Some HB readers have been discussing the question of fencing the Lord’s Table. Fencing is a figurative way of speaking. There aren’t literal fences in Reformed Churches. It’s a way to describe the Reformed attempt to apply Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians . . . Continue reading →
In part 8 we saw that the source of true faith is the sovereign, powerful, re-creating work of the Holy Spirit. Ordinarily, however, he works through what the classic Reformed writers, including Calvin, and the Reformed churches call “the means of grace” . . . Continue reading →
A problem exists in the modern church, plagued by modernity, in her inability to see the coinherence of the word and Spirit. Pietism seeks a separation of the two, but Romanism prioritizes the office over the Spirit. If the institution and office . . . Continue reading →
It is easy to imagine that sanctification is the result of an immediate action by God upon the soul. By “immediate” I mean that the Spirit is thought to act without using means. In the history of the church more than a . . . Continue reading →
If Christians have often been tempted to mysticism (the quest to meet God without instruments, media, or means) they have also been tempted to magic, tempted to turn the sacraments into things they are not. The medieval Western church taught and the . . . Continue reading →
Here is the second talk from the Gospel-Driven Life conference in Ponte Vedra, FL in January, 2007 (I think). The audio has been lost for a few years. Thanks to Brad Lindvall for curating the audio and for making it available. This . . . Continue reading →
I try not to burden you too much with pieces about Caspar Olevianus (1536–87) but I’m to give a paper later this morning at the Evangelical Theological Society meeting in San Diego. It’s been a few years since I wrote anything on . . . Continue reading →
Here is the recording of yesterday’s paper delivered to the Reformation Studies section at ETS. There are a few glitches in the audio: Below is the handout for the talk. OUTLINE Introduction: Olevianus the Churchman Olevianus as contributor to the catechism As . . . Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
Neither Holy Baptism nor the Holy Supper create the realities they signify and seal but they are gospel sacraments. They are promises of good news to believers. Faith receives what they promise. Faith knows, assents, and trusts and receives all that they promise. The sacraments do not replace faith. They supplement faith. They confirm faith the way a registered letter embossed or stamped with a government seal confirms a declaration. Continue reading →
66. What are the Sacraments? The Sacraments are visible holy signs and seals appointed of God for this end, that by the use thereof He may the more fully declare and seal to us the promise of the Gospel: namely, that of . . . Continue reading →
68. How many Sacraments has Christ instituted in the New Testament? Two: Holy Baptism and Holy Supper (Heidelberg Catechism) To Protestants, whether confessional or more broadly evangelical, it may seem obvious that there are only two sacraments but to the 60 . . . Continue reading →
No act is more basic to the Christian life, to Christian worship, to piety, and to growth and yet prayer is also uniquely and strangely difficult. Continue reading →
What do sacraments do? Do they anything or are they just rituals we perform? These are some of the questions Les, Tanner, and I discussed on this episode of the Pubcast. The most fundamental question is whether God ordinarily uses means? In . . . Continue reading →
The prayers had been offered, the promises read, and the psalm sung. Two princes stepped forward to receive Communion, but the deacon refused to give them the cup. The superintendent of the city’s pastors ordered a second minister present to take the . . . Continue reading →
Some people say, “Our problem in Christianity is ‘Sunday only’ Christians who fail to live the life every day of the week.” But that’s a false dilemma. Show me a true Sunday Christian who comes to the Lord’s house, worshiping in joy, . . . Continue reading →
When Christians receive the Lord’s Supper or when people are baptized, what happens? Is it the case that, as Rome claims, at consecration, the elements of bread and wine are transformed (transubstantiated) so that they are no longer, in substance, bread and . . . Continue reading →
And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all (Acts 4:31). Perhaps since the rise of the late-medieval mystics, who desired nothing so much as to be absorbed . . . Continue reading →
Make no mistake. No one comes to new life and true faith apart from the sovereign, gracious, mysterious, wonderful work of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who hovered over the face of the deep (Gen 1:2) also gives new life to dead (Eph 2:1–4) sinners. You must be born again (or from above). The mistake comes when we identify that fact with a particular experience of praying a prayer, walking the aisle, or making a decision for Christ. We should all rejoice when someone is brought to new life, even if through irregular means (e.g., a Billy Graham Crusade or the like). It is not our business to tell the sovereign, free Holy Spirit where and when he may work. It is our business, however, to pay attention to what he has told us, in Scripture, to do and say and he tells us to pay attention to the “revealed things” which are “for us and for our children forever” (Deut 29:29). Scripture tells us that the Spirit ordinarily operates through the preaching of the gospel. Continue reading →