Contents

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
— Psalm 119:105

The Gospel

The Gospel: The Good News of God’s Salvation

Foundations

Am I Saved?

What is Reformed Theology?

What Are the 5 Solas?

What is Truth?

Theology Proper

Do You Know the Meaning of the Word Trinity?

What Is the Westminster Confession of Faith?

Doctrines of Grace (TULIP)

Doctrines of Grace – TULIP

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited Atonement

Irresistible Grace

Perseverance of the Saints

Sacraments & Church

Infant Baptism – Why Baptize a Baby?

The Lord’s Supper – Why Does It Matter?

Water and Salvation in the Bible

Understanding “Catholic” and “Apostolic” in the Ancient Creeds

Burial or Cremation — An Opportunity for Discussion

Eschatology

Four Views on Revelation

Scripture & Devotion

20 Verses on Giving “Thanks”

Resources

How to Find a Faithful Church

A Reformed Reading Plan

M’Cheyne Reading Plan

About

About Me

A Note on How This Site Was Written

The Gospel: The Good News of God’s Salvation

The heart of Christianity — the message of hope, grace, and redemption for a broken world.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

— John 3:16

The gospel is the heart of Christianity, proclaiming the transformative work of God through Jesus Christ to reconcile humanity with Himself. It is the message of hope, grace, and redemption for a broken world.

1. God’s Holiness and Humanity’s Sin

Core Truth: God is perfectly holy, while humanity is separated from Him by sin.

God is the Creator of all things, characterized by absolute holiness and righteousness. He designed humanity in His image for a relationship of love and obedience (Genesis 1:26-27; Isaiah 6:3). However, every person has sinned by rebelling against God’s perfect standard, choosing self over Him (Romans 3:23). This sin creates an unbridgeable chasm, separating us from God’s presence and leaving us under His righteous judgment (Isaiah 59:2). This is not an abstract theological problem — it is the weight behind every restless night, every unshakable guilt, and every quiet sense that something is deeply wrong. Without intervention, we are spiritually lost, incapable of restoring this relationship on our own.

Key Scriptures

Isaiah 6:3 – God’s holiness is exalted. Genesis 1:26-27 – Humanity’s creation in God’s image. Romans 3:23 – All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Isaiah 59:2 – Sin separates us from God.

2. Jesus’ Perfect Life and Sacrificial Death

Core Truth: Jesus, fully God and fully man, bridges the gap through His sinless life and atoning death.

Because humanity cannot overcome sin, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to accomplish what we could not. Jesus lived a flawless life, fulfilling God’s law perfectly (2 Corinthians 5:21). In love, He willingly died on the cross, taking the punishment for our sins as our substitute (Romans 5:8). His death fully satisfied God’s justice (1 Peter 3:18), and its power is such that every soul the Father gives to the Son will come to Him, and He will never cast them out (John 6:37). This act of grace demonstrates God’s profound love and mercy, providing the only way to restore our relationship with Him. Whatever you have done, whatever has been done to you, the cross speaks into the deepest wounds and the darkest corners of your story.

Key Scriptures

2 Corinthians 5:21 – Jesus became sin for us. Romans 5:8 – God’s love is shown through Christ’s death. 1 Peter 3:18 – Christ suffered once for sins to bring us to God. John 6:37 – All the Father gives to Christ will come, and none will be cast out.

3. Salvation by Grace Through Faith

Core Truth: Salvation is a free gift received through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

The gospel declares that salvation cannot be earned through good deeds, moral effort, or religious rituals (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is God’s gracious gift, offered freely to all who trust in Jesus as their Savior and Lord (John 3:16). Faith is more than intellectual agreement; it is a wholehearted reliance on Christ’s finished work on the cross, marked by genuine repentance — a turning away from sin and toward God with a humble heart (Mark 1:15). By trusting in Him, we receive forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and a restored relationship with God (Acts 4:12). You do not need to clean yourself up first — Christ draws you to Himself and by His Spirit begins the work of making you new.

Key Scriptures

Ephesians 2:8-9 – Saved by grace through faith, not by works. John 3:16 – Belief in Jesus brings eternal life. Mark 1:15 – Repent and believe the good news. Acts 4:12 – Salvation is found in no one else.

4. The Purpose of Salvation: Glorifying God

Core Truth: Salvation transforms our purpose, freeing us to live for God’s glory and enjoy Him forever.

Salvation is not merely about personal benefit but about redirecting our lives to honor God. As redeemed people, our ultimate purpose is to glorify God in all we do, reflecting His love, truth, and goodness (1 Corinthians 10:31). This new life involves growing in Christlikeness, pursuing holiness, and shining as a light to others (Matthew 5:16). Salvation reorients our desires, leading us to find true joy in knowing and serving God (Romans 12:1-2).

Key Scriptures

1 Corinthians 10:31 – Do all for the glory of God. Romans 12:1-2 – Offer your life as a living sacrifice. Matthew 5:16 – Let your light shine to glorify God.

5. God’s Ongoing Work: Sanctification

Core Truth: God initiates, sustains, and will complete our salvation through a lifelong process.

Salvation is not just a one-time event but the beginning of a journey. The God who calls us to Himself grants us the very faith by which we are justified — declared righteous in His sight — and then, having saved us, He does not leave us as He found us. By His Spirit, He empowers us to grow in holiness, a lifelong process called sanctification (Philippians 1:6). Through this ongoing work, He transforms us to reflect Christ’s character, enabling us to turn from sin and embrace righteousness (Romans 8:29-30). This lifelong work assures believers of God’s faithfulness to keep and guide them to the end (John 10:27-28). On the days when your faith feels weak and your failures feel loud, remember that your standing before God rests on Christ’s faithfulness, not yours.

Key Scriptures

Philippians 1:6 – God completes the work He begins in us. Romans 8:29-30 – God’s plan is to conform us to Christ’s image. John 10:27-28 – Christ’s sheep are eternally secure in His hand.

6. Sharing the Gospel: The Great Commission

Core Truth: Christians are called to share the good news as God’s ambassadors.

