Secularization Interrupted
it was becoming increasingly clear that at least on the street, the the veneer of Christianity was peeling away to reveal a canvas of various native (pre-Christian) folk paganisms. As Cambridge...
View ArticleOffice Hours: The Role Of Prayer In The Work Of Sanctification
Scripture teaches us that prayer is essential for sanctification. In 1Thessalonians 5:16-17 Paul says simply, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17, ESV). He doesn’t...
View ArticleCalvin’s Prayer For Sanctification
Grant, Almighty God, that as thou dost train us up with so much diligence and assiduous care, and regard us as dear and precious like an hereditary vine, – O grant, that we may not bring forth wild...
View ArticleBetween Hagiography And Cynicism
Telling the truth about the past is more difficult than it might seem but we can appreciate the difficulties by reflecting for just a moment on the controversy in Ferguson, Missouri. It’s a...
View ArticleSentiment Is Not A Sacrament
Holidays are a time for great sentiment, which the Oxford American Dictionary defines, in this usage, as an “exaggerated and self-indulgent feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia.” Who does not...
View ArticleAvoid Strange Teaching, Endless Genealogies, Speculation, And Self- Appointed...
As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any strange doctrine, who hold useless speculations, nor to pay attention to myths...
View ArticleHeidelberg 116: Why Is Prayer So Important?
No act is more basic to the Christian life, to Christian worship, to piety, and to growth and yet prayer is also uniquely and strangely difficult. Continue reading →
View ArticleHeidelberg 117: Who Defines True Prayer?
There are few places in religion where subjectivism dominates more clearly than in the matter of prayer. Just try to tell someone that their prayers are not proper and see what happens. One will be met...
View ArticleHeidelberg 118–119: We Ask For All Necessities
I grew up on the Plains. It is not easy for Plainsmen to ask for help. The Plains are the home of rugged individualism, which was a very useful trait for settlers who turned over ground for the first...
View ArticleLuther On “Saints,” Monks, And Sola Scriptura
In the papacy there is a book containing the legends or accounts of the saints. I hate it intensely, solely for the reason that it tells of revolting forms of worship and silly miracles performed by...
View ArticleReformed Piety And Practice
When Martin Luther (1483–1546) entered the Augustinian convent at Erfurt in 1505, it was a considered decision and the fulfillment of a vow he had made when he cried, “St. Anne, help me! I will become...
View ArticleIn Defense Of Religion
One frequently sees the sentiment “I am not religious, I am a Christian” or something like this. This notion manifests itself in a variety of ways. For example, over the last several years we have seen...
View ArticleReformed Is Enough Or Why I Wrote RRC
David J. Miller published a lengthy account yesterday of his journey out of the OPC to Eastern Orthodoxy and to Anglicanism of different sorts and back to confessional Presbyterian and Reformed...
View ArticleOffice Hours: Kelly Kapic On John Owen, Theology, And Piety
Kelly Kapic is Professor of Theological Studies at Covenant College. This is a sort of lost episode. Kelly was on campus campus in February, 2010 to talk with our students about theology and piety....
View ArticleReformed Is A Confession More Than A Culture
These arguments often come down to definitions. If we define culture as the sum of a series of factors including language, a web of relationships (family, community), that shapes the way we think about...
View ArticleReformed And Pentecostal?
In view of the controversy over the recent Strange Fire conference up the road, it seemed like a good time to re-post this HB classic from 2008. § James K. A. Smith has an interesting post at CT:...
View ArticleOffice Hours: Mike Horton On Sanctification And Justification
The core question of the Reformation was this: how can a sinner be right with God? The medieval church had concluded that he cannot, that, before God can accept someone, a person must be entirely...
View Article“Did God Leave Me When I Went To Seminary?”
Ryan at Sola Gratia raises a question that many first-semester seminary students ask. In essence the question is this: Before I came to seminary I had an active devotional life and a vital, immediate,...
View ArticleThe Importance of Being More Than Earnest
Doctrine. Theology. For many evangelicals these words are as pleasant as the phrase, “impacted tooth!” That theology is irrelevant to Christian life has essentially become a received dogma....
View ArticleOf King Cakes And Christian Liberty
Lost amid the ashes and sausages, King cakes and shrove pancakes — can’t forget about the pancakes — is Zwingli’s deeper concern about the nature of Christian sanctification. As a cradle Catholic who’s...
View ArticleBavinck: Prayers For The Dead Undermine Christ’s Intercession
If the doctrine of purgatory is untenable, all offerings and prayers for the dead automatically fall with it. Veneration of the dead by sacrifices and prayers was common among pagans. Intercession for...
View ArticleRecovering The Importance Of The Public Reading Of Scripture
Bible reading has become a largely private practice—something we do in our own personal “quiet time.” A few verses, or perhaps as much as a chapter, are often read before the sermon on Sunday morning....
View ArticleThe “Opium Of The People” And The Opioid Crisis
I have been thinking some lately about Karl Marx (1818–83). Now, it has been a few decades since I have read Marx but I did read him a fair bit in University as an undergraduate. I think my various...
View ArticleThe “Opium Of The People” And The Opioid Crisis (2)
The late-modern period is a a time of disillusionment in the West and perhaps nowhere else is that disillusionment more acute than in America where, since at the least the early 20th century, the false...
View ArticleJohn 3 Might Not Mean What You Think It Does
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can . ....
View ArticleAGR: With Chris Gordon On “Still, Small Voices”
It is widely thought among Christians that God is still revealing himself to believers apart from Scripture. It is not at all uncommon for a Christian to say, “I believe in Scripture alone” (sola...
