As a follow-up to the post on legal preaching Chris Gordon and I sat down in the Abounding Grace Radio studio to talk through the issue of the attraction of legal preaching. Once again, neither the post nor the episode is a . . . Continue reading →
It’s not unusual for evangelicals, which movements have been heavily influenced by Anabaptist theology, piety, and practice since the early 19th century. In that case we would not expect them to be aware of the categories “covenant of works” and “covenant of . . . Continue reading →
When it comes to Mary’s Magnificat, I find that I cannot take away the messages often proffered. Both the mode and content of her revelation will never be afforded me in any sense whatsoever. God will never speak directly to me, and . . . Continue reading →
Yes and yes. No, it’s not in the Scofield Reference or Ryrie Study Bibles. It seems that some of our dispensational friends have yet to read the memo. See this example sent to me a by a friend. This writer, whom I do . . . Continue reading →
What are the principal parts of God’s Word? The law and the gospel. What do you call the law? It is that part of the word that commands all good and forbids all evil. What if we could keep the law? Then . . . Continue reading →
Virtue Sense Scope Literal Cognition Fides Allegoricus Credenda Spes Anagogicus Speranda Caritas Tropologicus Agenda Canticus Exegetae (Song of the Exegete)* Litera gesta docet, (The letter teaches of deeds) quid credas allegoria; (allegory of what is believed) moralis quid agas; (morality of what is . . . Continue reading →
In part 2 we considered the biblical and confessional Reformed teaching that the triune God is actively present, sustaining and governing all that is. In our account of the doctrine of providence we use an interesting little expression that is freighted with . . . Continue reading →
When Martin Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms (1521), on the day after he asked for time to think, his examiner asked whether all the books stacked on the table were his. Luther began to answer by distinguishing between the various . . . Continue reading →
For the letter (i.e. the law) killeth, but the spirit (i.e. the gospel) giveth life. This is the reason why God hath made Paul the minister of the spirit. ‘God had made us able ministers not of the law but of the . . . Continue reading →
The hit TV show Seinfeld has been called a show about nothing. One of the most pernicious falsehoods about the Bible is that it, too, is a book about nothing, that it is a random collection of ancient myths and moral aphorisms. . . . Continue reading →
67. Are both the Word and the Sacraments designed to direct our faith to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross as the only ground of our salvation? Yes truly, for the Holy Spirit teaches in the Gospel and assures us by . . . Continue reading →
74. Are infants also to be baptized? Yes, for since they belong to the covenant and people of God as well as their parents, and since redemption from sin through the blood of Christ, and the Holy Spirit who works faith, are . . . Continue reading →
For some bible readers the Scriptures seem to be bits of unrelated material. For those who memorize Scripture from flash cards, a good thing to be sure, Scripture can seem disconnected. Others read Scripture as if it were entirely united around God’s . . . Continue reading →
What is the central unifying narrative thread in the history of redemption? For many American evangelicals the default answer to this question is: national Israel. For them it is a mark of faithfulness to Scripture to assume that the central, unifying thread . . . Continue reading →
Are Symbols Arbitrary? Recently there has been considerable controversy generated in a university classroom where the prof required students to create a sign with the word “Jesus” on it and then to step on the same. One student, a Mormon, refused and was . . . Continue reading →
In article 10 he defined the literal sense just as most traditional evangelical and Reformed interpreters would: the sense intended by the author. This is an important correction to the late-modern subjectivist move to elevate the reader and his subjective experience of the text over authorial intent. Thomas represents a broad classical and Christian consensus about how to regard authors and texts. Augustine had argued that reading a text according to the author’s intent was an act of charity, a way to love one’s neighbor as one’s self. Continue reading →
Introduction In 25 years of ministry one of the most profound changes I’ve seen is the growing inability and/or unwillingness of Americans to read texts according to the intent of the author. One of the major reasons for this change was the . . . Continue reading →
One of the most frequent topics and questions for discussion on the Heidelblog has been this: Who should be baptized and why? To anticipate an objection: some will say that the Heidelcast should not be addressing this subject because it causes needless . . . Continue reading →
The basic question at stake is, “What makes a doctrine biblical?” That question is of course important to Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants alike, but it is particularly important for us Protestants, affirming as we do sola scriptura. What I would like to . . . Continue reading →
This is episode 6 of our series: I will be a God to You and to Your Children. Last time we began looking at how types and shadows help us sort out what, in the history of redemption, is temporary and what . . . Continue reading →