The gospel is not meant to be kept private but shared with the world. God invites every believer to participate in His mission by proclaiming the good news of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20). As ambassadors, we represent Christ, sharing His message of reconciliation through our words, actions, and transformed lives (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). This calling, known as the Great Commission, is both a privilege and a responsibility, empowering us to bring the hope of the gospel to a broken world (Mark 16:15).

Key Scriptures

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 – We are ambassadors for Christ. Matthew 28:19-20 – Go and make disciples of all nations. Mark 16:15 – Proclaim the gospel to all creation.

The Power and Promise of the Gospel

The gospel is “the power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16), offering hope to all who believe. It reveals God’s character, addresses humanity’s deepest need, and provides a purpose that transcends this life. By embracing the gospel, we are not only reconciled with God but are also invited into His mission to redeem and restore the world. If you find yourself drawn to this message — stirred by a longing for God you cannot explain — take heart. That very desire is evidence of His work in you, for no one seeks God apart from His calling (John 6:44). Before the foundation of the world, He set His love on a people for Himself (Ephesians 1:4), and the hunger you feel is His Spirit drawing you home (John 6:65).

This living relationship with God is the very point of our existence, giving us both an unshakeable hope for tomorrow and a profound answer for how to live today. For tomorrow, it offers the certainty of eternal life—the unbreakable promise that we will be with Him forever in a place without sorrow or pain. This future hope gives us the courage to face hardship, knowing that our present struggles are temporary and our ultimate victory is secure.

For today, knowing God provides the strength to endure, the wisdom to navigate complexity, and a peace that anchors us in the midst of life’s storms. Our purpose is no longer found in fleeting achievements but in a daily walk with Him, turning our work, our relationships, and even our challenges into acts of worship. He gives our present reality ultimate meaning, transforming our ordinary lives into an extraordinary offering of love, service, and unshakable joy.

If you are looking for a church — or looking to come back to one — here are some things worth considering: How to Find a Faithful Church. You were not meant to walk this road alone, and God ordinarily works through the gathering of His people to strengthen and sustain the faith He gives.

Am I Saved?

A Scripture-Guided Self-Examination for the Believer

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.”

— 2 Corinthians 13:5

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” — 2 Corinthians 13:5a

Before You Begin

This page is not a test you can pass or fail. Salvation is not something you earn, achieve, or maintain by your own effort. It is a gift — freely given by God to those He has chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).

What follows is a series of Scripture-grounded questions designed to help you see whether the marks of that gift are present in your life. If you can honestly affirm what follows, you have every reason to take comfort in the promises of God. If you struggle with some of these, that struggle itself may be evidence of the Spirit’s work in you — for the unregenerate do not wrestle with these things at all.

Take your time. Be honest. And remember: your confidence rests not in the strength of your answers, but in the strength of your Savior.

Part 1: Do You Know What You Deserve?

The gospel begins not with good news, but with the hard truth about where we stand before a holy God.

Read

Romans 3:10–12, 23

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Ask yourself:

Do I recognize that I am a sinner — not merely that I have made mistakes, but that my very nature is inclined away from God?

Do I understand that nothing I have done or could ever do is sufficient to make me right before a perfectly holy God?

Have I abandoned any hope that my own goodness, morality, church attendance, or religious effort could earn me standing before Him?

If you can say yes — if you feel the weight of your own inability — then you understand the problem the gospel addresses. This is where grace begins: not with the strong, but with those who know they are helpless.

“For the wages of sin is death…” — Romans 6:23a

Part 2: Do You Know What He Did?

If the first truth is that we are sinners who deserve death, the second truth is that God did not leave us there.

Read

2 Corinthians 5:21

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

This single verse contains the heart of the gospel — what theologians call the Great Exchange. Two things happened at the cross, and both are essential:

His Righteousness Credited to You

Jesus Christ lived the perfect life that God’s law demands — the life you and I could never live. Every commandment kept. Every duty fulfilled. Perfect obedience from the manger to the cross. And when you are united to Christ by faith, His perfect record becomes yours. God the Father looks at you and sees not your failures, but the spotless righteousness of His Son.

“And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” — Romans 4:5

Your Sin Credited to Him

At the same time, every sin you have ever committed and ever will commit was placed upon Christ. He bore your guilt. He carried your shame. He absorbed the full wrath of God that your sin deserved — not as a mere example, but as your substitute. Your debt was transferred to Him, and He paid it in full.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” — 1 Peter 2:24

The Debt Is Paid

His death was not a partial payment. It was not a down payment requiring your monthly installments of good behavior. When Christ cried out “It is finished” (John 19:30), the Greek word — tetelestai — means “it is finished” or “it is accomplished.” The same word was used on ancient receipts to mean “paid in full” — and that is no accident. The debt is cancelled. The ledger is clear. There is nothing left to pay.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 8:1

Ask yourself:

Do I believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who took on human flesh?

Do I believe He lived a sinless life — and that His righteousness is credited to me, not because of anything I have done, but because of His grace?

Do I believe that my sins — past, present, and future — were placed on Him at the cross?

Do I believe that His death fully satisfied the justice of God on my behalf, leaving no debt remaining?

Do I trust in His finished work alone for my right standing before God — not His work plus my effort, but His work alone?

If you can affirm these things — if your hope rests not on what you bring to God but on what Christ has done for you — then you are resting in the gospel.

Part 3: Do You Know How This Came to You?

You did not choose God on your own. You did not wake up one morning and decide to believe. Faith itself is a gift.

Read

Ephesians 2:8–9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Salvation is God’s work from beginning to end. He chose you. He called you. He gave you the faith to believe. He justified you. And He will glorify you. Not one of these steps depends on you.

“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” — Romans 8:30

Ask yourself:

Do I understand that even my faith is not my contribution to salvation, but God’s gift to me?

Do I recognize that I did not find God — He found me?

Does this fill me with gratitude rather than pride?

If you find yourself marveling that God would save someone like you — that is grace at work.

