Party Spirit
If a theological debate has been infected with personal animosity and filled with over the top accusations and charges, then you will mostly likely find a party spirit, which will…
Patrick Ramsey
The Personal Side of Polemics
One of the striking yet sad features of the Antinomian-Neonomian debate of the 1690’s (see parts 1, 2) was the evident personal animosity towards Daniel Williams. Although John Flavel also…
Over the Top
Although the antinomian-neonomian controversy of the 1690’s (see part 1) involved godly ministers who were all part of the same but broad Reformed family—most of them had even formally united…
Know When to Run
Ever since I studied the Antinomian-Neonomian controversy that took place among the English Dissenters in London during the final decade of the seventeenth century, I have wanted to write on…
Why Bother with Ball?
I have referred to the puritan John Ball in a number of posts thus far. He is not exactly a household name, even within the relatively small Reformed world. Mention…
Justification of the Ungodly
One of the most striking and comforting expressions in the Scriptures is that God justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5). Nonetheless, this statement creates a theological conundrum of sorts and has…
One Covenant of Grace?
The creeds and confessions of the past continue to serve the Church today because they summarize the eternal truths of Scripture. While the grass withers and the flowers fade, the…
The Wherefore and The Why
I have been calling attention to the Puritans’ high view of good works in a number of past posts. If I could read my readers’ minds, quite a tale could…
Good Works and Sola Fide
In my last article I discussed that the puritans believed that good works are more than the fruit of faith, justification and salvation in that they are the way to…
More Than Fruit
In my last article I referenced the evangelical understanding of the Scriptural phrase “do this and live” among some puritans. Such an understanding implies that good works are more than…
Do This and Live
A concise and catchy way of articulating the covenant of works or works righteousness, is to use a phrase that is found on the lips of both Moses and Christ:…
Same in Substance and John 1:17
There are several passages in the New Testament that appear to make a stark contrast between the Old or Mosaic Covenant—the covenant relationship the Lord made with Israel at Mount…