Reformed Christian Studies

Athanasius of Alexandria - Wikipedia By Nathan Busenitz - Posted at The Master's Seminary : In his denial of the deity of Christ, Arius was arguably the most notorious heretic of the early church . Though Arius’s heretical views were soundly condemned by the Council of Nicaea (in A.D. 325), the controversy he sparked raged for another fifty years throughout the Roman Empire. During those tumultuous decades, the defenders of Trinitarian orthodoxy often found themselves outnumbered and out of favor with the imperial court. Yet they refused to compromise. Among them, most famously, stood Athanasius of Alexandria—exiled on five different occasions for his unwavering commitment to the truth. He was joined by the Cappadocian Fathers: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzas, and Gregory of Nyssa. But how did these early Christian leaders know that the doctrine they were defending was, in fact, a truth worth fighting for? How did they know they were right and the Arians were wrong? W

By Dr. Mark Jardine - Posted at Jardine's Book of Martyrs : Image from Jardine's Book of Martyrs One of Cargill’s last acts on the scaffold on 27 July, 1681, was to hand down his bible to a sympathizer and instruct them to pass it on to his sister. The incident is recorded in a handwritten entry in Cargill’s bible: ‘[Cargill] Bore this Bible to the Scaffold as his last best friend and handed it therefrom as his last sad legacy to be carried to his oldest sister Anne Cargill with these memorable words – ‘I am sure of my salvation being complete in Jesus Christ as I am of the truth of all that is contained in this holy this inestimable book of God!’ (Quoted in Crawford,  Scotland’s Books , 214 .) Cargill had three sisters. His bible was handed down via the family of Anne Cargill, the eldest of them. A second sister, Grizel Cargill, was married to Donald Crockatt , a notary in Alyth parish, Perthshire. A third sister may have been married to John Miller in Watershaugh in Shotts pa

By T. M. Moore - Posted at Fellowship of Ailbe : When will these expectations be realized? Great Expectations (3) Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?” So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Matthew 19.27, 28 The new world We mentioned earlier that the problem with many Christians is that they have a too-distant vision of the Christian life. They have postponed much of the excitement and transforming power of faith to the “then and there” of eternal life. In the “here and now” they mostly count on feeling assured of salvation to keep up their hopes for after their lives have ended. Surely, they insist, living forever in glory with the Lord will be the culmination of all the great expectations our Lord holds out to us. The

By Stanley D. Gale - Posted at byFaith Online : A car careens into a tree because the alcohol-impaired driver fails to negotiate the curve. His wife is killed when her side of the vehicle makes impact. Their infant daughter, strapped in the backseat, survives but suffers injuries she will carry for the rest of her life. That incident haunts the man, a follower of Christ who took a wrong turn. He has confessed his sin to God and believes he has found forgiveness. He has even received forgiveness from his in-laws, but he cannot forgive himself, knowing that his actions have brought such pain to others. He has sought professional counseling. As much as it hurts to relive the moment, he finds it helps to express his grief. But no sooner does he leave the office than he finds his heart filling with guilt once again, like a leaky basement in a downpour. In trying to deal with it, he hears repeatedly how much more difficult it is for people to forgive themselves than it is to forgive ot

By C.H. Spurgeon - Posted at Daily Checkbook/Sermon Audio: "The LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail" — Deuteronomy 28:13 If we obey the LORD, He will compel our adversaries to see that His blessing rests upon us. Though this be a promise of the law, yet it stands good to the people of God; for Jesus has removed the curse, but He has established the blessing. It is for saints to lead the way among men by holy influence: they are not to be the tail, to be dragged hither and thither by others. We must not yield to the spirit of the age, but compel the age to do homage to Christ. If the LORD be with us, we shalt not crave toleration for religion, but we shall seek to seat it on the throne of society. Has not the LORD Jesus made His people priests. Surely they are to teach and must not be learners from the philosophies of unbelievers. Are we not in Christ made kings to reign upon the earth? How, then can we be the servants of custom, the slaves of human opinion?