And here is something else that is true of you if you are in Christ: you have been adopted. God has not merely pardoned you as a judge pardons a criminal — He has received you into His family as a beloved child. You have a Father now, and He will never disown you. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1). The Spirit Himself confirms this new identity, crying out within you, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15). You are no longer a stranger, a slave, or an outsider. You are a son or daughter of the living God, and a co-heir with Christ of everything the Father has promised (Romans 8:17).

Part 4: Is There Evidence of New Life?

Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone — but saving faith is never alone. Where God regenerates a heart, fruit will follow. Not perfectly. Not without struggle. But genuinely.

Read

1 John 3:14; James 2:17; Galatians 5:22–23

The following are not the basis of your salvation. They are the evidences of it. You are not saved because of these things — but if you are saved, these things will be present in your life in increasing measure:

Ask yourself:

Do I have a genuine love for other believers — not just people I naturally get along with, but the people of God? (1 John 3:14)

When I sin, does it grieve me? Do I find myself wanting to repent and return to God rather than excusing my behavior? (Psalm 51:17; 1 John 1:8–9)

Do I desire to know God more through His Word, through prayer, and through worship with His people — even when that desire feels weak? (Psalm 42:1–2)

Is there growth — however slow — in my character? Am I more patient, more loving, more humble than I was five years ago, even if I have far to go? (Galatians 5:22–23)

Do I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord — not merely as a historical fact, but as a reality that shapes how I live? (Romans 10:9)

If you can see even the faintest evidence of these things — take heart. Dead trees do not bear fruit, even small fruit. These are signs of life.

There is one more ground of assurance the Westminster Confession points us to, and it may be the most personal of all: the testimony of the Holy Spirit Himself. “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). This is not a mystical feeling divorced from the Word — it is not a voice in the sky or a warm sensation in your chest. It is the deep, quiet confidence that comes as the Spirit takes the promises of Scripture and presses them home upon your heart, assuring you that these promises are for you. When you read “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” and something within you says yes, that is mine — that is the Spirit bearing witness. He does not work apart from the Word, but He works through the Word to give you a settled peace that your own reasoning could never produce.

Part 5: What If I Still Doubt?

Doubt is not the same as unbelief. Many of the greatest saints wrestled deeply with assurance. If you are troubled by your sin, burdened by your weakness, and longing for more faith — you are in good company.

In Mark 9, a desperate father brings his afflicted child to Jesus. When Jesus tells him that all things are possible for the one who believes, the father cries out with raw honesty:

“I believe; help my unbelief!” — Mark 9:24

Notice: Jesus did not turn him away. He did not demand stronger faith before He would act. He healed the child. That desperate, trembling, half-certain plea was enough — because faith is not measured by its strength but by the One it clings to. If all you can say today is “Lord, I believe — help my unbelief,” then you are saying the same thing that moved the heart of Christ two thousand years ago.

The fact that you care is itself evidence of grace.

The person who is not saved does not lie awake wondering if they are. They do not grieve over their sin. They do not long for assurance. The very fact that you are reading this page and asking this question suggests that the Spirit of God is at work in you.

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.” — Isaiah 42:3

Understanding Where You Are in the Story

It helps to understand that salvation is not a single moment — it is a work of God that unfolds across three realities:

Justification

Justification is instant. The moment God grants you faith and unites you to Christ, you are declared righteous. Your legal standing before God changes completely and permanently. This is the Great Exchange — His righteousness credited to you, your sin credited to Him. It is finished. It cannot be undone, improved upon, or lost. You do not become more justified over time. You are as justified on your worst day as a believer as you are on your best.

Sanctification

Sanctification is the lifelong process by which the Holy Spirit progressively conforms you to the image of Christ. This is where the struggle lives. This is where you fight sin, grow in grace, stumble, repent, and press on. It is real and it is hard — but it is not the ground of your acceptance before God. You are not saved by your sanctification. You are being shaped by it. Some days will feel like progress. Others will feel like failure. Both are part of the journey, and neither changes your justified standing one inch.

And here is something that may surprise you: repentance is not a one-time event at the beginning of your faith — it is a constant, ongoing gift that God gives you throughout the Christian life. Many people think of repentance only as that initial gut-wrenching turn from sin at conversion. But repentance belongs to sanctification. It is the ordinary rhythm of the believer’s walk — the daily turning from sin and turning back toward Christ.

Far from being a grim obligation, repentance is actually a blessing. Think of it this way: sin is a cramped box. You were never meant to live in it. Repentance is God prying the lid off and setting you free to leap out. Every act of repentance is Christ’s finished work reaching into your daily life, reminding you that you are no longer enslaved to the sin you are turning from. And as God grants you repentance again and again, something remarkable happens — you begin to hate the sin you once loved. Not because you have become morally superior, but because the Spirit is showing you what sin really is in light of what Christ endured to pay for it. The more you see the cross, the more repulsive the sin becomes that nailed Him there.

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” — 2 Corinthians 7:10

If you find yourself grieving over sin — not merely regretting its consequences, but genuinely hating that you have offended a holy God who loves you — that grief is not a sign that something is wrong. It is a sign that everything is working exactly as God intends. Repentance is the gift that keeps pointing you back to the cross, back to the finished work, back to the Christ who paid it all.

Glorification

Glorification is the completion of what God began. At death — or at Christ’s return — sanctification reaches its end. Every remaining sin, every lingering weakness, every broken part of you will be made whole. The work that felt so incomplete in this life will be finished perfectly. What God started, He will not leave undone.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” — Philippians 1:6

So if you look at your life and see an incomplete work — that is exactly what you should expect to see. You are not yet glorified. You are being sanctified. But you are already justified. Your standing before God does not depend on how far along you are in the process. It depends on the finished work of the One who saved you.

