reformation

The Social Crisis is Too Great to Be Arguing About… (Updated)

by on December 3, 2010 | 3 Comments

The various social crises facing the West are great but the Roman empire was already in crisis when God the Holy Spirit empowered Christ’s apostles to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Rome fell. The gospel and Christ’s church continued. Another empire, Christendom, replaced the old Roman Empire but it fell too. The kingdom of God, as manifested chiefly in this world in the visible, institutional church, continued. Social crises are important but they aren’t more important than the gospel. Seeing that is a key difference between actually being Reformed and being just another social conservative with a passing interest in the Reformation (as it suits whatever social agenda is in view). Continue reading →

R. C. Sproul: Are We Together? Not Really

by on September 28, 2012 | 16 Comments

This book is not what you might assume: a rehearsal of slogans. Rather, it is an intelligent and engaging primer for Protestants and Roman Catholics alike about what Rome actually teaches and what are the profound issues that continue to separate confessional, . . . Continue reading →

Protestants Looking For Authority Convert to Rome

by on December 2, 2012 | 17 Comments

As part of trend, which has been observed here since October 2009, a retired Episcopal minister, Larry Gipson, has become a Roman priest. Gipson was formerly the rector of the USA’s largest Episcopal church. He’s in process of becoming a Roman priest . . . Continue reading →

The Gospel of Peace and the Heidelberg Catechism

by on January 9, 2013 | 1 Comment

I think this is our 10th annual faculty conference. We began in 2004 with the “Foolishness of the Gospel.” This year we’re remembering the 450th anniversaries of the Belgic Confession (1562) and the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) while meditating on Ephesians 6. I’ll . . . Continue reading →

Heidelberg Catechism Q. 18: One Mediator, Two Natures

The Reformation Debate

by on February 11, 2013 | 2 Comments

Part 1 Heidelberg Catechism Q. 18 asks: 18. But who now is that Mediator, who in one person is true God and also a true and righteous man? Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is freely given unto us for complete redemption and . . . Continue reading →

Implicit Faith And The Cult Of Personality

by on February 15, 2013 | 12 Comments

More than a couple observers of the Reformed and evangelical worlds have noted the rise and danger of the superstar pastor. Yesterday, however, in conversation with a colleague another came to mind: implicit faith. Implicit faith (fides implicita) is the medieval (and . . . Continue reading →

On Good Intentions, Spiritual Disciplines, and Christian Freedom

by on February 16, 2013 | 49 Comments

Carter Lindberg tells the story of how the Reformation began to break out in Zürich in 1522: During Lent of 1522, Zwingli was at the house of Christoph Froschauer, a printer, who was laboring over the preparation of the a new edition . . . Continue reading →

Roman Catholic Scholar Converts to Evangelical Faith

by on May 4, 2013 | 2 Comments

Dateline Paris, 1534. © Paris News Service By Guy LaFontaine Jean Calvin, 25, of Noyon, a leading scholar of the classics and law student in the University of Paris, has reportedly converted to the evangelical cause. A classicist with a bright future . . . Continue reading →

Why the Reformation Cannot Be Avoided

by on May 8, 2013 | 4 Comments

Joel writes in response to the post, “Is the Gospel Preached or Lived?” to ask for a response to his post responding to criticisms of the expression “living the gospel.” The substance of the post is to observe that the NT uses . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 31: Bringing Reformation To the Congregation

by on July 7, 2013
Heidelcast

The Reformation is not only a doctrine and a piety. It is those two things but it is also a practice. It entails change in the life of the congregation, not for its own sake but for the sake of bringing that . . . Continue reading →

So You Want To Plant A Church?

by on July 8, 2013 | 3 Comments

The confessional Reformed churches face many struggles. In Recovering the Reformed Confession I classified some of them under two headings, QIRC and QIRE, the quests for illegitimate religious certainty and experience. There are others. We are still playing Whack-a-mole with the Federal . . . Continue reading →

Digital Indulgences

by on July 17, 2013 | 16 Comments

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 →