Church History

John Owen (1616-1683) said, “That there is such a union between Christ and believers is the faith of the catholic church and has been so in all ages.” Not only does Owen’s comment dissuade us from regarding this doctrine to be negligible and of optional interest, his comment challenges us not to be...

The writings of French reformer, theologian, and pastor John Calvin are often remembered by the Latin phrase “brevitas et claritas”. Calvin wrote to be understood, and avoided using more words than would be helpful. To get to the point then, in English, the phrase means “brevity and clarity”...

Incomprehensible but Knowable Words are important, and some of them carry meanings that can be crucial for our understanding of God; words that will eventually affect the way we live the Christian life. Incomprehensibility is one of these words. But what exactly does it mean? Jonathan and James...

Commentary Connoisseur Do you know anyone who loves the book of Romans to the point of owning more than 120 commentaries on the epistle? Jonathan and James know one such fan! Rob Ventura is the pastor of Grace Community Baptist Church in North Providence, an author, and blogger for Reformation21 ...

While rereading Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol I recently read something I had forgotten. When Jacob Marley appeared to Scrooge his body was transparent, so that Scrooge could see not only the front of his long deceased partner’s waistcoat but the back of it too! But then this line appears, “...

Edmund Grindal and His Letter to the Queen In 1576, Archbishop Edmund Grindal joined the company of Puritans who offended Queen Elizabeth I. His most provocative statement was a reminder of her mortality. He was suspended from his duties for the rest of his life. The unwelcomed reminder came at the...

Hell Podcast We managed to catch Jonathan and James in their offices having a conversation about hell. The topic might not be a very popular one, but—if Scripture addresses it—we should pay attention to it. The Bible uses a few different words referring to hell, describing it as a place of...

Ralph Erskine (1685-1752) was born ten years after his mother Margaret was pronounced dead. The pronouncement had been mistaken, but she would have indeed been dead if a greedy sexton had not laid his eyes on her precious ring. Under cover of night, the sexton disinterred her body. Finding the ring...

Discussing the three marks of a true church during a seminary class (preaching the Word, administering the sacraments, and disciplining members), our professor emphasized the third by rhetorically asking, “How many true churches are there today?” His implication was, where are authentic churches to...

Not all the 16 th century Protestant Reformers agreed that church discipline should be considered one of the marks of a true church. Calvin, for example, spoke only of the pure preaching of the word and the right administration of the sacraments. The Second Helvetic Confession, like Calvin,...