Your assurance does not rest on the intensity of your feelings or the perfection of your obedience. It rests on the promises of God and the finished work of Christ.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” — John 10:27–28

Summary: The Gospel in One Breath

You are a sinner who deserves God’s judgment. But God, in His mercy, sent His Son to live the life you could not live and die the death you deserved to die. Christ’s perfect righteousness was credited to your account, and your sin was credited to His. He paid your debt in full at the cross. You received this gift not by your own effort, but by grace through faith — and even that faith was God’s gift to you. Now, as one united to Christ, the Spirit works in you to produce fruit that confirms what God has already done. Your salvation was planned before the world began, accomplished at the cross, applied by the Spirit, and will be completed when Christ returns.

You did not save yourself. You cannot lose what you did not earn. The One who began this work will finish it.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” — Philippians 1:6

Soli Deo Gloria

What is Reformed Theology?

God’s sovereignty, Scripture’s authority, and salvation by grace through faith.

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.”

— Romans 11:36

Reformed theology is a branch of Protestant Christianity that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. At its core, it emphasizes God’s sovereignty, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith for salvation.

Reformed theology’s main tenets are summarized in the TULIP acronym: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints. These affirm the doctrine of predestination and the belief that salvation is by God’s choice, not by human effort or merit.

The sacraments, particularly baptism and the Lord’s Supper, are viewed as means of grace within the community of faith. Reformed theology also affirms a particular form of church governance, often either presbyterian or congregational.

A defining feature of Reformed theology is its emphasis on the glory and holiness of God, asserting that all aspects of life and thought must be oriented to the praise of His glory. It is a tradition deeply rooted in Scripture and committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, maintaining a robust theology and a rich history of thought and practice.

What Are the 5 Solas?

The foundational principles of the Protestant Reformation.

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

— Psalm 119:11

The Protestant Reformation in the 16th century was a massive change in Europe’s cultural, religious and social world, and ultimately it has become a world event. In the beginnings it was about getting back to the basic teachings of the Bible in Christianity. The reformers saw that over time, traditions and habits had added hiding the true message of the faith. Later in the 20th century experts began to summarize the shift by categorizing them with five important Latin phrases ultimately becoming known as the “Five Solas.” The word “sola” means “alone” or “only” in Latin, and it stresses that these concepts stand by themselves in faith and being saved.

These phrases—Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), Sola Fide (Faith Alone), Sola Gratia (Grace Alone), Solus Christus (Christ Alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)— showed the main problems the reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli had with the Roman Catholic Church’s ways and beliefs back then. The reformers felt the church had put too much importance on human rules, hard work, and go-betweens instead of what God provides. These solas weren’t put together as one list right away in the 1500s, but they later became a short way to explain the Reformation’s big beliefs. As a group, they make a strong set of ideas that still shape Protestant thinking today. They focus on depending on God’s words and actions, and they guide people to live centered on true teachings from God.

Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone

Sola Scriptura establishes the Bible as the sole, infallible authority for Christian faith and practice. The Reformers, including Martin Luther and John Calvin, opposed the Roman Catholic Church’s reliance on Tradition and the Magisterium alongside Scripture, which they believed led to unbiblical practices. As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 declares, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Sufficiency: Scripture contains all necessary truth for salvation and godly living (Psalm 119:105). Clarity: The Bible’s core message of salvation is clear to all who seek it (Psalm 19:7). Infallibility: As God’s Word, Scripture is trustworthy and true (John 17:17).

Sola Scriptura does not reject tradition outright but subjects it to biblical authority, ensuring that only Scripture binds the conscience.

Sola Fide: Faith Alone

Sola Fide asserts that justification—being declared righteous before God—comes through faith in Christ alone, apart from works. The medieval Church taught that justification required human cooperation through works and sacraments, creating uncertainty. Luther’s study of Romans 3:28—“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law”—clarified that God imputes Christ’s righteousness to believers through faith alone.

While good works are the fruit of genuine faith (James 2:17), they are not the basis of salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 reinforces this: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Sola Gratia: Grace Alone

Sola Gratia teaches that salvation is entirely God’s gift, unearned by human effort. Due to humanity’s sinful nature (Romans 3:23), no one can seek God without His initiative. Salvation, from calling to glorification, is by God’s grace alone. As Ephesians 2:8-9 states, faith itself is a gift, ensuring no one can boast in their salvation.

This doctrine opposes any view that humans contribute to their salvation, emphasizing God’s sovereign grace (Titus 3:5).

Solus Christus: Christ Alone

Solus Christus proclaims Jesus as the only mediator between God and humanity. The Reformers rejected the medieval Church’s reliance on priests, saints, and the Pope as mediators, pointing to 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Christ’s perfect life, death, and resurrection fully accomplished salvation (Hebrews 7:25).

This doctrine upholds the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9), affirming direct access to God through Christ, whose sacrifice is sufficient (John 19:30).

Soli Deo Gloria: Glory to God Alone

Soli Deo Gloria declares that God alone receives glory for salvation and all of life. The Reformers believed practices like venerating saints detracted from God’s glory. Romans 11:36 affirms, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

This principle extends to daily life, where all vocations glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31), sanctifying ordinary work as worship.

When embraced collectively, the impact of these individual concepts or solas multiplies exponentially, creating a synergistic effect that transforms not just individual lives but entire communities and societies. Agreeing with them all establishes a robust, unshakeable foundation for faith: Scripture provides the unchanging standard, grace and faith supply the means, Christ offers the object, and God’s glory ensures the end goal. This holistic adherence should lead to a vibrant, gospel-centered view of Christianity that will resist corruption, promotes reformation in every era, with missionary zeal, and cultural flourishing—as evidenced in the historical spread of Protestantism after these ideas were fully articulated.

Since the departure through liberalization or disagreement with these tenants we have seen a diminishing of the effectiveness of the missions showing that if you take the authority out of any of these concepts the truth is no longer being expressed and the witness to the hearer of the watered down or modified word is not affected. May we always cling to the tenants of the reformers and trust in the word of the Lord following the words in the 119th psalm “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” drawing near to Him and learning to love Him more daily.

You can read more at Ligonier.org regarding the five solas.

What is Truth?

