faith

Heidelberg 65: Faith, Union With Christ, And The Means Of Grace (1)

by on May 5, 2015 | 1 Comment

65. Since then we are made partakers of Christ and all His benefits by faith only, whence comes this faith? The Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts by the preaching of the Holy Gospel, and confirms it by the use of the . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 92: Of Nice And Men (1)

by on May 24, 2015 | 2 Comments
Heidelcast

With this episode we begin a new series: Of Nice And Men. The argument, thesis, of the series is that niceness is one thing and Christian virtue is another. Niceness is a pervasive ethos among evangelicals. The dictionary defines ethos as the a spirit “characteristic . . . Continue reading →

Does The Westminster Confession Contradict Calvin On Assurance And Faith?

by on October 20, 2016 | 3 Comments

For much of the 20th century it was a datum, a given, for many students of Calvin and the Reformed tradition that many of the English Reformed (especially the Westminster Assembly) abandoned Calvin and the Reformation doctrine of the faith and assurance. . . . Continue reading →

Resources On Union With Christ

by on September 7, 2019 | 4 Comments

The doctrine of union with Christ is an essential part of the Reformed doctrine of the application of salvation to the elect by the Holy Spirit (ordo salutis). In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, Presbyterian Churches say: Q. 30. How doth the Spirit . . . Continue reading →

As It Was In The Days Of Noah (27): 2 Peter 1:3–11 (part 3)

by on January 13, 2020 | 1 Comment

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins (2 Pet 1:8–9; ESV). Continue reading →

Does The Analogy Hold Or How Does Science Work?

by on August 4, 2021 | 9 Comments

I am in the throes of trying to finish the third draft of the commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism (Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude), so I have not been listening to a lot of my podcasts. Mostly these days I hear myself say, . . . Continue reading →

Yes, A Pope Will Occasionally Speak About Justification By Grace And Faith

by R. Scott Clark on August 18, 2021 11 Comments

The Bishop of Rome apparently made noises about justification by grace through faith and some evangelicals are excited as if this marks a change in Roman doctrine or in the bishop’s thinking. It does not. Continue reading →

Repentance Comes From Faith

Believers Repent, Unbelievers Do Not

by on May 14, 2022 | 2 Comments

The Westminster Shorter Catechism has a helpful, biblically-based definition of repentance: Q. 87. What is repentance unto life? A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy . . . Continue reading →