Heidelberger Katechismus – Der “Heidelberger”

Heidelberger Katechismus – Der “Heidelberger”.

Reformed Forum » Thomas Aquinas

The Reformed Forum

Reformed Forum » Thomas Aquinas.

William Ames on the Heidelberg Catechism « Green Baggins

Green Baggins is reading Ames’ A Sketch of the Christian Catechism.

Updated Reading List

After too long, I have finally updated my currently reading. I am reading the three books in order to review them for The Reformed Baptist Theological Review, The Journal of Creation, and Themelios.

On the Proper Distinction of the Law and the Gospel

H.C. 114. Can those who are converted to God keep these Commandments perfectly?

No, but even the holiest men, while in this life, have only a small beginning of such obedience, yet so that with earnest purpose they begin to live not only according to some, but according to all the Commandments of God.

H. C. 115. Why then does God so strictly enjoin the Ten Commandments upon us, since in this life no one can keep them?

First, that as long as we live we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature, and so the more earnestly seek forgiveness of sins and righteousness in Christ; second, that without ceasing we diligently ask God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we be renewed more and more after the image of God, until we attain the goal of perfection after this life.

Many Christians today seek to do away with the Law of God. They take the truth of Christ’s fulfillment of the Law and twist to his abolition of it. However, such a view fails to do justice to the Biblical witness concerning the Law. Others do a wonderful job of using it as a mirror so that they can drive people to the Gospel (the so-called “First Use of the Law”), but then ignore it or confound the Gospel with the Law as they teach or preach on Sanctification.

Such ignoring or confounding not only obscures the glorious grace revealed in the Gospel (which in itself would be enough to call for repentance), but it places a great burden on those who confound the Gospel and the Law and thus fear that they remain under condemnation.

As Heidelberg Catechism three tells us we know our misery “Out of the Law of God.” As a person who does not know he is sick will not go to the doctor, so a person who is dead in their trespasses in sins will not attend upon the preaching of God’s Word that they may hear the glorious Gospel. The self-deceived in the church often use the Law “unlawfully” (cf. 1 Tim 1:8). Thus it is imperative that in the church service not only is there a clear distinction between the Law and the Gospel, but the Law must be proclaimed that the dead-sinner may know his misery. This knowledge must be proclaimed and the Holy Spirit must work upon the sinner this knowledge to bring them to the knowledge of the need. For apart from this the Good News of the Gospel is at best news. For if a person thinks they are fine they will not see how great the news is that God in the form of the Second Person of the Trinity has taken to himself the demerit of the Sin. What is more, the sin bearing of the Son of God is only part of the Gospel. For if Christ had only bourn our sins we would be required to still fulfill the stricture of Leviticus 18:5, “You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.” The Gospel is not fully proclaimed when the forgiveness of sins is announced. While necessary it is insufficient, for God requires “perfect and in every way complete obedience” (Witsius, Economy of the Covenants, 1.9.2). Both are necessary. As John Owen has stated upon the Fall of Adam and Eve living henceforth perfect besides being impossible would be insufficient for one would still have original corruption. Moreover, a removal of the stain of original sin while continuing in sin would still render one obnoxious to the wrath of God.

Undoubtedly many are deceived in taking wrong measures to search out these deep things of God, taking them to belong to the mere faculties and endowments of a natural man, not considering that they are of the Spirit’s revelation only. And hence it is that many poor creatures in a bondage state under the law, and therefore under sin’s dominion, do work like slaves in the dunghill of their own hearts to find out some natural religion or moral goodness in themselves to recommend them unto God.[1]

By “natural religion”, Owen intended the Covenant of Works as can be seen in book one of his Biblical Theology.[2] Therefore, man apart from the glorious truth of the Imputation of the active and passive obedience of Christ is lost. Therefore to confound or fail to preach the Law and the Gospel in their due order is to leave people ignorant of their sins and to leave them without hope.

