Presbyterian & Reformed Publishers has just released The Certainty of the Faith by Richard Ramsay. Ramsay is a presuppositionalist, but proposes what he calls an “integrated” approach to apologetics. While maintaining his pre-commitment to God’s revelation in Scripture, he seeks to find a place for evidences and rational arguments provided they do not undermine the self-attesting Word. Although I consider myself a Van Tillian, given Ramsay’s definition I perhaps might better be called an “integrationist.” I find the term helpful in a clarifying sense, but true Van Tillians do not shy away from evidences provided they are put in their correct place and never used as an appeal to autonomous reason. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for July, 2008
The Certainty of the Faith
Confession Chapter 29: Of the Lord’s Supper
1. Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of his body and blood, called the Lord’s Supper, to be observed in his church, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of himself in his death; the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto him; and, to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other, as members of his mystical body.
2. In this sacrament, Christ is not offered up to his Father; nor any real sacrifice made at all, for remission of sins of the quick or dead; but only a commemoration of that one offering up of himself, by himself, upon the cross, once for all: and a spiritual oblation of all possible praise unto God, for the same: so that the popish sacrifice of the mass (as they call it) is most abominably injurious to Christ’s one, only sacrifice, the alone propitiation for all the sins of his elect.
3. The Lord Jesus hath, in this ordinance, appointed his ministers to declare his word of institution to the people; to pray, and bless the elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common to an holy use; and to take and break the bread, to take the cup, and (they communicating also themselves) to give both to the communicants; but to none who are not then present in the congregation.
Read the rest of this entry »
Recovering the Reformed Confession
R. Scott Clark, Professor of Church History and Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary California, joins us to discuss his forthcoming book Recovering the Reformed Confession.
Panel
- R. Scott Clark
- Jeff Waddington
- Jim Cassidy
- Nick Batzig
- Camden Bucey
Links
- The Heidelblog
- Justin Taylor’s roundup of the interaction between Enns, Helm, and Beale
- Scottish Journal of Theology
- Report from the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church
- R. Scott Clark’s post on Recovering the Reformed Confession
- The Baptist Confession of 1689
- The Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies
Confession Chapter 28: Of Baptism
1. Baptism is a sacrament of the new testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible church; but also, to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life. Which sacrament is, by Christ’s own appointment, to be continued in his church until the end of the world.
2. The outward element to be used in this sacrament is water, wherewith the party is to be baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, by a minister of the gospel, lawfully called thereunto.
3. Dipping of the person into the water is not necessary; but baptism is rightly administered by pouring, or sprinkling water upon the person. Read the rest of this entry »
Union with Christ and Twofold Grace
Join us as we speak with Mark Garcia, author of Life in Christ: Union with Christ and Twofold Grace in Calvin’s Theology, regarding the theological implications of union with Christ and its prominence in Calvin’s writings. Read the rest of this entry »
Confession Chapter 27: Of the Sacraments
1. Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ, and his benefits; and to confirm our interest in him: as also, to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the church, and the rest of the world; and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to his Word.
2. There is, in every sacrament, a spiritual relation, or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified: whence it comes to pass, that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other.
3. The grace which is exhibited in or by the sacraments rightly used, is not conferred by any power in them; neither doth the efficacy of a sacrament depend upon the piety or intention of him that doth administer it: but upon the work of the Spirit, and the word of institution, which contains, together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers. Read the rest of this entry »
Inhabiting Reality: Thomas F. Torrance’s Criticisms of Dualism
The following is a paper I wrote some years ago for an independent reading course as part of my PhD program at Westminster Theological Seminary. It is an evaluation of one aspect of the theology of Thomas F. Torrance. I claim no expertise in Torrancean theology. But I offer this as an exercise in theological analysis.
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Prolegomena
This paper is about one particular aspect of the thought of theologian Thomas F. Torrance.[1] Torrance, is, of course, known for two major contributions he has made to theology. Torrance has made a tremendous contribution to an understanding of the interrelations of science and theology and, especially since his “retirement” from active teaching, for his production of erudite works on Trinitarian theology. Regarding Torrance’s work on the relationship of theology to the natural sciences, Elmer Colyer tells us, Thomas F. Torrance is considered by many to be the most outstanding, living Reformed theologian in the Anglo-Saxon world. One of the leading theologians in the dialogue between theology and philosophy of science, he was awarded the Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion in 1978.[2]
Reformed Church Growth
In this episode we speak with Drew Dinardo, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church Coral Springs-Margate, FL about the challenges of planting and growing reformed churches. Read the rest of this entry »
Confession Chapter 26: Of the Communion of the Saints
1. All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their Head, by his Spirit, and by faith, have fellowship with him in his graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory: and, being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other’s gifts and graces, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man.
2. Saints by profession are bound to maintain an holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification; as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities. Which communion, as God offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
3. This communion which the saints have with Christ, doth not make them in any wise partakers of the substance of his Godhead; or to be equal with Christ in any respect: either of which to affirm is impious and blasphemous. Nor doth their communion one with another, as saints, take away, or infringe the title or propriety which each man hath in his goods and possessions. Read the rest of this entry »
Worldviews Collide: The Unapologetic Apologetic of Abraham Kuyper
The year nineteen hundred and ninety-eight saw the 100th anniversary of the Dutch theologian-statesman Abraham Kuyper’s presentation of his justly famous Stone Lectures on Calvinism at Princeton Theological Seminary. In that series of six lectures, Kuyper strove to demonstrate that Calvinism was not simply a religious dogma that some might argue was relevant for confessional purposes only, but was a thoroughgoing “life-system.” Kuyper himself described the life-system of Calvinism as “all embracing,” “comprehensive,” and “far-reaching.”