Objective truth, God’s immutability, and the infallibility of Scripture.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

— John 14:6

There is no real truth? That seems to be the message the world and media are trying to get across with the release of so many “my truth” ideas floating around out there. That somehow there is one truth for an individual and another for someone else. I think we have begun to confuse perspective with reality. If you live in Europe or the middle east or the United States there is still one real truth. How you engage with it may be skewed by your situation or exposure to your local culture. But there are still real truths that exist no matter what an individuals desires are.

The equilibrium between subjective and objective truths is a cornerstone of not only scientific discourse but also theological understanding. In the context of religious faith, particularly Christianity, certain truths—or biblical truths—are considered absolute and unchanging, transcending personal interpretations or experiences.

The concept that God does not change is an essential, objective truth in many religious faiths, particularly in Christianity. This idea, often referred to as the immutability of God, signifies that God’s character, will, and covenant promises remain constant throughout time.

A notable reference to this can be found in the Book of Malachi, 3:6, “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” In the New Testament, we see in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” These passages affirm that God’s nature and His promises are unchanging.

When we regard this biblical truth—that God does not change—we can see how it acts as an anchor amid the ebb and flow of subjective experiences and interpretations. Even as our understanding of Him may shift and evolve with our personal journeys, the fundamental nature of God remains unaltered.

The objective truth of God’s immutability also offers a standard against which all subjective interpretations can be weighed. If a personal truth contradicts this unchanging nature of God, it may be necessary to re-evaluate that interpretation.

Scripture provides us with other examples of objective truths that are foundational to Christian belief. For instance, John 14:6 declares, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” This passage presents an objective truth within the Christian faith—that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone, regardless of individual interpretations or experiences.

Another core biblical truth is the concept of God’s love, as expressed in passages such as John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This is an objective truth that remains steadfast, irrespective of personal perspectives.

The danger lies in when personal interpretations—“my truth” narratives—begin to encroach upon these objective biblical truths. This can lead to a form of relativism that distorts core doctrines and undermines the unity of the faith community.

Moreover, when biblical truths are conflated with subjective truths, it can result in the propagation of misconceptions or distortions about Christian faith. This is particularly concerning in an era of digital communication, where misinformation can spread rapidly and widely.

Accountability within the faith community is tied to adherence to these biblical truths. If subjective interpretations are allowed to supersede these truths, it can lead to a lack of accountability, where actions or beliefs that deviate from biblical teachings are justified as “my truth.”

While recognizing and validating individual experiences and perspectives is essential for fostering empathy and understanding within the faith community, it’s crucial to uphold the primacy of biblical truths. These truths form the bedrock of Christian faith and facilitate unity, guidance, and accountability among believers. Upholding this delicate balance is vital to the integrity and cohesion of the faith community.

Ultimately when you hold an object in your hand anywhere on this planet and release it it will always fall toward the ground. Gravity is acting the same everywhere on this planet. When you take 4 identical objects and place 2 more of them in the same vicinity you now have six objects not five or seven. Math is blessedly the same despite language differences. Culturally we have different understandings of what is appropriate attire, and so that would be an example of what I would call an opinion or cultural norm, rather than a “my truth” statement.

In concluding, it’s important to circle back to one of the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith: the infallibility of Scripture. The belief in Scripture’s infallibility, its freedom from error in teaching faith and morals, serves as a core, objective truth for believers.

Scripture’s infallibility implies that the teachings of the Bible, as the inspired Word of God, are unerring and constant, despite the passage of time or the changes in human culture and understanding. This understanding is crucial, especially in a time where “my truth” narratives can seem to cloud the waters of understanding.

While it’s valuable and indeed essential to explore individual experiences, interpretations, and spiritual journeys – the “my truth” narratives – we must remain clear-eyed about the distinction between these personal insights and the infallibility of Scripture. This objective truth does not bend to subjective interpretation; instead, it provides a steady, unchanging guidepost for faith and conduct.

The Bible, viewed through the lens of infallibility, is not a collection of subjective truths varying with individual or cultural context. Instead, it serves as an anchor of objective truth in a sea of personal experiences and interpretations. It offers consistency and clarity, ensuring believers have a reliable, unwavering guide for their journey.

Upholding the infallibility of Scripture, therefore, is essential in ensuring the clear understanding and transmission of biblical teachings. It safeguards the core doctrines from becoming muddled with subjective perspectives and protects the unity and integrity of the faith community.

In essence, while individual perspectives enrich our understanding of faith, life, and God, they should never supersede the objective truths presented in the infallible Scripture. Recognizing and maintaining this balance is crucial for personal spiritual growth and the overall health of the community. The objective truth of Scripture remains a beacon of clarity and certainty in a world brimming with diverse and ever-changing subjective truths. Like gravity, I believe in the inerrancy of scripture.

Do You Know the Meaning of the Word Trinity?

Understanding God as one being in three persons.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

— Matthew 28:19

The Trinity is a central concept in Christianity that describes God as one being existing in three co-equal and co-eternal persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. While the term “Trinity” doesn’t appear in the Bible, the doctrine is derived from various biblical passages that collectively reveal God’s three-in-one nature.

What is the Trinity?

The Trinity can be understood through two key distinctions: the ontological Trinity and the economic Trinity. These two perspectives help explain both the divine essence of God and the distinct roles of the three persons.

Ontological Trinity: Also known as the immanent Trinity, this refers to God’s internal nature and relationships. It asserts that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct persons who share one divine substance or essence. They are co-eternal (having no beginning or end) and co-equal (equal in power, glory, and divinity). This aspect of the Trinity focuses on who God is in his very being, independent of his work in creation or salvation. The relationship among the persons is described as a divine perichoresis — an eternal, mutual indwelling or co-inhabitation. Each person of the Trinity fully and perfectly indwells the others, not as a process that unfolds over time, but as the unchanging reality of who God has always been and always will be.

Economic Trinity: This refers to the roles the three persons play in the work of creation and redemption. The Father is the source and sender, the Son is the redeemer who becomes incarnate to save humanity, and the Holy Spirit is the sanctifier who applies the work of Christ to believers’ lives. While distinct in their roles and actions toward creation, they act in perfect unity and harmony, always working in concert to fulfill a single purpose.