Much contemporary teaching can be called “law-light.” It is a series of do’s and don’t’s devoid of the freedom that is in Christ. It fails to take into account the Holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. Thus we need to call for clear distinction between the two and a constant proclamation of them. Apart from a recitation of the Law those in the Church grow complacent of their need of the Gospel of justification by faith alone by Christ alone to the glory of God alone. This definitive declaration by God is more than “just as if I have never sinned.” It is the forensic declaration of God that God has imputed to me the life that Christ lived and died the death that I should have died. Thus let us read the Law as a mirror that we might never forget how great our sin and misery is. Let us proclaim the Gospel that we might remember how we were delivered from our sins and misery and let us live lives in which we are thankful to God for such deliverance. For therein we are promised comfort in life and death:

H.C. 1. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.

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[1]John Owen, A Treatise on the Dominion of Sin and Grace in The Works of John Owen (ed. William H. Goold; 1658, reprint; Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 2004) 7.502.

[2]John Owen, Biblical Theology: The History of Theology from Adam to Christ: In which are examined the origins and progress of both true and false religious worship, and the most notable declensions and revivals of the church, from the very beginning of the world. With Additional discussions of Universal Grace, the Rise of the Sciences, Bellarmine’s Roman “Notes of the Church,” the Antiquity of the Hebrew Language, and its Vowel-Pointing, Translations of Sacred Scripture, Jewish Rites, and Other Matters (Orlando, Fla.: Soli Deo Gloria, 2007); trans. Stephen P. Westcott; trans. Theologoumena Pantodapa, Sive, De Natura, Ortu, Progressu et Studio, Verae Theologiae, Libri Sex; Quibus Etiam Processus Veri et Falsi Cultus Religiosi, Casus et Instaurationes Ecclesiæ Illustriores ab Ipsis Rerum Primordiis Enarrantur. Accedunt Digressiones de Gratia Universali,Scientiarum Ortu, Ecclesiæ Romanæ Notis, Literarum Origine, Antiquis Literis Hebreaicis, Punctatione Hebreaica, Versionibus SS. Ritibus Judaicis, Aliisque (1661; reprint; Edinburgh: Goold, 1850).

Abstract to my Dissertation

This study argues that Leviticus 25-26 lends its vocabulary to the description of eschatological rest with an emphasis on its covenantal bonds. In order to establish the thesis this dissertation conducts an exegetical analysis of Leviticus 25-26 with emphasis on the themes of rest and presence. It concludes that the presence of Yahweh in the midst of the people of God is the height of covenantal relationship.

It then examines the literary and historical nature of the text. On the literary angle it gives a brief defense of why the documentary hypothesis in the end is not a helpful tool in ascertaining the date of the composition of Leviticus in general or Leviticus 25-26 in particular. On the historical front, a working definition of ברית. is set forth. Then following the work of K. A. Kitchen the dissertation argues that a date in the second millennium B.C. is consistent with the form of Exodus 20-Numbers 10. Then it turns to the covenantal formularies.  The term “covenant” has an equivocal use in theology, referring either to the metaphor of ancient treaties applied to divine-human relationships or to the theological construct that developed from the time of the Early Church Fathers, which is especially evident in Covenant Theology.

The final two chapters examine the theological nature of Leviticus 25-26. Leviticus is at once one of the most theological books of the canon, and one of the most neglected. Thus there is a brief survey of the theology of Leviticus and an explanation of how Leviticus 25-26 is situated within the book of Leviticus. The interpretation of Leviticus 25-26 has to consider that one of the primary concerns of the book of Leviticus is the dwelling of God among sinful people. The final chapter selects exemplar passages from the remainder of the Old and New Testament (i.e. Genesis 1-3 and Revelation 20-22, Isaiah 56 and 58, Hebrews 3:7-4:13, Isaiah 61:1-2 mediated through Luke 4:16-30, and Haggai) to demonstrate the use of the covenanted dwelling of God with his people as the telos of creation as revealed in Scripture.

“Far as the Curse is Found: Leviticus 25-26 As a Window on the Nature of Eschatological Rest,” iv-v.

