Catechism
God’s sheep are safest when living in clearly fenced enclosures. There, they learn where food is given to them and where their shepherd enters and exits. […]
Modern Reformation magazine, along with its sister radio show, the White Horse Inn, has always been committed to engaging in conversational theology among the four confessional traditions of the Protestant Reformation: Lutheran, Anglican, Reformed, and Baptist. In that spirit, we’ve assembled the following harmony of confessional and catechetical excerpts on human nature as created, fallen, […]
God our Father, source of comfort, through Your Son who set us free
From our sin and from our misery, and the devil’s tyranny. […]
“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, […]
Justin Holcomb is an Episcopal minister and adjunct professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He has written and edited a number of books, including On the Grace of God and Rid of My Disgrace. His most recent works are Know the Creeds and Councils and Know the Heretics (both Zondervan, 2014). […]
In cooperation with the Gospel Coalition, Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City has recently produced the New City Catechism. Their motivation is commendable. Back in 1996, we at the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals sponsored a meeting of church leaders from different denominations to draft a statement called “The Cambridge Declaration.” Similar in motive (though […]
How Must we be Saved? Decrees of Trent(Chapter V)The Synod furthermore declares, that in adults, the beginning of the said Justification is to be derived from the prevenient grace of God, through Jesus Christ, that is to say, from His vocation, whereby, without any merits existing on their parts, they are called; that so they, […]
When Rev. Sutjipto Subeno, senior pastor of the Reformed Evangelical Church of Indonesia (GRII) in Surabaya, invited me to visit him for two weeks, I thought he was just being polite’but I realized he was serious when he sent me a detailed plan for my stay. In addition to book presentations in Christian schools, he […]
Years ago, as I was teaching Question 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism to my Sunday school class of first- through third-grade students, I wished for a book written specifically for their age about the rich history behind this important document, imparting the passion and urgency with which it was originally composed. That's why I was […]
In order to know what they believe and why they believe it, Christians need to be well catechized and grounded in the central doctrines of the faith. In his pastoral visits to the homes of parishioners, Martin Luther was astounded to find that few knew the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, or the Apostles' Creed. […]
"Drawn to Freedom: Christian Faith Today in Conversation with the Heidelberg Catechism" by Eberhard Busch, translated by William H. Rader
Our time is not one generally characterized by ro-bust confessionalism or by an appreciation of historic Christian and Reformation creeds, let alone a penchant for formulating contemporary confessions in that same tradition. Thus we should be immediately grateful for theologians such as Eberhard Busch who take the time to initiate a "conversation" with such a […]
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of […]
Throughout the history of the church, young believers and new converts to the faith went through a process called "catechism." Although this is an ancient practice, it has fallen out of use in contemporary Christianity. In seeking a remedy to this, White Horse Inn talked with J. I. Packer and Gary Parrett, authors of an […]
"The Church's Book of Comfort" edited by Willem Van't Spijker, translated by Gerrit Bilkes
Few documents are as important to the history, theology, piety, and practice of the Reformed churches across the globe as the Heidelberg Catechism (1563). Although there are many volumes offering an explanation of the catechism, most are pedestrian and obvious. Most fail to place the catechism in its historical context as they try to interpret […]
So I get this assignment from Modern Reformation asking me to consider writing something on recovering discipleship in the local church, particularly paired with the idea of vocation. Good topic as usual. So I head off to the local evangelical bookstore to do a little reconnaissance in the "discipleship" section and find that the shelves […]
