IV. (2) Before the fall, he had the power to love God and obey him in all things; for love supposes faith, a part of obedience. For he who is commanded by law to love God and obey him is also commanded . . . Continue reading →
Blog Archives
Whence “The Right Side Of History”?
This idea of history having a ‘side’, which is liberal, enlightened and so on, harks back to the enlightenment of the 18th century, to the emergence of what David Hume called ‘these enlightened ages’, in sharp contrast to the side of the . . . Continue reading →
Trueman: We Are Intolerant Of The Wrong Things
In an age like ours, of course, where fuzzy boundaries, vagueness, doubt, and caution are supreme virtues, Machen’s thesis is likely to appear both arrogant and overstated. But, as Machen himself says in the opening paragraphs, “In the sphere of religion, as . . . Continue reading →
Machen Day 2017: God Uses Sturdy Contenders For The Truth
What is the duty of Christian men at such at time? What is the duty, in particular, of Christian officers in the Church? In the first place, they should encourage those who are engaging in the intellectual and spiritual struggle. They should . . . Continue reading →
Calvin: The True Rule Of Righteousness Is Sought Sola Scriptura
Here I beseech the godly, if they know the true rule of righteousness is to be sought from Scripture alone, religiously and earnestly to ponder with me how Scripture may, without quibbling, be duly brought into agreement with itself. John Calvin, Institutes . . . Continue reading →
Turretin On The Covenant Of Nature (7)
Second Question Did Adam have the power to believe in Christ? I. This question lies between us and the Arminians who, to defend their hypothesis concerning the necessity of a certain universal sufficient grace, have introduced this opinion—that Adam never had the . . . Continue reading →
Turretin On The Covenant Of Nature (6)
IX. Although natural liberty agrees in essentials with the liberty of man constituted in other states, still it differs greatly in accidentals. For the liberty of glory in blessedness is not to be able to sin (non posse peccare). The liberty of . . . Continue reading →
Turretin On The Covenant Of Nature (5)
VII. However, although he was free from the slavery of sin (because created just and upright) still he was not free from mutability (because whatever his holiness and righteousness, he was mutable, from which in consequence he could fall). Adam was placed . . . Continue reading →
New Canadian Law Goes To War Against Nature
Laws such as Bill 28 put children and their biological parents on notice that they have no legal right to exist in a family without special permission from the state. This law lays the groundwork for legally separating all children from their . . . Continue reading →
Turretin On The Covenant Of Nature (4)
VI. The liberty of Adam was not the liberty of independence (as if he was irresponsible [anypeuthynos] and absolutely his own master) because he ought always to be in subjection (as a creature to his Creator, as a second cause to the . . . Continue reading →
Confessional Protestantism Is Evangelical But Distinct From Evangelicalism
Both Bob and I wrote the book as catholic Christians—those who hold to the creeds of the ancient church—and as evangelical Christians—those who believe in justification by grace through faith and identify with ecclesiastical bodies which subscribe to Reformation confessions. To use . . . Continue reading →
Turretin On The Covenant Of Nature (3)
IV. Liberty is fourfold: (1) the liberty of independence which belongs to God as the first being; this is opposed to the necessity of dependence which belongs to all creatures. (2) Liberty from coaction by which man acts spontaneously and with freedom; . . . Continue reading →
A Index In The Culture Of Death
Much of the Congressional support for the 1993 NIH revitalization act was premised on the idea that the ban on buying or selling fetal tissue would be a safeguard against the development for a market for human fetuses. Tragically, the executive branch . . . Continue reading →
Turretin On The Covenant Of Nature (2)
II. By the state of innocence, we mean the first condition of man created after the image of God in internal goodness and external happiness. As it abounded in all goods (of the body as well as of the soul) necessary for . . . Continue reading →
The Irony Of The Myth Of Influence
For a long time, I have felt that the cause of biblical Christianity has been undermined in our time by sincere people who engage in unbiblical activities for the sake of being an influence. The sad and ironic result of those actions . . . Continue reading →
Turretin On The Covenant Of Nature (1)
First Question What was the liberty of Adam in his state of innocence? I. Since man can be viewed in a fourfold state—the instituted (instituto) of nature, the destitute (destituto) of sin, the restored (restituto) of grace and the appointed (praestituto) of . . . Continue reading →
Turretin Answers Objections To Infant Baptism (9)
XXVI. What is said by some (“Infants are baptized in the faith of their parents”) does not mean that what is in adults is imputed to infants or answers for infants; both because each one lives by his own faith and because . . . Continue reading →
Reasoned Discourse: The University’s Birthright
A university has sold its birthright for a mess of pottage when it surrenders its role as a facilitator of reasoned discourse to gain acceptance from an angry mob who happen to be expressing the campus culture’s currently popular “cause du jour.” . . . Continue reading →
Turretin Answers Objections To Infant Baptism (8)
XXI. Baptism (with respect to true believers) seals saving grace because it is connected with the internal baptism of the Spirit. But with respect to hypocrites, it does not have the accompanying grace of the Spirit, but is only a badge of . . . Continue reading →
Turretin Answers Objections To Infant Baptism (7)
XVIII. The cause of infant baptism is not the actual faith of infants, of which they are no more capable than of that instruction by which the disciples of Christ are taught (Mt. 28:19). But it is both the universal command to . . . Continue reading →