Biblical Basis and Historical Context

The concept of the Trinity is woven throughout Scripture. The Old Testament hints at the multiplicity of God (e.g., Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image”). The New Testament provides clearer revelation, such as in the Great Commission, where Jesus commands his disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The Apostle Paul’s writings also reflect this understanding, as he often refers to God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit as distinct yet unified.

The doctrine of the Trinity was formally defined and defended against heresies in the early church councils. The First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) affirmed the divinity of the Son, stating he is “of one substance with the Father,” against Arianism, which taught that the Son was a created being. The First Council of Constantinople (381 AD) similarly affirmed the divinity of the Holy Spirit. These councils and their resulting creeds, such as the Nicene Creed, were crucial in establishing the orthodox Christian understanding of the Trinity.

Common Heresies and Misunderstandings

Throughout history, various theological errors have arisen regarding the Trinity. Understanding these heresies helps clarify the orthodox view.

Modalism: This heresy claims that God is a single person who reveals himself in three different “modes” or “masks” at different times (e.g., as the Father in the Old Testament, the Son in the Gospels, and the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension). This view denies the distinct personhood of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Arianism: As mentioned, Arianism taught that the Son was created by the Father and is therefore subordinate and not co-eternal or co-equal with him. This heresy denies the full divinity of Jesus Christ.

Tritheism: This error proposes that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate gods. This view contradicts the foundational Christian belief in monotheism (one God).

The Westminster Confession on the Trinity

The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter Two, “Of God, and of the Holy Trinity,” explains the relationship within the Godhead. It states that “in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost” (WCF 2.3). This underscores both the unity and the distinct roles within the Trinity. Understanding these distinctions helps clarify how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit work together in salvation while remaining one in essence. It shows their unified nature and their different roles. However, misunderstandings and heresies have arisen throughout history. Modalism claims that God manifests in three modes or aspects, denying the distinct persons of the Trinity. Arianism says the Son and the Holy Spirit are created beings and not of the same substance as the Father, contradicting the belief that the three persons are co-eternal and co-equal.

The Westminster Confession of Faith addresses these errors by emphasizing that “in the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity” (WCF 2.3). This supports the belief that, while the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have distinct roles (the economic Trinity), they are one in essence and being (the ontological Trinity). Recognizing these heresies helps us appreciate the balance of unity and distinction within the Trinity, a cornerstone of Christian theology.

Why It Matters

Understanding the Trinity is fundamental to Christian theology. It not only reveals the nature of God but also provides the framework for understanding salvation. The Father plans salvation, the Son accomplishes it through his life, death, and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit applies it to the hearts of believers, uniting them with Christ. The Trinity ensures that Christian belief is neither a polytheistic worship of three gods nor a simplistic, impersonal monotheism. It maintains a paradoxical balance of both unity and distinction, reflecting the complexity and richness of God’s being.

What Is the Westminster Confession of Faith?

A comprehensive framework for understanding the Christian faith.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

— 2 Timothy 3:16

The Westminster Confession of Faith holds a significant place in Christian history and theology, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the Christian faith. In this short description, I will touch on several key teachings of the confession, examining its relevance and profound impact on believers today.

At the heart of the Westminster Confession of Faith lies a firm commitment to the authority of Scripture. It affirms the divine inspiration and infallibility of the Bible, regarding it as the ultimate source of truth and guidance for our lives. This emphasis encourages believers to approach the Scriptures with reverence and humility, seeking to align their beliefs and practices with its teachings.

The confession upholds the sovereignty of God, emphasizing His supreme authority over all creation. It acknowledges God as the sovereign ruler, the creator, and sustainer of the universe. This doctrine teaches us that everything exists and operates according to God’s wise and loving plan, giving us a sense of purpose and assurance in His divine providence.

The Westminster Confession of Faith addresses the nature and role of the church. It recognizes the importance of the visible church as a community of believers, gathered for worship, fellowship, and the proclamation of God’s Word. Additionally, the confession presents the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as more than mere rituals — they are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, instituted by God to signify and seal our union with Christ and to confirm and strengthen the faith of those who receive them. The grace they convey is not a power in the elements themselves, but the work of the Holy Spirit through them (WCF 27.1–3). The sacraments are genuine means of grace by which God nourishes and sustains the faith of His people.

Within the confession, there is an emphasis on the Christian life and the pursuit of holiness. It acknowledges the reality of our ongoing struggle with sin and highlights the need for repentance and faith. The confession encourages believers to cultivate a vibrant spiritual life through prayer, worship, diligent study of Scripture, and reliance on the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

The Westminster Confession of Faith offers believers a rich theological resource that can deepen their understanding of God, His Word, and the Christian life. By studying its teachings, we gain a robust framework for interpreting Scripture and a guide for living out our faith with integrity. While the confession is not a replacement for the Bible, it serves as a valuable summary of essential Christian doctrines. May our study of the confession enrich our faith, strengthen our relationship with God, and inspire us to live lives that bring glory to Him.

For more information Ligonier.org has the Confession as well as the Larger and Shorter catechisms.

Doctrines of Grace – TULIP

The five points of Calvinism — biblical truths that have been a steadfast foundation for faith.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

— Ephesians 2:8

Most of my life I was unaware of the doctrines of grace, which are often summarized by the acronym TULIP, but upon their discovery I realized I had always mostly believed them without having a name to call them. These doctrines are not abstract theories but rather profound biblical truths that have been a steadfast foundation for my faith throughout trials, doubts, and the daily challenges of life. They flow from the pages of Scripture and once you see them you will be unable to not see them. Each doctrine interlinks to reveal God’s sovereign role in our salvation. I would like to briefly outline these doctrines, which I have come to cherish:

Total Depravity: From the fall in Eden, sin has corrupted every fiber of our being—our thoughts, desires, and actions—leaving us spiritually dead and unable to reach for God on our own (Romans 3:10-12; Ephesians 2:1-3). It’s not that we’re utterly wicked in every deed, but that no corner of our nature escapes sin’s taint, making us wholly dependent on divine mercy.

