In our day, the spirit of the age bombards us with the message that something newer is inherently better. Yet, for the Christian who holds to old confessions, we are reminded that the Christian faith is decidedly rooted in history.…
The chapters on God and his relation to his creation in the Westminster Confession of Faith (I have in mind here chapters 2-7, but in reality the whole confession is about this) reveal to us a Triune God who actively…
If you have a copy of the Westminster Confession of Faith open it up. Take a minute to peruse it. Now, let me ask you a question. Historically what can you tell me about the time of the Confession? Yes,…
Years ago I attended a seminar promoting a new study Bible with notes aimed at fostering deeper relationships. At a break, I asked the author of the notes why basic theological points were so conspicuously absent. “Oh,” he replied, “that’s…
My seminary professor of missions emphasized what is often glossed over when discussing and doing mission work: the Bible not only presents a message but a method of its delivery.[1] Similarly, the Bible has its own method of apologetics (self-defense)…
“Although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men un-excusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and…
Do you ever wonder how the Westminster divines would defend the Christian faith? I happen to believe that the apologetic method most consistent with the Westminster Confession of Faith (as well as the Larger and Shorter Catechisms) is what is…
In the late 1890’s B. B. Warfield, along with several other men, wrote against “the impatience . . . with the effort to define truth and to state with precision the doctrinal presuppositions and contents of Christianity.”[1] Such impatience was…
Ministering in a small, rural town with over ten churches, all with relatively low attendance, I have often heard the question, “What makes your church different?” I have found this question difficult to answer, not because I couldn’t rattle off…
Just as bottles of distilled water offer drink that is free of poisonous chemicals and clogging minerals, so the Church’s confessions provide boiled-down, condensed, purified orthodoxy for healthy Body life systems. For instance, a seminary student being examined on the…
