I grew up in a branch of evangelicalism that centered on the teachings of one particular pastor who helped start a fellowship of churches, now numbering more than twelve hundred around the world. As the father of these churches, this pastor was highly respected. In fact, to end most theological arguments in our churches, we […]
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” —The Declaration of Independence Despite the nobility of the sentiment, it is a tragic and uncomfortable fact that the history […]
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that […]
If Christian dogma is irrelevant to life, to what, in Heaven’s name, is it relevant?—since religious dogma is in fact nothing but a statement of doctrines concerning the nature of life and the universe. If Christian ministers really believe it is only an intellectual game for theologians and has no bearing upon human life, it […]
Tradition is the fruit of the Spirit’s teaching activity from the ages as God’s people have sought understanding of Scripture. It is not infallible, but neither is it negligible, and we impoverish ourselves if we disregard it. — J. I. Packer1 Obviously, Christianity did not begin when it was born, nor did our generation invent […]
When people hear reformational Christians claim to be confessional, they wonder what that means exactly: “Do you go to confession?” This is not as mistaken a question as we might think—the words for “confessing” faith and “confessing” sins have been the same for centuries. At the time of the Reformation, debates about the nature of […]
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) Easier said than done, right? What exactly constitutes “training”? Matthew 28:19 gives us a bit of help: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, […]
Between 1559 and 1561, while hiding from Spanish troops who sought to arrest and make a martyr of him for the sake of the gospel, Guy de Bres (1522–67) wrote a confession of faith, which we know as the Belgic Confession (1561). Among the more remarkable aspects of the story is that the French Confession […]
Receive, my children, the Rule of Faith, which is called the Symbol (or Creed). And when you have received it, write it in your heart, and be daily saying it to yourselves; before ye sleep, before ye go forth, arm you with your Creed. The Creed no man writes so as it may be able to be read: but for rehearsal of it, lest haply forgetfulness […]
For many evangelical theologians and pastors, 2016 will be remembered for one of the most contentious debates over the Trinity ever. I am not interested in going into the weeds of the debate (particularly the more acrimonious exchanges), yet it does emphasize the importance not only of being creedal and confessional but also of understanding […]
One of the hardest parts of apologetics is speaking in such a way that people who disagree with you want to interact with you. Far too often, apologists find themselves reaching those already in the choir. The choir gets excited, but few new members join. The result is an echo chamber full of very convinced […]
Pastor Bobby Griffith helped found and now pastors an urban Presbyterian church in the Midwest that embraced liturgy from its very beginning. He is part of a growing number of ministers and laypeople who are returning to historic forms of worship, as evangelicalism stumbles under the weight of what one author calls “entertainment worship” and […]
We will never finish with his confessions because they will not finish with us” (12), Robin Lane Fox writes in his new five-hundred-page biography of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. Lane Fox, a historian of the ancient world, endeavors to tell the story of Augustine’s life from his birth in Thagaste in 354 to the […]
To view PDF version of Timeline, click here. Although synods and councils met during the Middle Ages, no great creeds or confessions were adopted that had lasting significance or ecumenical weight. The next wave of creeds, confessions, and catechisms were provoked by the Protestant Reformation. As Protestantism divided, new churches developed their own doctrinal standards—often […]
Most of us who have enjoyed Bible studies know the richness of digging into the Scriptures directly with each other. But we rarely do it together. Do we believe that the gospel really has the power to create not only saved individuals but also a saved culture? I don’t mean a new neighborhood or nation; […]
