Church Councils

I am a Presbyterian minister. Having served in the courts of the church now for 14 years, I have come to the uncomfortable conclusion that Proverb s 29:25 speaks to every presbyter: The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. [i] Presbyteries in my denomination have the...

In the Protestant family of churches, the phrase “church tradition” raises a red flag and is almost immediately rejected as an assault on the Bible’s authority. After all, sola Scriptura is a key Protestant rallying cry. At the same time, our churches have a plethora of their own traditions—...

Exuberant over an experience, an oh-so-sweet manifestation of divine providence, you delightedly seek to give God praise in telling your story. “It was such a ‘God thing’,” you proclaim. As you see it, God wove together an otherwise inexplicable combination of events to deliver a wonderful—even...

Our editor, Danny Hyde , recently joined the team at the Reformed Forum for its 450th episode of Christ the Center for a discussion of the issue of the Sabbath/Lord's Day as it was debated and doctrinally delivered at "The Great Synod of Dort" ( De Grote Synode van Dordrecht , 1618-1619). You can...

If there really has been a trend (resurgence? revival?) recently toward recovering the truths of reformed theology then it is most likely and not hard to miss that there has been a millennial flavor to that trend. Of course, all believers in every age have their own cultural moorings which they...

In our day, the spirit of the age bombards us with the message that something newer is inherently better. Yet, for the Christian who holds to old confessions, we are reminded that the Christian faith is decidedly rooted in history. We are not holding our beliefs because they are new but rather...

If you have a copy of the Westminster Confession of Faith open it up. Take a minute to peruse it. Now, let me ask you a question. Historically what can you tell me about the time of the Confession? Yes, you could probably tell that the language is a bit archaic and the authors liked long sentences...

Years ago I attended a seminar promoting a new study Bible with notes aimed at fostering deeper relationships. At a break, I asked the author of the notes why basic theological points were so conspicuously absent. “Oh,” he replied, “that’s because doctrine divides, and we don’t want to divide...

This week on Theology on the Go, our host, Dr. Jonathan Master is joined by the Rev. Dr. Peter Lillback (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary). Dr. Lillback is president and professor of historical theology and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary. He also serves as the president of...

Welcome to Wednesdays @ Westminster as we exposit and apply the teaching confessed in the Westminster Larger Catechism . First up is a brief introduction . A Meaty Catechism When our spiritual forefathers gathered at Westminster Abbey in the mid-1640s to express the Christian faith, they labored to...