A rticle 37 introduces the final topic of the 39 Articles, the relationship between the Christian and the commonwealth. It is customary for North Americans to dismiss these articles as being very specific to England, but the same principle we have observed throughout our study continues here: the...

A rticle 35 on the subject of "the Homilies" is unique among the reformed churches of Europe. We who live with the reprints of many seventeenth and eighteenth-century sermons preached by reformed pastors, it does not seem strange that doctrines should be set out in a sermon series. But there was no...

T hroughout the length of our study we have underlined the narrative nature of the articles; thus the exposition on church discipline in articles 32-36 follows logically from the previous articles on the nature of the church, the gospel ministry, and the sacraments. XXXII — OF THE MARRIAGE OF...

T he exposition on the sacraments draws to a close as the redeeming work of Christ on the cross and its meaning in the sign of the Lord’s Supper are joined, further underlining our argument that the articles must be read as a whole. Articles 11-18 underline articles 25-31. XXXI — Of the One...

T he exposition on the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper concludes three final articles that address Lutheran consubstantiation and the blasphemy of the Roman Mass. The doctrine that was fully explained in article 25, ‘in such only as worthily receive the same they have a wholesome effect or operation...

A s we have seen in our study of the preceding articles in the Thirty-Nine Articles , article 25 on the sacraments maintains that they are not only badges and tokens of Christian men’s profession, but “…certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God’s good will towards us, by the...

T he Thirty-nine Articles continue its narrative as it sets out a biblically faithful theology of God’s ordained means of grace in the sacraments. As we have seen in our study of other essential doctrines, the article begins with the general principles of the doctrine before continuing to a more...

W e have seen how the Reformation’s rediscovery of sola scriptura reset both the authority of the Church and General Councils (Article 20 and 21) and how necessary it is that the visible church must remain within the bounds of the invisible or serious doctrinal error is the inevitable result (...

T he Reformation’s rediscovery of sola scriptura reset both the authority of the Church (Article 20) and the authority of General Councils (Article 21) to their proper status. Article 20 makes it very clear that Anglicanism affirms the supreme authority of Scripture: “It is not lawful for the...

A rticle 19 marks the third division of the Thirty-Nine Articles . Built on the two articles that precede them, articles 19-22 define the marks of the true church, its visible and invisible character, the nature of its authority in relation to Scripture, and the hallmark of a false church that...

A rticle 17 of the Thirty-Nine Articles is the longest article of all the articles and marks the transition between what has preceded in articles 14-16 and what follows in article 18. Because of an inflated sense of man’s worthiness before God since the Fall, a stance of humility is necessary when...

W e need to make a distinction between the various forms of debate that historians classify as "polemical theology." Anti-Catholic preaching at St. Paul's Cross was something different because it addressed a lay audience untrained in the theological details of the question at issue. The strategy...

I f we don't want to make a mistake in asking if an article that describes the perfection of Christ is even necessary, we must recall the narrative nature of the Thirty-Nine Articles . Article 15 has been implied previously in Article 2. Article 9 explained our depth of our sinful nature and how...

O ne great advantage as an Anglican is the fixed order of public worship and daily prayer. In the same way a Dutch Reformed believer is refreshed by the Heidelberg Catechism in their evening worship every Lord's Day, the Anglican is strengthened in the liturgy that sets our worship and public...

A rticle 10 is the second part of the Thirty-Nine Article’s explanation of our guilt. Article 9 describes our actual condition before God regarding our total depravity. It also makes it clear that while sin persists in the believer, God's work in Christ does not condemn the believer. Article 10...

W e first mentioned Article 8 of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion in our discussion of Article 2 . We saw how the articles as a narrative whole link Article 8 and Article 2 on understanding the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we can also see how Article 8 concludes the triad of the...

T he first five of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion explained the universal faith of the church. Article 6 begins the theological issues that divided the church at the time of the Reformation and deals with the source of Christian doctrine. It explains the concept of sola Scriptura , "Scripture...

Articles 3-4 of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion continue to build on the narrative of the passion and triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ, on which Article 2 concluded. T he eternal Son, who took man’s nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, " truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried" (...

P rotestants who are unfamiliar need to hear the voice of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion in this anniversary year of the Reformation (see post 1 ). The Articles are also a great encouragement to those in North American Anglican churches who long for a continual reformation back to the Word of...

"Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent." (Revelation 3:3; KJV) L ocal Anglican pastor John Whitlock (1625-1708) is the last minister in our reading of the Puritan Paperback, Sermons of the Great Ejection . “The Great Ejection” was the expulsion of 20%...

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves. (2 Corinthians 7.1 KJV) W e are at the last of the works by Anglican Thomas Watson in our reading of the Puritan Paperback, Sermons of the Great Ejection . “The Great Ejection” was the explusion of nearly 2,000 Anglican...

W e continue our reading of the "Puritan Paperback," Sermons of the Great Ejection , with the third study of Anglican Thomas Watson (parts 1 , 2 ). “The Great Ejection” was the explusion of nearly 20% of Anglican ministers from their cures in the 1662 Act of Uniformity. Thomas Watson’s sermon...

We resume our reading of the Puritan Paperback, Sermons of the Great Ejection with the first of three pieces by Anglican Thomas Watson. “The Great Ejection” was the explusion of nearly 20% of Anglican ministers from their cures in the 1662 Act of Uniformity. Born in Yorkshire and graduate of...

“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.” (Hebrews 13:12-13) We’ve paused at the half-way point in our reading of the Puritan Paperback, Sermons of the Great Ejection...