks this question: “Two friends and I have been talking about this verse (1 Peter 3:21) and passage for quite some time today. The more we seem to talk about it the more confused I seem to get about it.

Baptism and Circumcision According to Colossians 2:11–12

What follows is taken from a larger essay, “A Contemporary Reformed Defense of Infant Baptism:” What is the Connection Between Circumcision and Baptism? The connection between baptism and circumcision is quite clear in Colossians 2:11–12. The connection is not direct, but indirect . . . Continue reading →

Of Catholicity and Confusion

One of the most confusing aspects of Protestant-Romanist dialogue is trying to determine “who speaks for Rome?” and trying to answer the question, “What does Rome believe?” One reason it can be difficult to answer these questions  is that Rome likes it . . . Continue reading →

What To Do With the Joy That Wells Up Within?

Responding to the Gospel with God's Word

Aimee Byrd at Housewife Theologian asks a great question about what to do with ourselves after a baptism. How do you celebrate this moment? Let me ask you readers, do you clap in your church after a baptism? Our church congregation doesn’t. . . . Continue reading →