Heidelberg Catechism (extended) The Catechism Method of Instruction in the Christian Religion As the Same is Taught in the Reformed Churches and Schools (with the Scripture references written out) Note. This Catechism is fully based on the Scriptures. The references to Scripture are indicated in parentheses with a letter. For example, the letter (a) points to the texts (a) placed after the answer. 28 Lord's Day  Q. 75. How art thou admonished and assured in the Lord's Supper, that thou art a partaker of that one sacrifice of Christ, accomplished on the cross, and of all his benefits?  A. Thus: That Christ has commanded me and all believers, to eat of this broken bread, and to drink of this cup, in remembrance of him, adding these promises: (a) first, that his body was offered and broken on the cross for me, and his blood shed for me, as certainly as I see with my eyes, the bread of the Lord broken for me, and the cup communicated to me; and further, that he feeds an

By C.B. Ross - Posted at The CrazyRev Page : C. Brian Ross The title to this post is, as many will recognise, the first line of an old Negro spiritual - songs that were sung by African slaves in the cotton plantations of the southern states of the "New World" of North America. The answer, of course, is that all of us were represented as the Lamb, slain from before the foundation of the world, hung on that old rugged Cross. But who was there, physically, on that day almost 2,000 years ago? Well, there were the men who engineered His death - the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were teachers of the Mosaic Law. They ran the schools and synagogues and, in a sense, considered themselves to be the national conscience of the Jewish people. They were men of high moral character. Jesus, Himself, said "... unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 5:20). They certainly ha

ThinkGospel.com Posted at Think Gospel : Reading: “And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there.” Acts 20:22 Although Patrick is known across the world as the great missionary to Ireland he accomplished this work under a cloud of personal feelings of inadequacy. He felt deeply the fact that he was “countrified” (sec. 12) and that he “had not studied like others” ( Confession , sec. 9). He felt that he was “awkward,” “inarticulate,” and that he had a small vocabulary. He said, “I am unable to explain briefly what I mean” ( Confession , sec. 10). While his “mind and spirit long and the inclination of [his] heart” was to preach the gospel ( Confession , sec. 10), yet his flesh was unwilling and inadequate, lacking confidence. Despite—or perhaps because of—feeling the limitations of the flesh much as Moses, Jeremiah, and many others did, Patrick was called by God, not by the “clerical intellectuals” ( Confession, sec. 13

Posted at The Christian's Report : “His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” Luke 22:44 The mental pressure arising from our Lord’s struggle with temptation, so forced his frame to an unnatural excitement, that his pores sent forth great drops of blood which fell down to the ground. This proves how tremendous must have been the weight of sin when it was able to crush the Saviour so that he distilled great drops of blood! This demonstrates the mighty power of his love. It is a very pretty observation of old Isaac Ambrose that the gum which exudes from the tree without cutting is always the best. This precious camphire-tree yielded most sweet spices when it was wounded under the knotty whips, and when it was pierced by the nails on the cross; but see, it giveth forth its best spice when there is no whip, no nail, no wound. Read more...

Posted at This Day in Presbyterian History : Home Religion was an Important Part of Colonial Presbyterianism With tens of thousands of Scots–Irish Presbyterians coming to Cumberland County of Pennsylvania, various Presbyterian churches were organized in the seventeen-hundreds through0out central Pennsylvania. One such congregation was Big Spring Presbyterian Church in Newville, just west of Carlisle. After several pastors filled the pulpit at Big Spring on a temporary basis, a call was finally extended on March 21, 1787 to the Samuel Wilson, with the prayer that he would serve as their full-time pastor. The young man must have shown great promise, for he was not yet even ordained! But after passing his ordination exams at the Presbytery of Donegal, Rev. Wilson was installed as pastor on June 20, 1787. It was said that his pastorate was one of activity and prosperity for the congregation. He labored there at Big Spring for thirteen years—until 1799. Evidently, Rev. Wilson pos

Heidelberg Catechism (extended) The Catechism Method of Instruction in the Christian Religion As the Same is Taught in the Reformed Churches and Schools (with the Scripture references written out) Note . This Catechism is fully based on the Scriptures. The references to Scripture are indicated in parentheses with a letter. For example, the letter (a) points to the texts (a) placed after the answer. 27. Lord's Day   Q. 72. Is then the external baptism with water the washing away of sin itself?  A. Not at all: (a) for the blood of Jesus Christ only, and the Holy Ghost cleanse us from all sin. (b)   (a) Matt.3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 1 Pet.3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by t

By Dr. R. Scott Clark - Posted at The Heidelblog : Like a growing number of people in the Reformed churches I did not begin my Christian life there. I began my Christian life in an evangelical (Southern) Baptist setting. As part of my initiation into that culture I was given an explanation for why there are other approaches to reading Scripture, beyond those I saw and experienced in my evangelical Baptist circle. E.g., I was told that Roman Catholics baptized infants but that was purely out of tradition. Ours, I was told, was the biblical practice. When I learned that there were Protestants. however, who did not baptize infants that was more difficult. They too professed to follow Scripture as their principal authority. In those cases I was given a twofold explanation. Some of them, e.g., the mainline Presbyterians (PCUSA), I was told, are liberal and thus, like the Romanists, do not really adhere to Scripture. They baptize infants out of sentiment more than conviction. The others

