For many in our church, J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937) needs no introduction. He was, after all, the founder of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, our previous denomination. In addition to that he was a professor of NT at Princeton Theological Seminary, a NT scholar, founder of Westminster Seminary, and a libertarian litigant on the issue of …
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Christianity and Liberalism
Posted Jul 29th, 2011 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Believe What We Believe With | 1 Comment -
Marriage as a Covenant
Posted Jul 21st, 2011 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Believe What We Believe With | No Comments
Agreement about the nature of marriage is hard to find, even in the church. What’s more, even those who would espouse a particular view of the nature of marriage often belie that view by their practices. If marriage is going to be reformed we need to start by understanding the nature of it designed by …
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Covenant of Works
Posted Jul 16th, 2011 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Believe What We Believe With | No CommentsIn an effort to provide classification and clarification to the teachings of Scripture, Reformed theology has recognized in Scripture three distinct covenants which offer the needed categories for rightly dividing the word of truth. Those three form the heart of Reformed theology and are referred to as the covenant of redemption (pactum salutis), the covenant …
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Lord’s Day or Christian Sabbath
Posted Jul 16th, 2011 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Believe What We Believe With | No CommentsSunday has been alternatively referred to by Christians, and particularly reformed Christians, as either The Lord’s Day or The Christian Sabbath. Both are acceptable and each one emphasizes something that we do well to take note of. The phrase “The Lord’s Day” (literally “the day belonging to the Lord”) only appears one time in the …
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Catechesis, part 7
Posted Jul 1st, 2011 By Brian in Pastor Brian's Blog, Why We Do What We Do With | 1 CommentIn chapter 5 of Grounded in The Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way, the emphasis was upon the gospel as the core of our catechetical ministry. In chapter 6, desiring to fully keep with the resolution to “proclaim Christ” (Col. 1:28) the authors explore some of the other dimensions of Christ proclamation (p. 117). It’s …
