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March 25, 2020
The alarm is blaring. Men hit snooze, some cover their ears, others panic, aimlessly running around with anxiety. The alarm continues. The global advent of COVID-19 has arrested the attention of our world. Even those who consider this to be nothing more than fearmongering are unable to ignore this news. It is beyond my calling to comment on the medical side of current illness and its progress. Certainly, I encourage all to observe prudence, love of others, and honor of those in authority—civil, medical, and ecclesiastical. It becomes us to give honor to those above us. But I would like […]
May 1, 2019
Traditionally there has been recognized a threefold division or categorization of biblical law. For a contemporary study on this, the reader is encouraged to consult From the Finger of God: The Biblical and Theological Basis for the Threefold Division of the Law by Philip S. Ross. The division is customarily recognized by the terms moral, ceremonial, and judicial laws, for example see chapter 19 of the Confession. Such a threefold division is not at all original to the Reformed tradition. Lutherans, including Luther himself, Anglicans and Roman Catholics employ such a distinction. This distinction is important in and of itself […]
April 10, 2019
Praying Always. By Frans Bakker. Translated by Cornelis and Fredrika Pronk. Reprinted 2011. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1987. 114 pages. “Prayer is the breath of the soul.” So writes Frans Bakker in his book, Praying Always. What is more precious to the body than breath? If it ceases, the body dies. It is one of the most basic evidences of life, being essential for life to continue. Prayer is the same for the soul. It is vital. Bakker writes to persuade us of this. He also writes to diagnose underlying problems, encourage the weak-hearted, and draw us before […]
March 13, 2019
National Religion in Light of Isaiah 49:23 and Ephesians 1:22 Isaiah 49:23, which is cited in the Westminster Confession 23:3, reads “And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” It is a passage that indicates the care of rulers and their submission to the church. This position is asserted by the original Westminster Confession. In chapter […]
February 14, 2019
In the back of our bound standards, there is a curious little work. It does not bear the same status as an official document of our church, but it is there, nonetheless. The Sum of Saving Knowledge not only represents the doctrine of our confession, it demonstrates a searching concern that the gospel is understood, presenting it clearly, soundly, persuasively, and comfortably. Though a bit clumsy, the fuller title it bears today is quite accurate: The Sum of Saving Knowledge: or, a Brief Sum of Christian Doctrine, Contained in the Holy Scriptures, and Holden Forth in the Foresaid Confession of […]