Four Details About Assurance
As we continue our series (part 1, part 2) on assurance, we come to four basic details about it that are so important to consider. It is possible for a Christian to have an assurance of his salvation. We…
Category Meet the Puritans
“I’m an Atheist. So Why Can’t I Shake God?”
An Honest Admission Recently, this title in the Washington Post (Feb 4, 2016) caught my eye: “I’m an atheist. So why can’t I shake God?: Turns out it’s pretty hard to believe in nothing when your psyche is wired for…
Wednesday @ Westminster: In Adam’s Fall, We Sinned All
“In Adam’s fall, we sinned all” (The New-England Primer: A Reprint of the Earliest Known Edition, with Many Facsimiles and Reproductions, and an Historical Introduction, ed. Paul Leicester Ford [NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1899], 14). This famous line of Benjamin’s…
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 be told. Undoubtedly, reactions would range from disbelief to delight…
Seven Characteristics of False Teachers
In recently re-reading Thomas Brooks’ classic, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices (1652; 8th ed. 1676) I was struck by a section towards the end. In it Brooks connected spiritual warfare (yes, Reformed people believe this is a reality!) with sound doctrine…
Calvin-ISM
Calvinism used to be synonymous with Reformed theology. Indeed, it identified it more quickly and easily, because many people have no idea what you mean if you say “Reformed” but they immediately seem to recognise “Calvinism” as a term. A…
Episcopalians and Presbyterians Together…Again
In my first post I recounted that King James I and VI of England and Scotland (1566–1625), a staunch episcopalian and despiser of presbyterians, partnered with Pierre du Moulin (d. 1658), pastor of the French Reformed congregation in Paris and…
June’s Meet the Puritans Resource
In 2016, every two months (Feb, Apr, June, Aug, Oct, Dec) we will be producing a Meet the Puritans Resource, which you will be able to find linked under Our Resources. These will be classic texts with introductions, footnotes, and modernized…
Wednesday @ Westminster: God’s Abundant Providence to Adam
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 136:1). God in his goodness and covenant mercy has created and continues to provide for all that his creatures need. What a good God…
Peter Martyr Vermigli on the Church
The Florentine Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499–1562) was among the most important of sixteenth century Protestant theologians. Among many enormous works is his massive commentary on 1 Corinthians. In this and the following posts, I wish to draw attention in particular…