O Love that will not let me go

George Matheson (1882)

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

Ralph Erskine: A Poem On Law & Gospel

The law supposing I have all,
Does ever for perfection call;
The gospel suits my total want,
And all the law can seek does grant.

The law could promise life to me,
If my obedience perfect be;
But grace does promise life upon
My Lord’s obedience alone.

The law says, Do, and life you’ll win;
But grace says, Live, for all is done;
The former cannot ease my grief,
The latter yields me full relief.

The law will not abate a mite,
The gospel all the sum will quit;
There God in thret’nings is array’d
But here in promises display’d.

The law excludes not boasting vain,
But rather feeds it to my bane;
But gospel grace allows no boasts,
Save in the King, the Lord of Hosts.

The law brings terror to molest,
The gospel gives the weary rest;
The one does flags of death display,
The other shows the living way.

The law’s a house of bondage sore,
The gospel opens prison doors;
The first me hamer’d in its net,
The last at freedom kindly set.

An angry God the law reveal’d
The gospel shows him reconciled;
By that I know he was displeased,
By this I see his wrath appeased.

The law still shows a fiery face,
The gospel shows a throne of grace;
There justice rides alone in state,
But here she takes the mercy-seat.

Lo! in the law Jehovah dwells,
But Jesus is conceal’d;
Whereas the gospel’s nothing else
But Jesus Christ reveal’d.

Cal.vini.st First Anniversary Giveaway — Cal.vini.st

The kind folks at Cal.vini.st are giving away three copies of BibleWorks 8. As someone who has been working with BibleWorks for 10 years, it has made my seminary life so much easier. Besides it is the one time, I was able to prove Dr. Carson wrong. (To be sure it was not in a matter related to the interpretation of Scripture, and to be fair he was talking about an older version of BibleWorks.) Dr. Carson made the ill-advised statement, that you cannot do a particular search in BibleWorks. Now he was talking about BibleWorks 3.5 (which I have never used). Version 4 is when they introduced the Advanced (Graphical) Search Engine. So in the space in which it took him to say BibleWorks cannot do this particular search and described the paramaters, I had not only completed the search but found an additional occurence of it. (It was 9 years ago so I cannot remember the particulars but seem to recollect that it was Collwell’s Rule.)

C.J. Mahaney on the Gospel and Pastoral Ministry

John Piper — We’re Born Sinning

January 2010 IRBS Course: Baptist Symbolics (and a bonus!) | The Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies

January 2010 IRBS Course: Baptist Symbolics (and a bonus!) | The Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies. This looks like it would be a great class. The bibliography is outstanding.

Goodwin on Weekly Communion « Thomas Goodwin

Thomas Goodwin on the weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

Herman Bavinck on the Impact of Philosophy on Theology

The shape of dogmatics was changed … by the influence of philosophy. This is evidenced by the fact that the genuinely material part of dogmatics became increasingly more impoverished while the formal part grew in scope and extent. Up until this time, this has been very different. The prolegomena had been totally lacking or were narrow in scope and at most treated theology (principium essendi) and Scripture (principium cognoscendi). Instead, available energy went into the elaboration and defense of the particular dogmas. The foundation was so stable and solid that it was not examined at all; all the work was expended on the building erected on it. This changed under the influence of philosophy as the prerogatives of reason were gradually and increasingly asserted over against revelation. Reason was no longer content with the modest role of servant and demanded a controlling voice. The material result was that the scholastic elaboration of dogmas was avoided as much as possible. Theologians moved from the church’s confession back to Scripture and assiduously followed the historical-biblical method. Dogmas were simplified and smoothed down, losing their characteristic angularity. Deeper reflection on the dogmas became taboo as simplicity turned into shallowness. (Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: Volume 1: Prolegomena [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003], 104-5.)

Rosetta Stone Give away

Rosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update.

This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!)
This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever! Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress- I love that!), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.

To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://Jeneralities.com and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck!