Reformed Faith and Theology

Theological Inquiries: Questions and Answers for Understanding the Christian Faith This book is a comprehensive guide to the key questions and concepts of Christian theology. Written from a Reformed perspective, it offers clear and concise explanations of everything from the nature of God to the meaning of salvation. The book is designed to be accessible to readers of all backgrounds, whether yo..

Words and Things Series by Dr. Steven M. Baugh Words And Things: There Is A Right Way And A Wrong Way To Do Biblical Word Studies (Part 1) Words And Things (Part 2) Words And Things (Part 3) Words And Things (Part 4) Words And Things: All About “This” (Part 5) Words And Things: Practicing The Truth (Part 6) Words And Things: All About “By” (Part 7) Words And Things: All About Names (Part 8) Word..

Luther and Calvin's Catechism and Heinrich Second Helvetic Confession The Reformers both Luther and Calvin taught they were both catholics (as do I), yes, they identified themselves to the church of the historic catholic church, it's creeds and councils (catholic meaning universal, that's all it means, NOT Roman Catholic). The Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian creeds. The Roman C..

Aquinas Reconsidered by Richard A. Muller [Part 1] Richard A. Muller, Review of Thomas Aquinas by K. Scott Oliphint, foreword by Michael A. G. Haykin (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2017). Scott Oliphint's highly negative verdict on the thought of Thomas Aquinas demands some response if only because of the need to have, in Reformed circles, the balanced understanding of Aqui..

Called to PREACH? Pondering God’s Commission for Your Life by Dr. John R. Sittema Introduction 5 Preaching: What’s the Big Deal? 7 Preaching in the Old Testament 7 Preaching in Jesus’ Ministry 9 Preaching and the Apostles 10 Preaching and the Church Today 11 The Badge of Ordination 14 Anointing in the Old Testament 15 Anointing in the New Testament 17 Are You Called to Pr..

Arminius and the Remonstrants by W. Robert Godfrey Jacobus (James) Arminius (1559–1609), ironically, is the most famous theologian ever produced by the Dutch Reformed Church. Arminius’ biography is simple. He was born in the province of Holland in about 1559. His father had died in the war against Spain, leaving the family quite poor. Authorities supported his education, re..

Textual Criticism: What It Is And Why You Need It by Dr. Brandon D. Crowe 1. Why Do We Need Textual Criticism? One of the classes I teach each year covers textual criticism of the New Testament. Even as I write that I know how boring it sounds. When I mention this class to someone as we make small talk, I can almost feel the waft of boredom fill the room. It’s no surprise. Mo..

Is Jordan Peterson the champion we’ve been looking for? by Joel McDurmon Christians, it’s time to think a bit more deeply about the Jordan Peterson moment.1 Unless you’ve been asleep and on a different planet for the past several weeks, you’ve probably seen a video clip of the increasingly popular social commentator Dr. Jordan B. Peterson. Most recently, Peterson was ro..

What is Semi-Pelagianism?Semi-Pelagianism is theological position midway between Pelagianism and the teachings of Augustine of Hippo regarding the origins of the experience of salvation. Pelagianism placed salvation in the power of human free-will; Augustine ascribed salvation (regeneration, new birth) wholly to God's grace; the Semi-pelagians held that salvation was initially ..

Ten Things I Learned from Reformed Scholasticism by Wes Bredenhof (Free Reformed Church of Launceston) Though not nearly as often as previously, I still sometimes see the word “scholastic” used as a pejorative – in other words, as a nasty term. If someone is deemed “scholastic,” then he must be one of the bad guys in the history of theology. It’s similar to the word..

The Biblical Sabbath is from Dawn to Dawn by Rev. Travis Fentiman Introduction As Scripture teaches that we are to “remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy,”2 so the question of ‘When does the Sabbath begin?’ is of concern to every person. This article will demonstrate in detail from Scripture that the Biblical, Sabbath since Creation has always been from, and is to b..

The Leadership of the Catholic Church: Now vs. Then (Pt. 6) by Steven Wedgeworth It’s time to bring our series on the identity and government of the church to a conclusion. You can find the previous installments here: Part 1: The Crisis of Rome and Its Claims of Ultimate Authority Part 2: Church Origins and Officers in the New Testament Part 3: Bishop-Elders and Bishops in t..

What Is Calvinism? by Herman Selderhuis "Calvinism" emerged as a term of insult from Lutherans addressing Reformed Protestants in order to separate themselves emphatically from the Reformed doctrine of the Lord’s Supper. Although John Calvin distanced himself from it, just as Luther protested the name “Lutherans,” this term has nevertheless been preserved, although it is ..

Should We Read Thomas Aquinas? by Keith A. Mathison Almost twenty-five years ago, in May 1994, Tabletalk magazine published an issue titled Should Old Aquinas Be Forgot? The various contributors attempted to point out some of the helpful aspects of Thomas Aquinas’ theology while also being honest about his shortcomings. That issue of Tabletalk was a lone voice crying in the w..

