The Three Uses of the Law

One of the problems with the notion that Reformed theology is utterly divorced from the rest of Protestantism (i.e., Lutheranism) and the concomitant ignorance of the broader Protestant history and tradition is that we Reformed folk often end up losing our theology. . . . Continue reading →

Beza On The First Use Of The Law

There then is the first use of the preaching of the law; to make known our innumerable faults so that in ourselves we begin to be miserable and greatly humble ourselves; in short, to beget in us the first degree of repentance . . . Continue reading →

Heidelberg 92: What Is The Law Of God? (3)

There is a way of life, i.e., there is a way that believers live. There is a way of salvation, a path that believers walk toward eternal life, in the grace of Christ, in union with Christ. It is essential to distinguish, however, between is and through or because. The moralist wants to turn is into through or because. We are not saved through obedience. That is Romanism. We are not saved because of our obedience. That is sheer Pelagianism. Nevertheless, it is the case that those to whom God has sovereignly given new life, to whom he has given the grace of faith and through it union with Christ, will and shall seek to live, sola gratia, sola fide according to God’s moral law. Continue reading →