Since it appears as though God would use your blood to sign his truth, there is nothing better than for you to prepare yourself to that end, beseeching him so to subdue you to his good pleasure, that nothing may hinder you from following whithersoever he shall call.     Quotes from Tracts and Letters... Continue Reading

A contemporary application for those associated with Federal Vision is that if the church doesn’t have such authority, then Federal Visionaries won’t face church discipline, because the magistrate sure isn’t going to do it.

What this reading of the two kingdoms boils down to is a recognition of an internal sphere, where the justifying and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit actually takes place, and then an external sphere which is shared by all men, and is shaped, in measure, by the spiritual affections without ever being conflated with the spiritual realm.

We should note the Scripture's use of the word “fear” in two distinct senses. There is the fear of terror and dread, and the fear of veneration and honor. The fear of terror makes us want to run away and hide; the fear of honor leads us to stand in awe and worship. The gospel removes the fear of terror as a source of motivation in the Christian life.

The claim that Calvin and OWS are kindred is precisely the kind of obfuscatory rhetoric that we don’t need from ecclesiastical representatives, whether at the congregational, denominational, or ecumenical level. “You’ve lost a good opportunity to shut up.” So said French president Nicolas Sarkozy to UK prime minister David Cameron as an instance of what... Continue Reading

“You will have troubles when God shall have called me away… . But take courage and fortify yourselves, for God will make use of this church and will maintain it, and assures you that He will protect it” Note from Ligonier Blog Editor: As Reformation Day (Oct. 31) approaches, we will be presenting a series... Continue Reading

I don’t think the distance between mainstream Calvinists and mainstream Arminians is really all that great. I consider myself a conscientious objector in the Calvinist/Arminian wars. First of all, it’s because I find the issue more complicated than such partisanship can convey, and I think both sides are right at certain points. Second, I find... Continue Reading

The entertainment-oriented preacher seems to be at ease talking about many things that are not drawn out of the Bible. In his message, he seems to enjoy more talking about other things than what the Bible teaches. By personal calling and Scripture, I am bound to the word of God and to the preaching of... Continue Reading

Many in the young, restless, reformed movement do not realize that there is an alternate stream of Reformed theology, one that stands more in the tradition of Barth, Berkouwer, and Torrance than Warfield, Berkhof, and Frame. I happen to think that second stream is truer to the source, but not all agree. Of course, the... Continue Reading

”Fellow ministers of the Gospel, those who are called, by God, to unashamedly proclaim the inestimable salvation of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, I stand before you this day to draw your attention to some important principles…” When John Calvin stepped behind the elevated lectern of the thirty-eighth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in... Continue Reading