Unconditional Election: In His eternal wisdom, God chose a people for Himself before the world began, not because of anything we might do or He foresee in us, but purely out of His gracious will (Ephesians 1:4-5; Romans 9:11-16). This choice rests on His purpose alone, a sovereign act that humbles us and exalts His glory.

Limited Atonement (or Particular Redemption): Christ’s death on the cross wasn’t a vague possibility for all, but a definite, powerful sacrifice that fully atones for the sins of His elect, securing their redemption without fail (John 10:11, 15; Ephesians 5:25). Its value is infinite, yet its intent is specific, accomplishing exactly what the Father planned.

Irresistible Grace (or Effectual Calling): When God calls His chosen ones through the Holy Spirit, that grace breaks through our stubborn resistance, renewing our hearts and drawing us willingly to faith in Christ (John 6:37, 44; Ezekiel 36:26-27). It’s not force, but a loving transformation that makes us alive to His beauty.

Perseverance of the Saints: Those whom God saves, He keeps forever, guarding them through faith until glory, not by our grit, but by His unyielding power (Philippians 1:6; John 10:28-29). We press on because He holds us fast, turning even our stumblings into steps toward home.

These five points, hammered out in the fires of the Reformation and the Synod of Dort, aren’t meant to divide but to illuminate the gospel’s scope and beauty. They remind us that salvation, from first to last, is God’s work — and that’s exactly why it can never fail.

Now, as one who’s chased many a theory and perspective and wrestled with passages till dawn, let me share why diving deep into these doctrines is worth every ounce of your effort. They aren’t just theological scaffolding; they rightly orient our pursuit of the Lord, aligning it with that timeless truth from the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s first question (Q. 1): “What is the chief end of man?” And the answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” Oh, how these doctrines help us live that out! They frame our walk with Christ not as a frantic self-improvement project, but as a joyful response to His sovereign love. We are all called to run the race; I believe these doctrines lower many hurdles allowing us to draw closer to the Lord and glorify Him in our lives. In this website, I have tried to create a pages where people can share the essential truths of the reformers from a phone or tablet.

All discussions should ultimately point us back to the word. Then like the Bereans; pray and examine the word and make sure the writer and speaker you choose to listen to are presenting the mystery of godliness correctly.

Total Depravity

Every part of us has been affected by sin.

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

— Romans 3:10–11

The Christian doctrine of total depravity teaches a simple but profound truth: because of humanity’s original sin (the fall), every part of us—our mind, our will, our emotions, and even our body—has been affected by sin. Sin has corrupted our very nature.

This means we are spiritually “dead,” trapped by sin, and completely unable to choose or seek God on our own.

It’s important to understand what “total” means here:

It’s about the extent of sin. Sin has tainted every part of us, like a drop of poison that contaminates an entire glass of water.

It is not about the degree of sin. It doesn’t mean we are as evil as we could possibly be. People can still do things that are kind or morally good from a human perspective.

At its core, total depravity means we are powerless to save ourselves or even take the first step toward God without His divine intervention. This doctrine is foundational because it shows that salvation is not a team effort between us and God; it is a rescue mission performed by God for us.

The Case for Total Depravity

This idea can be understood by following a logical progression based on what the Bible teaches.

1. Where did humanity start, and what went wrong?

God originally created humans “good” and in His own image. But when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God (the fall), sin entered the world, damaging our nature and cutting us off from our Creator.

Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Genesis 3:6-7: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food… she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened…”

Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

The bottom line: Sin wasn’t just a small mistake; it was a fundamental change to our core being that biased us toward evil instead of good.

2. How deep does the corruption of sin go?

The Bible describes sin as a deep-seated problem that affects every aspect of who we are, leaving us spiritually dead and unable to live righteously.

Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Romans 3:10-12: “…‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’”

Ephesians 2:1-3: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins… and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

The bottom line: If our hearts (desires), minds (understanding), and actions are all corrupted by sin, then the problem is total. Scripture says “no one seeks for God,” which shows we can’t find Him on our own.

3. Can we choose to seek God on our own?

No. Because we are enslaved to sin and spiritually “dead,” we are unable to initiate a relationship with God. Our natural inclination is to turn away from Him, not toward Him.

John 6:44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”

Romans 8:7-8: “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

1 Corinthians 2:14: “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them…”

The bottom line: If our natural minds are “hostile to God” and cannot understand spiritual truth, then God has to make the first move. This is why faith is described as a gift, not a human accomplishment.

4. What does this mean for our salvation?

Total depravity makes it clear that salvation must be 100% a work of God’s grace. We contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary. God doesn’t just help us; He does it all.

Titus 3:5: “…he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy…”

Ezekiel 36:26: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The bottom line: If we have a “heart of stone” that cannot believe, God must give us a “heart of flesh” before we can have faith. He performs spiritual heart surgery on us. This ensures that salvation is God’s work alone, and He gets all the glory.

Answering Common Objections

Objection 1: “But people do good things all the time! This idea seems too negative.”

This misunderstands the meaning of “total.”

Total depravity doesn’t mean people are incapable of doing things that are seen as good by society (like charity or kindness). This is because of God’s common grace, where He restrains evil in the world to keep society from completely falling apart.

However, it does mean that apart from faith in Christ, none of these actions are spiritually good or pleasing to God (Romans 14:23). Our motives are always tainted by sin.

Objection 2: “If we can’t help but sin, doesn’t that make God responsible for it?”

No, this confuses our inability with God’s authorship.

Humans are responsible because we sin willingly, according to our sinful nature. God doesn’t force us to sin; we do it because it’s what we want (James 1:13-14).

God is completely sovereign, but we are still held accountable for our choices. The Bible holds these two truths together. For example, God planned Jesus’s crucifixion, but the people who carried it out did so with “wicked hands” and were responsible for their actions (Acts 2:23).

