Many people understand the Federal Visionists to be saying that the non-elect in the visible church get the exact same benefits as the elect do but then lose them. However, the Federal Visionists would not put it this way. In their understanding, they do not affirm this. They believe there are benefits that are given [...]
Archive for September 2011
Understanding the Federal Vision’s View of Visible Church Benefits and Apostasy
Thursday, September 29, 2011Iranian Pastor Faces Execution for Refusing to Recant Christian Faith
Wednesday, September 28, 2011An Iranian Pastor, Youcef Nadarkhani, has refused to recant his faith in Christ. He has been found guilty of apostasy and faces execution. Here is an excerpt from the story: An Iranian pastor who has refused to renounce his Christian faith faces execution as early as Wednesday after his sentence was upheld by an Iranian court. [...]
Sean Lucas Clarifies the Status of the General Assembly’s Federal Vision Report
Wednesday, September 28, 2011I thought that TE Sean Lucas stated very clearly (on Green Baggins) what the status of the General Assembly’s Federal Vision Report is in PCA Courts: Actually, the body of the FV/NPP report was “commended” for study and the nine declarations were “recommended.” When the 2007 GA adopted the committee’s recommendations, they approved commending the [...]
A Christian is not “translated to the state of grace in or by the sacrament”
Tuesday, September 27, 2011By this time it may appear (I suppose) that the controversy between us and the Papists, concerning the effect of the sacraments (setting aside the opus operatum which is a distinct controversy, and is distinctly spoken to by our writers—setting aside also the causalitas physica [physical causality] and insita [intrinsic power], by which some of [...]
How to Know You Are Elect
Monday, September 26, 2011According to the Reformed faith, there are three things that are necessary in order for a person to be assured that he is elect and thus will with absolute certainty be saved forever: He must be a believer and thus saved and effectually called. He must know that he is a believer from the knowledge [...]
We Must Resist the Pride that Reigns in Our Souls
Sunday, September 25, 2011Nothing is more difficult than putting off our pride. We naturally love our own excellence. We are vain with what we possess. We love the esteem of men. We display our perfections with pleasure. We love to be regarded as intelligent, capable, and good.
Sioux Falls Worship Conference
Saturday, September 24, 2011If you are in the Sioux Falls area, I recommend attending the worship conference there on October 7–8 with my former professor from Mid-America Reformed Seminary, Rev. Alan Strange. Click on the pic below for more information.
A Hymn by Toplady You Probably Won’t Sing
Thursday, September 22, 2011Augustus M. Toplady (1740–1778) was a minister in the Church of England, a famous opponent of John Wesley’s Arminianism, and is best known for his hymn “Rock of Ages.” Recently, I have been reading a biography of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia (1712–1786). Frederick is famous for his military victories in the War of [...]
Metro Atlanta Presbytery votes unanimously to rescind deaconess policy
Wednesday, September 21, 2011Metro Atlanta Presbytery voted on September 20, 2011 to rescind its 2009 deaconess policy in response to the Presbyterian Church in America’s General Assembly’s dissatisfaction with their policy. The Review of Presbytery Records had recommended that the GA take exception to their policy, and GA adopted their recommendation. At Metro Atlanta’s September 20th meeting, they [...]
What Is the Most Important Part of Our Thankfulness to God for Salvation?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011The Heidelberg Catechism has an interesting answer: prayer. Would you agree? 116 Q. Why do Christians need to pray? A. Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us. And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God [...]
The Proper Distinction of the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace
Monday, September 19, 2011The Covenant of Grace — a Testamentary Covenant In identifying the meaning of the covenant of grace, the first thing that one must do is properly identify the meaning of the word covenant. The Reformed theologians of the 16th–18th centuries would always begin their discussion of this topic with a careful discussion of the meaning [...]
We Must Resist Our Passions
Sunday, September 18, 2011This life is a place of combat. We do not always have to fight against human enemies or ferocious beasts, but we always have to fight against our passions which desire to reign in our hearts.
Prayer in Preparation for Communion
Saturday, September 17, 2011By Jean Claude (1619–1687), from Self-Examination in Preparation for Receiving the Lord’s Supper My God, my Savior, and my Father, I prostrate myself at the foot of your throne, to adore your majesty, and to acknowledge your righteousness, I am in your presence but dust and ashes, a worm of the earth, and most unworthy [...]
Joy and Reverence
Friday, September 16, 2011“It is not always easy to unite enthusiasm with reverence, and it is a frequent fault to destroy one of the qualities while straining after the other. The perfection of singing is that which unites joy with gravity, exultation with humility, fervency with sobriety.” — Spurgeon
The Fear of the Lord
Thursday, September 15, 2011Pastor Ryan McGraw has a nice review of John Flavel’s Triumphing over Sinful Fear. It certainly made me want to read the book. You can read the review here and order the book here.
We Must Continually Fight Against the Disorder of Self-Love
Sunday, September 11, 2011The disorder of self-love is the source of all our crimes. We naturally wish to be happy. This desire is innocent. But we look for this happiness either in riches, honors, or pleasures. That is our crime.
Jesus As Food
Thursday, September 8, 2011This figure that Jesus Christ presents to us under the image of food is itself very full and beautiful, being founded on an almost infinite number of comparisons or relationships that there are between the body and blood of our Savior in regard to our spiritual life and food in regard to our bodily life. [...]
Keller: Multi-ethnic churches are good, but monoethnic is ok, unless the mono is white
Tuesday, September 6, 2011Why do I put up so much up by and about Tim Keller? Because he’s on top. He’s the most popular and well-known pastor in the PCA. Plus, he seems to talk about everything, and I’m sure that he’s asked about everything. He also says a lot that is controversial. From his advocacy of deaconesses [...]
Fasting for a Lifetime
Monday, September 5, 2011“In order to do this fast well, we must begin this fast with abstinence, not for a day but forever, from all that is displeasing to God, and we must have true contrition for our sins and resort to the grace and mercy of God in order to have a full remission of sins. For [...]
Our Life Must Be a Continual Study of Mortificaiton
Sunday, September 4, 2011Sin has so corrupted our nature that if we are not careful to continually oppose our tendencies toward evil, we will inevitably fall into all sorts of crimes.