View ArticleOffice Hours: The 21st Century Reformed Pastor And Piety
The 21st century Reformed pastor faces many challenges. He represents a minority tradition in North America and in most other places in the world. His church tends to be understaffed and under-funded....
View ArticleWarfield: Study While You Pray And Pray While You Study
I am asked to speak to you on the religious life of the student of theology. I approach the subject with some trepidation. I think it the most important subject which can engage our thought. You will...
View ArticleWhat Is Prayer?
Prayer consists in calling upon the true God, and arises from an acknowledgment and sense of our want, and from a desire of sharing in the divine bounty, in true conversion of heart and confidence in...
View ArticleGrowing Beyond Bi-Polar Spirituality Or Why You Should Be In A Confessional...
The Reformed faith, the Reformed confession, is more than five points on salvation (Dort). It is more than a set of doctrines. It is also a piety, a way of relating to God, and a set of churchly...
View ArticleOn The Canons Of Dort (31): Doubts, Carelessness, and Godliness
The Remonstrants (Arminians) charged the orthodox Reformed, i.e., those who confessed the Belgic Confession (1561) and the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) sincerely (without crossed fingers) with being...
View ArticleOffice Hours With Craig Troxel On With All Your Heart
The word “heart” is a truly important word in the English language. In the introduction to his new book, With All Your Heart: Orienting Your Mind, Desires, and Will Toward Christ, Westminster Seminary...
View ArticleHeidelcast 145: I AM That I AM (13): Some Implications Of The Divine Attributes
With this episode we return to our series on the doctrine of God, I Am That I Am. We are thinking today a little bit more about some of the implications of the attributes of God. Remember we...
View ArticlePrayer, Privacy, And Piety
When teaching his disciples about prayer, our Lord said: And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they...
View ArticleDemons In The Digital Age
One of the myths that has been exploded in late modernity is that we Westerners are an “Enlightened” people, who have moved beyond demons, ghosts, and religion. We are not and we have not. I am not...
View ArticleCriticizing Edwards On Religious Affections Does Not Lead To Dead Orthodoxy:...
Are You Promoting Dead Orthodoxy? In the wake of my latest essay, which cautions readers regarding Jonathan Edwards, has come questions about the role of affections and emotion in the Christian life....
View ArticleSearching For An Aid To Piety?
Tending to the means of grace in public worship every Lord’s Day should be at the top of the list for anyone who wants to improve his personal and family piety. Further, people who are committed to...
View ArticleNew Resource Page: Reformed Piety
Theology, piety, and practice— regular Heidelblog readers and Heidelcast listeners will be familiar with that formula. In classic and confessional Reformed Christianity these three things have always...
View ArticleHeidelcast 200—What Must A Christian Believe? (17): The Holy Spirit
This is episode 17 in the series, What Must A Christian Believe? In our survey of the rule of faith, i.e., the Apostles’ Creed, we have reached the eighth article, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.”...
View ArticleHeidelcast 203: A Christmas Story (With A Santa Clause)
We’re interrupting our series on the Apostles’ Creed to talk about Christmas. Usually at this time of year I post or repost some of the essays on the Heidelblog about Christmas but this year I thought...
View ArticleConversion, Church Planting, And The Due Use Of Ordinary Means
As a follow up to the recent post about the intersection between Acts 29, Mars Hill, and the PCA, someone sent a link to the application to be filled in/out on for the Spanish River Church Planting...
View ArticleA Delightful Reformed Guide To Your Devotions: Be Thou My Vision
Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021) is a delightful surprise. Edited by Jonathan Gibson it is arranged in a cycle of 31 days and on each day it includes: A call to...
View ArticleHeidelcast 212: Our Father (3)—For What Should We Pray?
This is part three in our series on prayer, Our Father. So far we have looked at what prayer is and why we should pray. In this episode we are considering that for which we pray. It is not always easy...
View ArticleHeidelcast 218: Our Father (8): “Give Us Our Daily Bread” (Plus Dr Clark...
In this episode Dr Clark answers Heidelmail and Heideltexts from Chris, about how we should think about the Lutheran doctrine of salvation, is it a middle way between the Reformed and the Lutherans? By...
View ArticleA Surprising But Godly Use Of The Reformed Confessions
As a pastor, I am frequently asked about the best resources available for growth in the Christian faith. We live in a time when there is no shortage of devotional books to help with personal and family...
View ArticleHeidelcast 221: Our Father (11): “Yours Is The Glory” (Plus Dr Clark Answers...
In this episode Dr Clark answers a Heideltext from Anonymous who writes, “Dr Clark, I have attempted to walk an associate through the PCA’s position paper against the Auburn Avenue heresy, specifically...
View ArticleThe Forgotten Gift Of Evening Worship
When I was a boy, my parents gave my siblings and me a big, round trampoline. That gift brought us and countless hours of fun, laughter, and exercise. So, when our children were old enough, Jordan and...
View ArticleAre Church Members Free Agents?
One of the biggest developments of the modern era of sports is the rise of the “free agent.” Under “free agency” an athlete is bound to a team only for a short period of time, at the end of which he...
View ArticleHeidelminicast: Clarkson Public Worship Is Before Private
These are some of our favorite Heidelquotes. Something to think about from the Heidelcast. If you are subscribed to the Heidelcast or the Heidelblog (see below) you will receive these episodes...
View ArticleWhat The Spirit Is Doing Or What We Are Saying? Distinguishing Reformed And...
Introduction Since the early 19th century American Christianity has been largely dominated by a revival of the original Anabaptist theology, piety, and practice. One can transpose much of what took...
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