Reformed Christian Studies

 By R. Fowler White - Posted at Green Baggins: Having considered the place God prepares for the life everlasting of His people , we turn finally to consider the life everlasting as the church’s hope of glorification and as the promise that God will keep. In our day, it comes as a shock to many that the God of the Bible has no plan to save everyone without exception. In fact, as the Divine Judge who is completely just, He is under no obligation to save any sinner. Yet, because the God of the Bible is a merciful Savior as well as a just Judge, He has made known to us that His plan is to save any and all who repent of their sins and trust in Christ as He is offered in the gospel. Indeed, He has purposed to save a remnant from all nations (Rev 5:9), a multitude of sinners that no human can number (7:9). The Apostle John describes in a remarkable way that multitude who will go into the place of the life everlasting we described in our previous post. They are the thirsty to whom Christ gi

By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Parson Farms : Good Morning! Last week we looked at Baptism and one of the things we noted about it is that it is to be understood as a public initiation of sorts into the Kingdom of God. As 1 Cor. 7 shows us the infant (or adult for that matter) is covenantally holy internally by the work of the Holy Spirit before the actual applying of the water onto the head of the recipient. However, there is still a need for the Church to testify to this existing reality. There are benefits both to the world and to the people of God to see and be reminded of the Lord’s promises to His children. The same could be said about the next sacrament we are going to look at: The Lord’s Supper. However, unlike Baptism, this Holy gift is for professed believers alone. It is not, despite what John Wesley taught, an ordinance open to everyone regardless of ecclesiastical status. Only those approved by the Church through the oversight of the Elders may partake. This is tru

  By Pastor Brian Schwertley - Posted at Sermon Audio :

 By Simonetta Carr - Posted at Place for Truth : Largely unknown today, Susanna and Cornelia Teelinck inspired two generations of Dutch Christians to trust God to deliver them from Spanish domination. They were born in 1551 and 1553 respectively into a distinguished family from Zierikzee, in the Dutch province of Zeeland. Their father Eewoud Teellinck (d. 1561) was a brewer who also served as an alderman and treasurer in the City Council. Judging by the statues of saints and the crucifix found among Eewoud’s belongings, the family was probably Roman Catholic. It was also a cultured family, who owned a small but rich library of French, Latin and German books. All four children, however, converted to the Reformed faith. Eewoud died in 1561 and his wife Helena Willem Jansdr followed him four years later, leaving their oldest son Joos to act as a guardian to his siblings. Around 1573, nineteen-year-old Cornelia, the youngest, requested admission to the Lord’s Supper from her local Reformed

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Source:  4. The first American colonies. - YouTube

 By Keith Kaufman - Posted at Place for Truth: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” – James 1:17 The truth of God’s immutable nature, a truth stated plainly by James near the beginning of his epistle, is foundational to the entirety of the Christian religion, to the Gospel message, and to our very understanding of Who God is. God as Creator, something which James immediately highlights in verse 18, is only possible because in His creation of all existence, an existence born out of and sustained by His divine being, He is never diminished or weakened by His sustaining act. God as divine Judge is only possible because His judgments will never change, His standards will never move. God as sovereign Savior is only possible because His choice to elect and save a portion of sinful humanity can never be shaken or cast aside. He will never decide that His chosen ones are just too bad, worse th

Belgic Confession, Week 3 Article 7: The Sufficiency of Scripture We believe that this Holy Scripture contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it. For since the entire manner of service which God requires of us is described in it at great length, no one– even an apostle or an angel from heaven, as Paul says– [2] ought to teach other than what the Holy Scriptures have already taught us. For since it is forbidden to add to or subtract from the Word of God, [3] this plainly demonstrates that the teaching is perfect and complete in all respects. Therefore we must not consider human writings– no matter how holy their authors may have been– equal to the divine writings; nor may we put custom, nor the majority, nor age, nor the passage of time or persons, nor councils, decrees, or official decisions above the truth of God, for truth is above everything else. For all human beings are liars by nature and more vain than vani

