Reformed Theology

Why do some pastors so strongly emphasize the “means of grace” or God’s “ordinances”—God’s word, the sacraments (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper) and prayer? It boils down to this: humans are dead in their sin, wholly corrupted in their soul, and the only source of life—God—has given to his church...

If all your paperwork rolled like a sea upon your desk, you’d struggle to navigate and prepare your tax returns. If you blanketed your computer’s desktop with all your digital files, you’d smother the writing of a departmental report. So is any unorganized library a maze of confusion. This is why...

This week on Theology on the Go, our host, Dr. Jonathan Master is joined by Dr. Mark Dalbey, president of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO. Dr. Dalbey was a pastor and Bible instructor prior to his coming to Covenant Theological Seminary. He holds an MDiv from Pittsburgh Theological...

When considering the matter of our application of Scripture, or what we can call our doctrine or theology, we really do need to think about it. Think about this—God only gave us ten commands for all life and then reduced them to two, both about what we love. Every situation you have ever found...

One of my favorite passages to preach for an ordination or installation service is 2 Timothy 4:5. The context is significant, since in it Paul acknowledges the challenges of pastoral ministry and the apparent success that many false teachers will achieve. In essence, the verse is set against the...

In the midst of the final week of our Lord’s earthly ministry in his estate of humiliation, Jesus has an interesting exchange with Peter about his forthcoming denial. Luke 22:31-34 recounts some of the details of this conversation and they are very interesting indeed. We usually focus our attention...

This week the Theology on the Go podcast is going to be a little different. Today, our host Dr. Jonathan Master is joined by Dr. Jeffrey Stivason for a conversation on how the doctrines of grace influence the pastoral ministry. Dr. Master is dean of the school of divinity and professor of theology...

The wonderful thing about the grace of God is that the grace that saves is the grace that causes perseverance in the saint. That may take some clarification. Perseverance of the saints (or believers) does not mean that the saint will never stumble in sin, nor does it mean that the saint may not for...

John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. John 10:29 is a common reference or “proof text” used in defense of the fifth letter of the acrostic “T.U.L.I.P.” Attention is given to God’s sovereignty and power...

The doctrine is known by more than one name, which has created some serious problems because it has led to confusion about what the biblical teaching really is. Two other terms or expressions, "eternal security" and "once saved, always saved," are not the most accurate to use because of what can...