For more background of the account of Jenny Gedde's tossing her stool at the minister at St. Giles, here is an excerpt from Laud's Liturgy as posted at The Salty Scrivener : Dean Hannay first read the new Scottish Prayer book, which became known as ‘Laud’s Liturgy’, at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, on the third Sunday in July 1637. There is an interesting story relating to the first reading of the Liturgy. It is believed that a vegetable-seller, known as Jenny Geddis was in the church for the service. When the Dean began to read the liturgy, Geddis rose to her feet, shouting, “The devil give thee bellyache! Woulds’t thou say mass in my lug!”   Geddis then proceeded to throw her stool across the room at the dean. How much of this is legend is unknown, but there is a plaque on the floor of St. Giles Cathedral today, which marks the point from where Geddis registered her protest. The protest is thought to have been both heavily organised and heavily politicised. One thin

Going to the Lord's House Posted at Reformation Scotland : Going into Church easily can be a matter of routine, but it shouldn’t be. We do a lot of everyday things without thinking, but going to Church isn’t an everyday thing. We might well drive the car on autopilot because we’re so familiar with the route, but our minds should be on the vital encounter ahead of us. The Bible tells us that we need to exercise great care in meeting with God in public worship. Alexander Nisbet draws on Ecclesiastes 5:1 to make this point. It speaks about carefulness in going to public worship which at that time was in the temple. He says that we need to keep our hearts free from sinful disorder in our hearts which mars communion with God in His ordinances. We also need to receive the declaration of God’s mind sincerely and with affection. We should be “ready to hear” or literally “draw near to hear” (Ecclesiastes 5:1). We hear not only the voice of ministers but the Lord Himself speaking

Posted at Monergism.com : David Dickson was born about the year 1583. He was the only son of Mr John Dick or Dickson, merchant in Glasgow, whose father was an old feuar and possessor of some lands in the barony of Fintry, and parish of St Ninian’s, called the Kirk of the Muir. His parents were religious, of considerable substance, and were many years married before they had David, who was their only child. As he was a Samuel asked of the Lord, so he was early devoted to Him and the ministry. Yet afterwards the vow was forgot, till Providence, by a rod and sore sickness on their son, brought their sins to their remembrance, and then he was sent to assume his studies at the University of Glasgow. Soon after he had received the degree of Master of Arts, he was admitted professor of philosophy in that college, where he was very useful in training up the youth in solid learning; and, with the learned Principal Boyd of Trochrig, the worthy Mr Blair, and other pious members of that society, h

Posted at  Jenny Geddes, Reformation History : On the 23rd of July 1637, in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Dean Hannay attempted to read from the prayer book for the first time. At this, a woman called Jenny Geddes picked up the stool she was sitting and threw it at his head, shouting 'Villain, dost thou say mass at my lug? [in my hearing]'. Then a riot broke out, with more people shouting and throwing stools, before leaving the building. Read more here...

Posted at Reformation History : David Dickson was born in 1583 and was minister in Irvine before becoming a Professor of theology at Glasgow University. Along with Alexander Henderson , David Dickson led the protests against the Book of Common Prayer in 1637 after the first attempt to read it had been interrupted by Jenny Geddes . They had planned the opposition to the prayer book in the months before it was introduced, and now Dickson helped organise petitions to the privy council against the prayer book. These protests condemned the prayer book as containing errors and being forced on the church without having the approval of a General Assembly or Parliament. The privy council wrote to the king telling him of the opposition to the prayer book from all sorts of people from different parts of the country. On the 17th of October, the king ordered that all the protestors were to leave Edinburgh within 24 hours. However the nobles, lairds and ministers stayed on to present another prote

Zacharias Ursinus - Primary author of the Heidelberg Catechism Posted at The Reformed Reader : Often when we talk about sin and evil, we mention names and events like Hitler, Stalin, concentration camps, and other mass killings. These are for sure real examples of brutal wickedness. But we as Americans can’t just point overseas and stop there. Evil and wickedness hit closer to home. I was reminded of this when reading  Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup – a man who was free, but kidnapped and forced into slavery. Slavery in the United States is an example of dark evil that ranks up there with other heinous atrocities in the world. On top of this, we can think of the cruel way many Americans treated native Americans in the 19th century westward expansion. Still more, we just need to think of abortion and the various ways helpless babies are brutally killed in staggering numbers. When we want to give examples of sin and evil, we don’t have to point overseas; it hit