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts from Parson Farms: Not Letting the Sinner Own Your Soul Good Morning! In this space recently we’ve talked a good bit about standing strong for the Lord amid the trials of the world as it is right now. There’s been a lot of challenges thrown out and this week in our prayer and worship help I want to spend some time on you. That is, your personal walk with the Savior, in a way that doesn’t include a call to action per se, but includes a reminder of your need to rest in Jesus. Specifically, we’re going to look at how seeking forgiveness for others especially grants you peace as you, and I, deal with so much on our hearts and souls. To start off it’s always important to define words. What do we mean by forgiveness? What does that look like? Seeing as we are coming to this from a Christian perspective it is likely a good idea to start with what the Bible has to say. In the seraphic opening chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he writes, “

Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 29 29. Lord’s Day Q. 78. Do then the bread and wine become the very body and blood of Christ? A. Not at all: [a] but as the water in baptism is not changed into the blood of Christ, neither is the washing away of sin itself, being only the sign and confirmation thereof appointed of God; [b] so the bread in the Lord’s supper is not changed into the very body of Christ; [c] though agreeably to the nature and properties of sacraments, [d] it is called the body of Christ Jesus. Q. 79. Why then doth Christ call the bread “his body”, and the cup “his blood”, or “the new covenant in his blood”; and Paul the “communion of body and blood of Christ”? A. Christ speaks thus, not without great reason, namely, not only thereby to teach us, that as bread and wine support this temporal life, so his crucified body and shed blood are the true meat and drink, whereby our souls are fed to eternal life; [a] but more especially by these visible signs and pledges to assu

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube : Source:  3. John Knox and the Scottish Reformation - YouTube

 By Howard Douglas King - Posted at The Old Paths : Introduction The following account is taken from the old book, Cross and Crown , by James D. McCabe, a collection of accounts of the martyrs of the Protestant Reformation period. The section headings, introduction, and conclusion are mine. Why would anyone want to hear the story of one of the church’s martyrs? From the human point of view, it seems like nothing but a tragedy of hopelessness — the good and beautiful trampled into the dust by gigantic, unstoppable forces of evil. But from the Divine viewpoint, it’s the story of one saint’s super-human courage, strength, and triumph! She looked the devil in the face, and did not flinch. She dared his minions to do their worst, and braved their furious hate! She overcame them by the blood of the lamb, and the word of her testimony, and she is now in heaven, out of the reach of any evil, at rest, surrounded by saints and angels, held in honor by all, awaiting the day of Jesus Christ, and t

 By Tim Challies - Posted at Challies.com :  The Philanthropists: Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon Today I am beginning a series of short biographies of great Christian philanthropists–men and women who used their God-given wealth and privilege to advance his work. We begin with a woman who was the “Queen of Methodism,” an influential leader in the 18th century revival movement, and a great philanthropist. Selina Hastings was born on August 24, 1707, the daughter of Lord Washington Shirley and Lady Mary Shirley. A child of privilege, she spent her childhood in Leicestershire and her family’s Irish estates. In 1728 she married Theophilus Hastings, the ninth Earl of Huntingdon, and this marriage gave her the title Countess of Huntingdon. In his biography of George Whitefield , Arnold Dallimore notes “the remarkable Christian witness that [Lady Huntingdon] maintained among Britain’s nobility.” In fact, as one of her own biographers tells us, “Lord and Lady Huntingdon constantly att

 By Kyle E. Sims - Posted at Gentle Reformation: Confessional Christianity can bring people to a stronger walk with Jesus. Growing up in a non-confessional church left me ignorant and spiritually malnourished. The churches I grew up in lacked a unified theological understanding. After I asked a question at 13 years old, someone finally explained the doctrine of the Trinity to me. I read my Bible, but I only got a hit-or-miss idea about the central doctrines of our faith. In the Fall of 1994, I took a class with Dr. Morton Smith on Reformed Theology. He did not lecture but read the Confession and Catechisms and explained their teaching. During this semester, the Lord answered the theological questions I had been wrestling with since childhood. Now I had a foundation, and my spiritual life began to grow. It is surprising and saddening that many are unfamiliar with our Confession and Catechisms. Many churches have replaced the Shorter Catechism with the Children’s Catechism, and many chur

