Nearly all the wisdom we possess . . . consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves. But, while joined by many bonds, which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern (John Calvin, Institutes 1.1.1) No wonder Paul said the Gospel was foolishness to Greeks. […]
The biblical terms "sanctify" and "sanctification" are from the same word family as "holy" and "holiness." The rich tapestry of the biblical language of holiness contains but one single golden strand woven throughout: the absolute sinlessness and transcendent purity of God the Holy Trinity. God alone is holy in himself, and therefore from God himself […]
The lament of recent writers over the deplorable state of theological consciousness in the churches is alarming. David Wells’ judgment that evangelicalism (being an expression of the Enlightenment which it so professes to oppose) is on the verge of “losing its character, if not its soul,” has a ring of reality in it. (1) Many […]
This brief article is the fourth of six parts of Ursinus' commentary on Question 91 of the Heidelberg Catechism: "But what are good works?" The entire work is The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, n.d.; a reproduction of the Second American Edition which was printed at […]
Everyone knows St. Augustine, that fourth-century giant, as the doctor of grace. To a large extent, the Reformation was simply a recovery of and improvement on Augustine's system. Few quills have graced the subject of guilt and grace like the Bishop of Hippo's. And yet, Augustine's own conversion was not so much due to the […]
Union With Christ…Every doctrine related to salvation and the Christian life must be oriented around this touchstone of faith. No theory of Christian growth or development can obscure or ignore this central fact. In Reformation spirituality, the objective and subjective, external and internal, are linked inseparably by this reality. “In Christ” we are justified and […]
