In its theological response to the teachings of the Reformation, the Council of Trent (1545-1563) maintained that a “believer’s assurance of the pardon of his sins is a vain and ungodly confidence”. More pointedly the Council declared in Canon 16…
When Calvin speaks of sharing the Lord’s Supper with Christ, covenantal concepts naturally arise, most notable when Calvin is discussing 1 Corinthians 10-11. Throughout his commentaries, Calvin frequently emphasizes that in the Supper we enjoy both the presence and the…
The recent NFL controversy–which has spread to other venues too–concerning the appropriate posture during the national anthem has had my mind running in so many directions. First, my mind went down the liturgical path. We are liturgical beings; and, therefore,…
“I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, self.” Martin Luther almost certainly never made this statement (though many have falsely attributed it to him).…
Reformed churches not only have the regulative principle worship (RPW) to guide them regarding elements and forms, but they also, throughout their history, have had liturgies and directories. The liturgies were the more restrictive (e.g. Strasburg, Geneva, Amsterdam), the directories…
“We…will be caught up” (1 Thes. 4:17) Soon after I was converted at age 17 my dad gave me three books–a King James Bible and two by a local pastor I had yet to hear of: Hal Lindsey’s The Late,…
In the denomination in which I serve as a minister–The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA)–we have confessional standards to which all our ministers voluntarily agree to submit, subscribe, and support. The language we use to describe this action is that…
With each cultural crisis or natural disaster, our minds are freshly flooded with a litany of images and calls to come to the aid of our neighbors who have been the victims of an injustice or who have suffered loss.…
When the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) released the Nashville Statement on biblical sexuality, there were immediate responses from almost every quarter. Reactions ranged from wholehearted endorsement to begrudging acceptance to outright rejection. Many of those who rejected the…
Lately I have been reading articles by a few Evangelicals who are deeply committed to racial justice. As I agree and sympathize with much, I do find myself in reaction to some of the things they have said. These ideas,…
