One of the issues with the narrative that TULIP accurately summarizes what happened at the Synod of Dort is the first letter, T. The Reformed asserted “total depravity” because the Remonstrants didn’t, right? The original Remonstrance of 1610 said in its third article: That man does not have saving faith of himself nor by the […]

As we come to the end of this five hundred anniversary year of the Protestant Reformation, I’d like to delve into a crucial theological issue that is so practical for us. If you have your Bible you can turn to Paul’s letter to the Romans. One of the doctrinal issues that is clear in Romans is that what he declares us to […]

Can you pick up your Bible, begin reading at Genesis 1, complete the entire book, and then, despite all the people and places, be able to summarize the basic message of what salvation is? There was a time when the Roman Catholic Church stridently debated whether to allow the translation of the Scriptures into the […]

Have you ever asked yourself when it comes to what you believe and how you live as a Christian, “Is the Bible enough?” I’m not asking whether the Bible says everything about every detail of life, but whether in what it says about faith and godliness, theology and piety, it says what you need. Take […]

Jesus changed everything. His coming turned the world upside down: the poor became rich, the blind were given sight, the lame were made to walk, the mute were restored to sing, the outcast was welcomed, the weary were given rest. Because of what He accomplished, we now have free access into the very presence of […]

Eschatology, the doctrine of the “last things,” is one of the most divisive topics among evangelical Protestants today. While today there is Amillennialism, Postmillennialism, Theonomic Postmillennialism, Historic Premillennialism, Dispensational Premillennialism, Progressive Dispensationalism, and Preterism, whether Partial or Consistent, the early Protestants all agreed in their Confessions of Faith that this life was one of suffering […]

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul (Ps 25:1). Where do you turn or seek refuge when the stresses of life pile up too high to bear? Friends? Activities? Quiet times? Does public worship come to mind? If not, maybe a reminder of what worship is will give you reason to find your […]

“Who is like the LORD our God, who dwells on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?” (Psalm 113:5–6). “For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?” (Psalm 89:6). […]

II. The Attributes of God “…He is eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, immutable, infinite, almighty, perfectly wise, just, good, and the overflowing fountain of all good.” 1. Incommunicable Attributes We confess that God has incommunicable attributes. This means that these attributes cannot be communicated, or given, to His creation. These attributes make God uniquely God and distinguish […]

Article 2 of the Belgic Confession is divided into two short and simple parts: the knowledge of God in the “book” of creation, and the knowledge of God in the “book” of Scripture. The Confession uses the literary feature of a simile here to compare creation to a book when it says it “is before […]