Posted at Regeneration, Repentance and Reformation : Taken, adapted, condensed, and brought into modern English, from, “ A Sure Guide to Heaven ” Written by, Joseph Alleine And truly my beloved, the Devil has made many counterfeits of this Conversion… …and he cheats some with this, and another with that. Such is the craft and artifice he has, that in this mystery of deceits, if it were possible, he would deceive the very elect. Now if I may cure the damnable mistakes of some, –who think they are converted when they are not, as well as remove the troubles and fears of others, that think they are not converted when they are; I shall show you the nature of conversion, and we will begin with the Negative. 1. It is not the taking upon us the profession of Christianity. Doubtless Christianity is more than a name. If we will hear Paul, it lies not in word, but in power, –1 Cor. 4:20. If it was to cease from being Jews and Pagans, and to put on the Christian Profession had been tr

Posted at Reformation Scotland : The Second Reformation made a unique contribution to bible study. It produced many simple and practical commentaries on the Bible for everyone. They were brief, plain, practical and above all affordable. They get to the heart of what the Bible means but also to the heart of the reader in a richly devotional way. David Dickson encouraged other ministers to produce this unique series. These expositions are of great value. They were highly commended by C H Spurgeon in his classic survey, Commenting and Commentaries . Some of them explain difficult books like Job, Ecclesiastes and Revelation. Men such as Alexander Nisbet, James Fergusson and George Hutcheson worked hard in this area over many years. They contributed commentaries that together covered large areas of Scripture. In total 44 of the 66 books of the Bible. Four of these commentaries were never published. Dickson followed the example of Robert Rollock who expounded the Scriptures from the pulp

By Rev. Robert K McEvoy - Posted at The Salty Scrivener : Born near Haddington in 1505, Knox studied at the university of St Andrews, and upon graduating (at a very young age) was admitted into holy orders. An early disciple of George Wishart, Knox soon developed a deep distaste for Roman Catholicism and the clergy of Rome, who had done to death his friend and mentor. Knox was captured by the French and made a galley slave, escaping to England in 1550, where he preached at Newcastle, Berwick and London. Edward VI of England offered him a bishopric, but Knox refused on principle and after the King’s death made his way to Geneva, where he became a close friend of John Calvin. In 1554, at the request of some of the nobility, Knox returned to Scotland, where he began to preach and campaign against the mass, with such success that people in droves began to turn away from the Catholic worship. He spent another time in Geneva, between 1556 and 1559, after which he returned to Scotland. F

By Dr. Alan Cairns - Sermon Audio: (4 Minutes) Link: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=614092140220

Heidelberg Catechism (extended) The Catechism Method of Instruction in the Christian Religion As the Same is Taught in the Reformed Churches and Schools (with the Scripture references written out) Note . This Catechism is fully based on the Scriptures. The references to Scripture are indicated in parentheses with a letter. For example, the letter (a) points to the texts (a) placed after the answer. 26. Lord's Day  Q. 69. How art thou admonished and assured by holy baptism, that the one sacrifice of Christ upon the cross is of real advantage to thee?  A. Thus: That Christ appointed this external washing with water, (a) adding thereto this promise, (b) that I am as certainly washed by his blood and Spirit from all the pollution of my soul, that is, from all my sins, (c) as I am washed externally with water, by which the filthiness of the body is commonly washed away.  (a) Matt.28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,

Posted at The Salty Scrivener : Text. Habakkuk 2:5-20 Habakkuk’s depth of understanding increases… History is all being determined, being enacted in accordance with God’s sovereign purpose and plan. Everything is moving towards a conclusion that has been predetermined. History is His Story. God is writing history before it happens. 1. Woe to the Transgressors. Habakkuk begins a long description of the characteristics of the sinful nations. Chapter 2:5-8. A series of woes upon those who transgress God’s law. 11. People who build their own empires and strongholds. V9 – the very houses they build and the structures they put in place will witness against them on the judgment day. 12. People who use violence to further their own ambitions. V12 They desire glory and worship for themselves, but ultimately, only God will be glorified. The completeness of his glorification, his greatness is absolute, in V14. 13. People who bring shame on others. They loved to see others hum

