“However, it was not merely academic; because it was the work of the Spirit of God, the Reformation was scholarship on fire. In many respects, it was an essential part of the Renaissance, whatever that was” (For Kirk and Covenant, p. 121).
Good Calvinism Solves Problems
Lane has taken up my question about his Calvinism. In his response, he sets out a scheme that I agree with entirely — which is only to be expected, since we are both Calvinists. He acknowledges that God is the first cause of all that comes to pass, which would have included the obedience of …
A Fearful Expectation of Judgment
The verb hamartano is used twice in Hebrews. The first time refers to the sinning of the Hebrews in the wilderness, with the early Christians being warned not to do the same thing. (Heb. 3:17). The second use tells us that if we sin willfully, by going back to the old sacrifices, after we have …
No Vague Generalities
“Let him never treat sin as though it were a trifle, or a misfortune, but let him set it forth as exceeding sinful. Let him go into particulars, not superficially glancing at evil in the gross, but mentioning various sins in detail, especially those most current at the time” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, …
The Real Problem
“In other words, bureaucrats shuffle not papers, but people” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, p. 205).
Shrink-Wrapped Reformation
“Whenever a great change is brought about by men of vision, who do not love the sounds of compromise, the fruits of that victory are commonly parceled out by men who come bustling up ten minutes after the battle (a battle they solemnly warned against), all eager now to share in the spoil. First thing …
Rome and Philippi
Yesterday’s Ascension Day sermon was called “Colonies of Heaven.”
The Bulldozers of God
This morning while preaching an Ascension sermon from Philippian 3:20-21, I went on a brief detour to speak about the various ways in which biblical writers relate to empire. This is relevant to us because the New Testament was given during the heyday of the Roman Empire, and we are seeking to live as Christians …
Odd Behavior
In just a few moments, we will come to the point in our service where we confess our sins. We do not do this because we think it should just be part of the drill—because we just want to acknowledge something theologically. Although this does make a theological statement, we are not preaching here; we …
A Visible Difference
Our standards also teach that one of the purposes of the sacraments is to “put a visible difference between those that belong to the Church and the rest of the world.” Being a Christian means that you have been washed in the waters of baptism and that you have free access to this Table. Those …