This is the refrain from a poem by Ralph Erskine. He anticipated the NTJ by two hundred fifty years. Erskine (d. 1752) was one of those who upheld the gospel against the moralists of his day and he was one of the . . . Continue reading →
Christian liberty
Calvin On Lent
At that time the superstitious observance of Lent had prevailed everywhere, because the common people thought that in it they were doing some exceptional service to God, and the pastors commended it as a holy imitation of Christ. On the contrary, it . . . Continue reading →
On Good Intentions, Spiritual Disciplines, and Christian Freedom
Carter Lindberg tells the story of how the Reformation began to break out in Zürich in 1522: During Lent of 1522, Zwingli was at the house of Christoph Froschauer, a printer, who was laboring over the preparation of the a new edition . . . Continue reading →
Beza: No Judaistic Ceremony Or Stupid Superstition
We say that it is a superstition to esteem one day more holy than another. or to think that to abstain from labor is something which, in itself, pleases God (Rom 14:5, 6; Col 2:16, 17). But, following what the Lord has . . . Continue reading →
Freedom of the Christian Man (1)
There is a great lot of talk in the evangelical and Reformed world(s) about sola Scriptura but one has the growing sense that not only is the Reformation scripture principle not well understood (e.g., it is often misconstrued as an endorsement of . . . Continue reading →
Helm: Transformationalism Has Status Of A Private Opinion
In the dust raised by the current renewed appreciation of the Reformed doctrine of the two kingdoms, through the work of David Van Drunen and others, it is sometimes asked, in adopting the doctrine of the two kingdoms, what becomes of the . . . Continue reading →
Scripture Is Sufficient
Seeing that Christ Jesus is he whom God the Father hath commanded only to be heard and followed of his sheep, we judge it necessary, that his gospel be truly and openly preached in every church and assembly of this realm; and . . . Continue reading →
Of Worldviews And Christian Liberty
There is no question that there is a Christian worldview. There is a Christian way of interpreting reality, of ascribing meaning to creation. There is a Christian faith that forms the grid or the lenses through which Christians are to interpret God’s . . . Continue reading →
The Weight Of Particularity
Worldview theology strives for a universal triumphant ideal without the weight of particularity. As such it comes dangerously close to making the gospel ancillary to ideology. Christ and Christianity are not ideas competing in a marketplace of ideas. Christ does not contend . . . Continue reading →
Christian Liberty In Romans 14
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, . . . Continue reading →
Of King Cakes And Christian Liberty
Lost amid the ashes and sausages, King cakes and shrove pancakes — can’t forget about the pancakes — is Zwingli’s deeper concern about the nature of Christian sanctification. As a cradle Catholic who’s done the ashes, and a former evangelical whose fasted . . . Continue reading →
Of Coarse Jesting, Wisdom, And Christian Liberty
A faithful reader of the HB wrote to ask about to think about seeking God’s glory while hanging out with and having a good time with the guys. Here’s my expanded reply: How do we think about hanging out with the guys . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus On Circumstances And Worship
Thirdly, there are ecclesiastical or ceremonial ordinances, prescribed by men, which include the determinations of circumstances necessary or useful for the maintenance of the moral precepts of the first table; of which kind are the time, the place, the form and order . . . Continue reading →
Owen: We Are Endowed With Liberty By Christ And His Apostles
Thus far, then, is the liberty given by Christ unto his church preserved entire; and the request seems not immodest that is made for the continuance of it. When men cry to God for the liberty in his worship which was left . . . Continue reading →
Circumstances And Indifferent Until We Say No
THAT OUR OPPOSITES DO URGE THE CEREMONIES AS THINGS NECESSARY. This I prove, 1. from their practice. 2. from their pleading. In their practice, who sees not, that they would tie the people of God to a necessity of submitting their necks . . . Continue reading →
Of Christian Plumbers, Unions, Meat Offered To Idols, And Tent-Making
Darryl Hart raises an interesting question about the adjectival use of “Christian” as applied to pursuits shared by Christians and non-Christians. This has been one of the most persistent and widespread questions facing believing Christians for the last century: how do Christians relate to . . . Continue reading →
Manton: Lent Is Just Another Phony Tradition
That they [Romanists] cry up a private, unproved, unwritten tradition of their own, as of equal authority with this safe and full rule, which is contained in this written Word of God. Their crime and fault may be considered, partly with respect . . . Continue reading →
Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples On Lent
“There are men nowadays who teach a foolish godliness instead of Christ’s doctrine. What does it profit me to fast new Lents or to pay my tithes? Why trust myself to formulas of prayer of unknown authors and leave aside the prescriptions . . . Continue reading →
The Reformed Reject Lent In Basle In 1534
Article XI Concerning Things Commanded and Not Commanded Of self law (Autonomia) or power in the conscience, Relinquished to Christ alone in the church We confess that no one ought to command in any manner that which Christ has not commanded; also, . . . Continue reading →
The Reformed Defense Of Christian Liberty In 1530
When, therefore, we saw very evidently that the chief men in the Church beyond the authority of Scripture assumed this authority so to enjoin fasts as to bind men’s consciences, we allowed consciences to be freed from these snares, but by the . . . Continue reading →