 Posted at WeeCalvin 1509 : Encourage young believers I don’t suppose the name of Mary King will mean a lot to you. She is described as a “big sturdy woman” who worked in John Swindell’s school in Newmark in Suffolk in the mid 19th century. She was known to all who worked there simply as “cook” and might have died in poverty later on, except for the charity of one who had been a shy young usher in the school. This young usher had been under deep conviction of sin and Mary helped and impressed him greatly. Mary was a fond reader of The Gospel Standard magazine, edited by JC Philpott and read by the stronger Calvinists within the Strict and Particular Baptist denomination. (So called because they were strict in who could partake of communion and particular in their views of the purpose and extent of the Atonement.) Being unable to find a church suited to her theology, she attended a somewhat liberal chapel where (she said) she had to scratch like an old hen in a pile of rubbish looking

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube : Source:   The Seeds of Revolution in Calvin's Thought - YouTube

  "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them" — Psalm 34:7 We cannot see the angels, but it is enough that they can see us. There is one great Angel of the Covenant, whom not having seen we love, and His eye is always upon us both day and night. He has a host of holy ones under Him, and He causes these to be watchers over His saints and to guard them from all ill. If devils do us mischief, shining ones do us service. Note that the LORD of angels does not come and go and pay us transient visits, but He and His armies encamp around us. The headquarters of the army of salvation is where those live whose trust is in the living God. This camp surrounds the faithful so that they cannot be attacked from any quarter unless the adversary can break through the entrenchments of the LORD of angels. We have a fixed protection, a permanent watch. Sentineled by the messengers of God, we shall not be surprised by sudden assaults nor swallowed up by o

 By Simonetta Carr - Posted at Place for Truth : The renowned historian Andrew Walls describes Johannes van der Kemp as an unconventional candidate for the London Missionary Society (LMS). At the time of his application, van der Kemp was in fact fifty years old and had both a higher education and a more complicated past than the average candidate. “While most LMS candidates lamented their early sins and misimproved talents and opportunities,” Walls writes, “this ex-dragoon officer really had been a sinner on a fairly spectacular scale. He had also been a deist and a rationalist author.” [1] Sinner, Deist, and Rationalist Born in 1847 at Rotterdam, Netherlands, van der Kemp had started his theological studies on the footsteps of his father, a Reformed pastor. After graduation, he instead joined the army, progressing through the ranks until he became a Captain of the Horse and Lieutenant of the Dragoon Guards (a branch of the cavalry). It was while serving as an officer that

By Rev. Brian Schwertley - Posted at Sermon Audio:

Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 99. What rules are to be observed for the right understanding of the ten commandments? A. For the right understanding of the ten commandments, these rules are to be observed: 1. That the law is perfect, and bindeth everyone to full conformity in the whole man unto the righteousness thereof, and unto entire obedience forever; so as to require the utmost perfection of every duty, and to forbid the least degree of every sin. [422] 2. That it is spiritual, and so reacheth the understanding, will, affections, and all other powers of the soul; as well as words, works, and gestures. [423] 3. That one and the same thing, in divers respects, is required or forbidden in several commandments. [424] 4. That as, where a duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden; [425] and, where a sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded: [426] so, where a promise is annexed, the contrary threatening is included; [427] and, where a threatening is annexed, the contra

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Source:  1. Presbyterians and the American Revolution - YouTube

"God shall be with you" — Genesis 48:21 Good old Jacob could no more be with Joseph, for his hour had come to die: but he left his son without anxiety, for he said with confidence, "God shall be with you." When our dearest relations or our most helpful friends are called home by death, we must console ourselves with the reflection that the LORD is not departed from us but lives for us and abides with us forever. If God be with us, we are in ennobling company, even though we are poor and despised. If God be with us, we have all-sufficient strength, for nothing can be too hard for the LORD. If God be with us, we are always safe, for none can harm those who walk under His shadow. Oh, what a joy we have here! Not only is God with us, but He will be with us. With us as individuals; with us as families; with us as churches. Is not the very name of Jesus, Immanuel -- God with us? Is not this the best of all, that God is with us? Let us be bravely diligent and joyously hope