Dispensationalism - A Reformed Evaluation - by Dr. J. Ligon Duncan If you have your Bibles, I would invite you to turn with me to Romans chapter 2. I want to point your attention to two verses. We are going to begin today by making some observations about Dispensationalism and then we are going to give a rapid overview to the Davidic Covenant and especially the establishment of..

Beginning with Scripture, Ending with Worship: An Analysis of Petrus van Mastricht’s Polemic against Balthasar Bekker by Daniel Ragusa “And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us…”—so penned Luther in his famous hymn A Mighty Fortress is Our God. But on what epistemological basis could Luther (and the whole Christian church for that matter) a..

Catching up on Petrus van Mastricht by Daniel Ragusa The great Dutch theologian of the Nadere Reformatie, Petrus van Mastricht (1630–1706), has only recently been introduced to the English-speaking world with the publication of his Theoretica-practica theologia (Theoretical and Practical Theology). In this article we will survey past scholarship on Mastricht, anticipating th..

The Westminster Assembly and the Debate about the Word by Chad Van Dixhoorn Someone in the Jerusalem Chamber had asked if it was a pastor's duty to read the Scriptures publicly in the weekly worship services of the church. It was November 1643, and the Westminster Assembly was trying to build a biblical system of church government from the ground up. In the summer months of 164..

10 Things You Should Know about Union with Christ by Marcus Peter Johnson 1. The Bible contains an astonishing number of terms, expressions and images that bear witness to the reality of our being made one with Christ Jesus. In the Newer Testament we find literally hundreds of references to the believer’s union with Christ. To cite merely a few examples, believers are created..

43 Questions for Preachers by Lewis Allen The Value of Catechesis Catechisms are almost as old as Christianity. In the early Christian centuries a catechism (from the Greek word meaning “teaching”) was a body of Bible truths to be taught to children and new converts. The form developed into a series of questions and answers, often to be recited aloud and committed to memory..

What’s So Great about the Sovereignty of God? by Richard D. Phillips A great many Christians can bear testimony to the earthshaking effects of realizing the sovereignty of God. These same kinds of testimonies are found in the Bible, perhaps none more profound than the prophet Isaiah’s account of his life-changing encounter with the sovereign Lord. If the apostle Paul is the..

Calvinist vs. Arminian: a tale of two books by Rev. Johan D. Tangelder Why revisit the debate between Arminianism and Calvinism? Isn’t it a waste of precious time to discuss these differences even as the world is aflame with political unrest? No, this is a debate that should always generate interest and discussion. Dr. J. I. Packer once observed that the very terms Calvinism ..

Summer Reading: A Grade-by-Grade Recommended Reading List for Kids by Justin Taylor There are hundreds of thousands of books written for children. The challenge is trying to discover the best age-appropriate literature. I am grateful for the folks at Calvary Classical School—a classical Christian school in Hampton, Virginai, who have given me permission to reproduce this list..

On Herman Bavinck’s Scientific Work by W.B. Kristensen Translator’s Introduction[1] William Brede Kristensen (1867–1953) was a Norwegian scholar of classical languages and ancient Mesopotamian religions. In 1896 he completed a doctorate at the University of Oslo on ancient Egyptian views of the afterlife.[2] He lectured at the university from 1897 to 1901 before emigratin..

Praying to the glory of God by Rev. Dr. Micah McCormick (New Hyde Park Baptist Church, NY) Praying to the glory of God (part 1) The simple truth is that most Christians, myself included, don’t pray as we should. So even as I write three posts on the subject of prayer, I’m speaking to myself as well as to any readers. My three posts will answer three questions regarding pra..

The Divine Design of Salvation by K, Scott Oliphint Once we acknowledge that sin is universal, that it continues in every person from the point of conception on (Ps. 51:5)­—and that it is individual, that it plagues and enslaves me—we begin to see what Christians mean by “salvation.” Since sin is rebellion against a holy God, it is impossible that such a good ..

An Introduction to the Thought of Alvin Plantinga This post is adapted from Christian Apologetics Past and Present: A Primary Source Reader, Volume 2, From 1500, edited by William Edgar and K. Scott Oliphint. Meet Alvin PlantingaAlvin Plantinga was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Raised in the Christian Reformed Church, he has theological roots in the Dutch Reformed tradition. As ..

Introduction to the Christian Faith Who is God? What does it mean to be estranged from God? Why did the Messiah experience humiliation and death? How are sins forgiven? What is faith? Will there be a judgment day at the end of history? God God the Creator, by J. Gresham Machen The Triune God, by J. Gresham Machen The Bible The Authority and Inspiration of the Bible, by Benjamin..