Working Lights
How can we be salt and light in our world, so that instead of being “trodden under foot” or “hidden under a bushel” (vv. 13, 15), we can resist evil and do good, and moving unbelievers to glorify God as…
Category Meet the Puritans
Proto-Puritan William Tyndale (9)
His Sacramental Theology – Baptism In our last post, we looked at Tyndale’s covenant theology, which contributed to the development of a mature Englished Reformed theology in the following century. This time, we will treat Tyndale’s sacramental theology in general…
Improving Your Baptism
Eating disorders can fall towards two extremes. Some abuse God’s good gifts by eating too much food or bad food; others starve themselves, perhaps attempting to lose weight or control their body in some other way. Similarly, baptism is often…
Assurance Made Possible
Anthony Burgess (d. 1664) was a “sound and orthodox divine,” distinguished for both his theological prowess and personal piety. Like many Protestants in his day, Burgess highly esteemed the doctrine of assurance, particularly as it played-out in the local church.[1]…
Faith & Repentance
Which logically comes first: Faith, or repentance? This theological conundrum has been debated from time to time within the Reformed world. It is important to note that the point of contention pertains to logical and not chronological priority. Most people…
Let the Light Shine
How can we be salt and light in our world, so that—instead of being “trodden under foot” or “hidden under a bushel” (vv. 13, 15)—we can resist evil, do good, and move unbelievers to glorify God as our Father in…
The Master Idol
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). This is a painful process, and at times can discourage even mature Christians. The sins of self-interest reach deep…
Book Review: Debated Issues in Sovereign Predestination
Joel R. Beeke, Debated Issues in Sovereign Predestination: Early Lutheran Predestination, Calvinian Reprobation, and Variations in Genevan Lapsarianism, vol. 42, Reformed Historical Theology (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2017). 252pp. Predestination has frequently occupied the attention of those who are interested…
The 39: A Christian Man’s Oath
We complete our study of the Thirty-Nine Articles at Article 39, which also concludes its final topic: The relationship between the Christian and the commonwealth. Article Thirty-Nine addresses the distinction between the permissible swearing of an oath from rash and…
David Clarkson on Repentance
David Clarkson joined John Owen as a fellow minister in a church in London in 1682. Owen entered glory soon thereafter, joining the assembly of the righteous made perfect. Clarkson continued on, preaching in Owen’s pulpit for three more years until his…