WTS Books.com Posted at The Reformed Reader : (This is a slightly edited repost from May, 2012) One recent trend in some calvinistic circles is the use of vulgar and crass language. It is not uncommon to hear cussing among younger males who are coming to embrace the doctrines of grace. Popular Calvinist pastors use coarse language in sermons, in tweets, on blogs, and in books (some say this is OK because it’s satire or irony). Sexual terms are used without prudence. Some calvinistic seminarians even cuss between classes like army privates in the barracks. In fact, it is “cool” nowadays to be a cussing Calvinist. (Emergents and evangelicals aren’t the only trendy Christians!) Carl Trueman interacts with cool Calvinists cussing (or cool cussing Calvinists). This is very much worth reading: “Why is it that language that would offend most of my non-Christian friends, and that they would regard as a sign of seriously limited vocabulary and deep childishness, is deemed by some

Posted at This Day in Presbyterian History : On March 10th, 1929, Dr. J. Gresham Machen delivered his last sermon before the students at the Princeton Theological Seminary. Machen had fought against the reorganization of the Seminary and had lost that battle. Modernists were now able to take control of the school and theological conservatives were being forced out. In the months that followed, plans were quickly laid for the establishment of Westminster Theological Seminary, and the new school opened in the fall of 1929 under Machen’s leadership. All of which makes this final Princeton sermon an important one in following both Machen’s ministry and the history of the modernist controversy. [As first published in The Presbyterian,  99.13 (28 March 1929): 6-10. (This is the original, unedited text—see note at the end).] Read more...

Posted at New College Librarian : February was a suitable month to remember James Renwick (15 February 1662 – 17 February 1688). Renwick was a graduate of Edinburgh University who accepted a call to the ministry within the independent Presbyterian church ‘societies’. These communities were formed by the Covenanters, so named because they bound themselves in ‘covenants’ to maintain the Presbyterian doctrine as the sole form of religion in Scotland. They rejected the attempts of the Crown to control church government and patronage in Scotland. Renwick’s short career included illegal field preaching, baptizing, and eluding capture by the authorities. His sermons and letter were published as tracts and pamphlets, some of which are preserved in New College Library’s Pamphlets Collection. Read more...

By Diane Bucknell - Posted at Out of the Ordinary : "I like those words, ‘Our life is like the weaver’s web’ for it is so true to life. We only see the wrong side of the fabric now, for the Weaver has not finished his work. But in the Day to come, where we shall see it from his side, then we shall behold the beauty of his work and not the knots and ends which our sins and failures have caused.” -Vera E. Pink in a letter to a friend 1 It's been said “Behind every great man there stands a great woman” and this was certainly true of the humble and dedicated writer Arthur W. Pink. This unique man was theologically out of sync with most of his contemporaries and lived most of his life in obscurity. He embraced the writings of the long forgotten Puritans and the Doctrines of Grace in an era when most Evangelical churches were Arminian, if not liberal. Though he has been criticized for his isolationism and lack of formal education, Pink's w

Posted at 5 Minutes in Church History : Martin Bucer was one of the leading lights of the Reformation in Strasbourg. He was born in 1491 and died in 1551, and he, like Martin Luther, was an Augustinian monk. In 1518, he found himself in Heidelberg at the Augustinian chapter house with Luther himself. In October 1517, Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door at Wittenberg, beginning the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s brothers in the Augustinian order wanted to take him up on his invitation to debate, so they invited him to the Augustinian chapter house in Heidelberg. Luther arrived in April 1518, and rather than presenting the Ninety-Five Theses, he drafted a new set of twenty-nine points for debate. Bucer was just a young monk in the audience. Seeing the debate had a significant impact on Bucer, and sometime in the next year or two, he was converted. He was one of the first Reformers to leave the monastery and get married. In 1523, he was invited to Strasbour

Posted at Out of the Ordinary : Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: consider your ways. You have sown much and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes...You looked for much, and behold it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. ~ Haggai 1:5-6 , 9 Haggai's words pierce my heart as I think of the toiling and spinning I've done in this life. I have pursued the American dream and come up wanting. I've known the emptiness of too many possessions and too much debt, of being overwhelmed yet still not having enough. I have stored up my treasures on earth. I have tried to live my best life now. I have loved the world and paid the price. There are many pitfalls

Heidelberg Catechism (extended) The Catechism Method of Instruction in the Christian Religion As the Same is Taught in the Reformed Churches and Schools (with the Scripture references written out) Note. This Catechism is fully based on the Scriptures. The references to Scripture are indicated in parentheses with a letter. For example, the letter (a) points to the texts (a) placed after the answer. 25. Lord's Day  Q. 65. Since then we are made partakers of Christ and all his benefits by faith only, whence does this faith proceed?  A. From the Holy Ghost, (a) who works faith in our hearts by the preaching of the gospel, and confirms it by the use of the sacraments. (b)  (a) Eph.2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Eph.2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph.6:23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say