David writes to ask how, from a “two kingdoms” perspective one should think about the question of whether the state should sanction homosexual marriage.
Moral Law
Audio: The Law of God & the Christian Available for Download
You can download these conference talks from Jan 2007. They are $2.00 each. Thanks to Matt Haeck for making work of this. I hope these lectures will put to rest some myths about WSC.
Do Presbyterians Confess That Refusing to Baptize Infants is Sin?
That’s the question I received in my inbox yesterday. The writer asks, …Whereas I know that a consistent Baptist (e.g. Mark Dever) would consider a Christian refusing to be baptized subsequent to conversion as sinning and subject to church discipline, is that . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 18: Is It Okay To Steal (If The Minister Says It Is?)
A correspondent writes to about an Anglican minister who advised the poor, who are starving, who’ve somehow fallen through the extensive British social safety net, among his congregation, to shoplift rather than commit burglary. He asked them not to steal from small . . . Continue reading →
Gay Christians? (2)
In part one I sketched the biblical evidence for the claim that homosexuality is a sin. In part two I address the argument that some make in defense of the notion that there are such things as “gay Christians” is the appeal . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 24: Give It A Rest—What Christians Can Learn From Chick-Fil-A
Your Creator wants you to take a break. I’m a Chick-Fil-A fan. Love the peach shakes. It’s one of the few places in this area where I can find real sweet tea. There’s another reason to like Chick-Fil-A. They love their employees . . . Continue reading →
Evangelicalism And The Reformed View Of The Law
Note: This post first appeared in February 2008. Since that time the original link to Pulpit Magazine has been taken down. The archives at Pulpit Magazine only go back to 2012. § At Pulpit Magazine, Nathan Busenitz is tackling the question of . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus On The Abiding Validity Of The Ten Commandments
151 Q: Since Christ has abolished the law, why are we bound to the ten commandments? A: Christ has done away with the civil and ceremonial laws of Moses in such a way that no one is obligated to keep them anymore; . . . Continue reading →
Irenaeus On The Abiding Validity Of The Decalogue
4. And therefore does the Scripture say, “These words the Lord spake to all the assembly of the children of Israel in the mount, and He added no more;” for, as I have already observed, He stood in need of nothing from . . . Continue reading →
Justin Martyr On The Eternal Law
I also adduced another passage in which Isaiah exclaims: “‘Hear My words, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given Him for a witness to the . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 38: The Prevalence Of Prevarication
The law of God is always relevant but the ninth commandment seems particularly relevant right now. We live in a time when truth seems to be out of fashion. I can’t remember a time when there has seemed to be so little . . . Continue reading →
Owen On The Law In The Garden And On Horeb
Q. 1. Which is the law that God gave man at first to fulfill? A. The same which was afterwards written with the finger of God in two tables of stone Mount Horeb, called the Ten Commandments. John Owen | Greater Catechism . . . Continue reading →
Berkhof On The Pedagogical Use Of The Law
. . . b. A usus elenchticus or pedagogicus. In this capacity the law serves the purpose of bring man under conviction of sin, and of making him conscious of his inability to meet the demands of the law. In that way . . . Continue reading →
Heidelcast 58: Nomism And Antinomianism (1)
With this episode we begin a series on the proper understanding and use of the law in the Christian life. We’ll be talking about both two of our least favorite relatives, uncle nomism and antinomianism. In contrast to these two errors we’ll . . . Continue reading →
The Marrow On Antinomians
And are there not others, though I hope but a few, who being enlightened to see their misery, by reason of the guilt of sin, though not by reason of the filth of sin, and hearing of justification freely by grace, through . . . Continue reading →
Richard Greenham On The Nature And Use Of The Law
Q. How shall we come to the right sight of our sins and a sound persuasion of the greatness of them? A: By the Spirit of God leading us into the true understanding of the law and a due examination of ourselves . . . Continue reading →
Luther’s Judgment On Images
With regard to Luther’s judgment on images, we are not in the dark. In his report to his confidant Nikolaus Hausmann on the situation he found in Wittenberg, he was unambiguous: “Damno imagines.” The elimination of images, however, should be brought about . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: God’s Accommodation No License For Images
God, indeed, from time to time showed the presence of his divine majesty by definite signs, so that he might be said to be looked upon face to face. But all the signs that he ever gave forth aptly conformed to his . . . Continue reading →
Calvin Against Images Of Christ
God has forbidden two things [ cf. Exodus 20:4-5]. First, the making of any picture of Him…. The other is, that no image may be worshipped…. The setting up of images in churches, is a defiling . . . By and by, . . . Continue reading →
Law, Wisdom, And Charity: Life In A Twofold Kingdom
Under the subject line “2k” P writes, If Abraham the sojourner had no trouble making secular deals with people in Canaan, why did he refuse the offer of possessions from the king of Sodom? What would have been so wrong if the . . . Continue reading →