First Commandment FAIL #3: “bold & curious searching into His secrets”

Another homily on the First Commandment:  You shall have no other gods before Me… Let’s continue with the biblical exposition of this commandment, found in the Westminster Larger Catechism (A. 108).  “The sins forbidden in the first commandment are… bold and curious searching into His secrets…”  Well, that one phrase would condemn us all!  It’s …

Another First Commandment FAIL: ignorance of the one true God

A homily on the First Commandment:  “You shall have no other gods before Me…” We’re continuing to use the Westminster Larger Catechism, which gives a thorough and biblical exposition of each of the Ten Commandments.  If you think you’re keeping God’s Law just fine, thank you, you’ve never read the Larger Catechism.  I commend it …

“Yielding ALL obedience & submission to Him with the WHOLE man” – Fail!

In our Lord’s Day worship service, we read a summary of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20) and the Great Commandment (Mt. 22).  I then highlight one of the commandments in a brief homily, to show us our sin and drive us to Christ – to prepare us for the confession of sin and assurance of …

Federal Vision, Baptismal Efficacy, and what HE said

Peter Leithart’s views on baptismal efficacy do not accord with the Westminster Standards.  There.  I said it.  I do pray that we in the PCA find our confessional back bone to say so, as well.  We will have the opportunity to say so this summer in Greenville – or to be guilty of confessional double-speak. …

Calvin refutes the (not so) “new” perspectives on Paul

III, 19.3. On this [Christian liberty] almost the whole subject of the Epistle to the Galatians hinges; for it can be proved from express passages that those are absurd interpreters who teach that Paul there contends only for freedom from ceremonies. Of such passages are the following: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of …

A super simple primer on the theology of the cross v. the theology of glory

Luther is the man.  Really.  But have you ever read his Heidelberg Disputation from 1518?  He wrote out various theses, to defend in debate.  And reading them is sometimes like reading a Zen Buddhist’s koans – as in, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”  Here’s a sample, Luther’s seventh thesis:  “The works of …

The Gospel & Good Works

Below, I share a choice passage from Luther’s preface to his commentary on Galatians.  In this preface, Luther makes a distinction between what he calls “active” & “passive righteousness.”  “Active righteousness” is the Christian’s life of good works before his neighbor.  But the heart of the biblical Gospel as presented by Paul is what Luther …

Rehabilitating “Evangelical Obedience”

No, this is not about evangelicals obeying Rick Warren’s purpose-driven popery (whose infallibility is assured not by apostolic succession, but good-old pragmatic results).  “Evangelical obedience” is a grand old phrase, which has sadly faded from use & familiarity in Reformation circles.  It captures the old, Reformed orthodoxy regarding sanctification and its source – not the …

Does regeneration mean we are now able to “keep” God’s Law?

Have you ever heard a Christian say, “Now that we’re regenerated, we can keep God’s Law”?  I have.  Usually this is based on the new covenant promise of Jeremiah 31.   In fact, I’ve heard well-meaning Reformed believers say such.  Is such an idea true / biblical / Reformed?  Well, it all depends on what you …

Objective GUILT or therapeutic “brokenness”?

“Brokenness” is a widely used word today in some trendier reformed circles.  What’s in a word?  This word is often used as a synonym for “sinfulness.”  Everyone can relate to feeling “broken,” that is, we say or do things we are ashamed of, we fail, we’re selfish, we damage those closest to us, we are …