Now, by these words the Apostle shows that there are two parts in Christianity which correspond with the two tables of the Law. Therefore, he who separates the one from the other, has nothing but what is mutilated and mangled. And hence . . . Continue reading →
Justification
Is Faith a Work?
The question comes (paraphrasing): Since Scripture says, “believe,” (e.g. Acts 16:31) it seems that we are commanded to believe. If the command to believe is an imperative and an imperative is “law,” and if the answer to the command “believe” is faith, . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 27: With Lane Keister on the Imputation of Christ’s Active Obedience
HB reader Nick writes to ask about the imputation of Christ’s active obedience. Is it true that the Westminster divines, Twisse, Vines, and Gataker opposed the imputation of the active obedience of Christ and that the phrase, “the whole obedience of Christ” . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 28 With Lane Keister: Does The Federal Vision Theology Lead To Rome?
Thanks to the Wonderful Wizard of Web, who has been cleaning up the HB, we have found an orphaned episode of the Heidelcast from March, 2010. This was part 4 of a series with PCA pastor the Rev. Mr. Lane Keister, who . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 29: The Imputation of Christ’s Active Obedience (pt 2)
Lane Keister joins the Heidelcast again for part 2 of our discussion of the imputation of the active obedience of Christ. Did Jesus obey only to qualify himself to be a Savior, did he obey for only himself and suffer only for . . . Continue reading →
Digital Indulgences
The UK Guardian reported yesterday that Rome has reached a new low in reaching out to the Romanist equivalent of low-information voters. Low-sanctity penitents perhaps? Rome is now offering plenary indulgences to Romanists who follow Pope Francis’ tweets from Catholic Youth Day . . . Continue reading →
Beza On Rightly Dividing The Word
We divide this Word into two principal parts or kinds: the one is called the ‘Law,’ the other the ‘Gospel.’ For all the rest can be gathered under the one or other of these two headings…Ignorance of this distinction between Law and . . . Continue reading →
Three Ways of Relating to the One Covenant of Grace
At the PB the question was asked: We know that there are at least two categories of people within Scripture, the elect, and the non-elect. However, it might be apparent that there is a third class of people, those who have taken . . . Continue reading →
1 Clement On Justification
CHAPTER 31: THE MEANS BY WHICH OBTAIN DIVINE BLESSING Let us cleave then to His blessing, and consider what are the means of possessing it. Let us think over the things which have taken place from the beginning. For what reason was . . . Continue reading →
Machen: The Key Verse Of Galatians
“I do not make void the grace of God; for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died in vain” (Galatians 2:21) “I do not make void the grace of God,” says Paul in concluding the report of his speech to . . . Continue reading →
If You’re Waiting To Order Your Copy… (Updated)
If you’ve been thinking about ordering CJPM but have been waiting, the window of opportunity to get your copy is closing. The WSC Bookstore is out and they were told by P&R that the book is out of print. Amazon still has . . . Continue reading →
The Sum And The Whole Cause Of Romans
The sum and whole cause of the writing of this epistle is to prove that a man is justified by faith only; which proposition whoso denieth, to him is not only this epistle and all that Paul writeth, but also the whole . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: The Promise Of Grace Without Any Mention Of The Law
I do not want to pursue the individual testimonies that the stupid Sorbonnists of today have groundlessly torn from Scripture—whatever first came to hand—to fling at us. For some are so ridiculous that I could not mention them unless I wished to . . . Continue reading →
For Those Just Tuning In: What Is The Federal Vision?
In talk radio, the host is supposed to “reset” the show at regular intervals. He is to remind listeners of which show they are listening to and on what network or station. One reason why the host does this is that some . . . Continue reading →
ARP: The FV Is Unacceptable
The “New Perspective on Paul,” and the “Federal Vision,” are in conflict with the teaching of Scripture and as such they are unacceptable. The Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (2009) RESOURCES Subscribe To The Heidelblog! The Heidelblog Resource Page Heidelmedia . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: Resolutely Adhere To The Exclusive Particle
When you are engaged in discussing the question of justification, beware of allowing any mention to be made of love or of works, but resolutely adhere to the exclusive particle. John Calvin | Commentary on Galatians 5:6, (1548) RESOURCES Subscribe To The . . . Continue reading →
What Is True Faith? (3) The Romanist Condemnation Of True Faith
In part 2 we considered the nature of assent. There is a third aspect to the Reformed definition of faith: trust. This is the crux of the disagreement between Rome and the Reformation over nature of faith in the act of justification. . . . Continue reading →
Are God’s Demands Always Gracious? (Updated)
David Robertson is pastor in the Free Church of Scotland. He has a blog and recently he reviewed Tullian Tchividjian’s latest book, One Way Love. There has been some back and forth and most recently Robertson has written an Open Letter. In . . . Continue reading →
Resources On the Doctrine of Sanctification And The Third Use Of The Law
Apparently, there is only one way to speak about sanctification and it is no longer sufficient to uphold and teach the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Westminster Standards (Reformed confessions) on justification, sanctification, and the third use of the law. . . . Continue reading →
"Sola Fides" is not Sola Fide
I’m reading Rowan Williams on Arius. Early in the book he uses the expression “sola fides.” In context, he seems to be making an indirect reference to the Protestant doctrine of sola fide. I’ve seen this in other writers. When I first noticed . . . Continue reading →