Hermeneutics Matter: Law And Gospel In Luke 18:18–30

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do . . . Continue reading →

Repentance Comes From Faith

Believers Repent, Unbelievers Do Not

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 →

What A Confessional Presbyterian Learned from Luther

“What is a nice OPC minister like you doing constantly quoting Martin Luther on Twitter?” is the familiar refrain after people take a gander at my feed. Normally, I admit when I am guilty as charged, but there is no great guilt . . . Continue reading →

My Pilgrimage From “Lordship” to Law/Gospel (part 1)

Though the Lordship Salvation doctrine (hereafter LS)  has many distinguishing characteristics, the one I want to address is its view of the gospel and the unbeliever’s response to it. What Is The “Lordship Salvation” Doctrine? In brief, LS regularly teaches that unbelievers . . . Continue reading →

Faith, Love, and Piper: Distinguishing Reformed Categories

What’s love got to do with it? According to John Piper’s recent book What is Saving Faith?, affectional elements, including one’s love, satisfaction in and treasuring of God, are included in the definition of justifying faith itself—though, this may not come as a . . . Continue reading →

Law, Gospel, Abortion, And Adoption

The morning of June 25, 2022 was a morning unlike any I had ever experienced. On that morning, like everyone reading this article, I awoke to a post-Roe v. Wade-America. Born the same year as the original Roe decision, I had never . . . Continue reading →

Beza On Law And Gospel

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 →

Letter To The Editor Regarding “A Radical Narrowing Of The Gospel”

Editor’s Note: The following is a letter to the editor in response to an article by the Rev. Mr. Doug Barnes, “A Radical Narrowing of the Gospel,” in The Outlook vol. 72, issue 5 (Sept/Oct, 2022). § Dear Sir, I just read . . . Continue reading →

The Distinction Between Law And Gospel Emerged From Augustine’s Struggle With Pelagius

When many Christians think about the Reformation, they do not think about the distinction between law and gospel. Indeed, it is a truism for not a few modern Reformed folk that the distinction between law and gospel is solely a Lutheran conviction. . . . Continue reading →

Video: Luther Under The Gospel

Video courtesy Lynden United Reformed Church (Lynden, WA) where Bob Godfrey and I spoke for their Reformation Conference: Luther Nailed It. Note: This was originally published on the Heidelblog in 2017.  RESOURCES Subscribe To The Heidelblog! The Heidelblog Resource Page Heidelmedia Resources . . . Continue reading →