Objection 3: “Why would God command us to repent and believe if we’re unable to do it?”

God’s commands serve a crucial purpose: they act like a mirror, showing us our sinfulness and inability to save ourselves.

The law reveals our spiritual bankruptcy and shows us how much we need a Savior (Romans 3:20).

The command to repent isn’t an expectation that we can do it on our own; it’s the very message God uses, through the power of His Spirit, to awaken a dead heart. It shows us that salvation is impossible for us, but “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

Objection 4: “But the Bible says we should seek God. How can that be if no one is able to?”

This is a great question that highlights the difference between God’s original design for humanity and our current condition after sin entered the world.

In Acts 17:27, Paul says God arranged the world so that people “should seek God.” This describes our purpose, like a compass that is designed to point north. But what happens when that compass is broken? Sin has shattered our internal, spiritual compass.

Because our nature is now broken, the Bible gives a clear diagnosis of our actual condition. Romans 3:11 states definitively, “no one seeks for God.” Psalm 10:4 explains why: “In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him.” Our pride and sin make us unable and unwilling to point ourselves toward God, even though that’s what we were created to do.

So, how does anyone ever begin to seek Him? Think of it like a rescue mission for a hiker who has fallen unconscious in a deep valley. That hiker cannot seek the rescuers. The rescue team must find them first. God is the rescuer. He must come to us while we are spiritually unconscious and begin the work of reviving our hearts.

The bottom line: Our first prayer, our first question about God, or our first desire to seek Him is not us starting the rescue. It’s the first sign that God’s rescue is already underway. Seeking God isn’t the cause of our new spiritual life; it is the first beautiful symptom of it.

Why This Doctrine Matters

Total depravity isn’t meant to be a discouraging doctrine. Instead, it’s a truth that sets the stage for the incredible news of the gospel.

It Leads to Humility: It demolishes our pride. We realize we can’t take any credit for our salvation, as it is a pure gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9).

It Gives Real Assurance: Our salvation doesn’t depend on our wavering ability to hold on to God, but on His unbreakable power to hold on to us. He started the work, and He will finish it (Philippians 1:6).

It Inspires True Worship: Understanding our helplessness makes God’s grace seem even more amazing. It leads us to praise and thank Him for His incredible mercy in saving sinners who could do nothing to save themselves (Romans 5:8).

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Unconditional Election

God’s sovereign choice before the foundation of the world.

“He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

— Ephesians 1:4

The Christian doctrine of unconditional election is the Bible’s teaching that before the world even began, God chose specific people to save. This choice was not based on anything they would do—good or bad—but was based entirely on His own sovereign (having absolute, independent authority) grace and for His own glory. He chose them to rescue them from sin and bring them into a forever relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

Think of it like an adoption. Loving parents who choose to adopt a child don’t do so because the child has earned it or has some special merit. They choose the child out of their own love and will, desiring to make that child part of their family. In the same way, God’s choice of His people is unconditional—it flows entirely from His own good pleasure and merciful will.

This doctrine is vital because it gives all the glory for salvation to God alone.

The Case for Unconditional Election

We can understand this doctrine by following a logical path built on core biblical truths.

1. Who is ultimately in charge of everything?

The starting point is God’s absolute sovereignty. The Bible teaches that God is the king of the universe, in complete control of everything, and His plans never fail.

Psalm 115:3: “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”

Daniel 4:35: “…he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’”

Ephesians 1:11: “…him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”

The bottom line: If God is sovereign over all things, then salvation—the most important event in history—cannot ultimately depend on the choice of a human being. God is the author of the story, and He determines its outcome.

2. What is our natural spiritual condition?

As we saw with total depravity, the Bible describes all people as spiritually “dead” in their sins. We are trapped by sin and are both unable and unwilling to choose God on our own.

Analogy: A person who has drowned is helpless. They cannot choose to save themselves or swim to the rescue boat. Life must be given to them by an outside rescuer.

Romans 3:11: “…no one understands; no one seeks for God.”

Ephesians 2:1: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked…”

John 6:44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”

John 8:34: “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.’”

The bottom line: A dead person cannot choose to make themselves alive. A slave cannot choose to set themselves free. If we are spiritually dead and in bondage to sin, the first move in our salvation must come from God.

3. If we can’t choose God, how is anyone saved?

It logically follows that if anyone is to be saved, God must be the one who makes the decisive choice. He has to sovereignly give spiritual life and faith to those who would otherwise remain dead in their sin.

John 15:16: [Jesus said] “You did not choose me, but I chose you…”

Acts 13:48: “…and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” (Notice the order: God’s appointment comes before their belief).

John 1:13: Children of God are born, “…not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

The bottom line: The reason one person believes the gospel while another rejects it isn’t found in the people themselves (since both are naturally unable). The difference is that God chose to grant the gift of faith to one and not the other. This is election.

4. What is the basis for God’s choice?

Is God’s choice conditional (based on Him looking into the future and seeing who would believe) or unconditional (based only on His own will)? Scripture teaches it is unconditional.

Analogy: A conditional gift says, “I’ll give you this if you do that.” An unconditional gift says, “I am giving you this simply because I love you.” God’s election is an unconditional gift. Faith and good works are the result of His choice, not the reason for it.

Romans 9:11, 16: Speaking of Jacob and Esau, Paul says God’s choice was made “…though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue… So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”

Ephesians 1:4-5: “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world… according to the purpose of his will.”

2 Timothy 1:9: God saved us “…not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”

The bottom line: If election were based on our foreseen faith, then we would have a reason to boast (“God chose me because He knew I would choose Him”). Unconditional election ensures that salvation is by grace from start to finish, and only God gets the glory.

Answering Common Objections

Objection 1: “This isn’t fair! Why would God choose some and not others?”

This question confuses justice with mercy.

Justice is getting what you deserve. Because of sin, what all people deserve is God’s judgment.

Mercy is not getting what you deserve. It is a free gift.

Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In salvation, God gives His elect mercy. He passes over others, giving them justice. No one receives injustice.

Analogy: Imagine a governor has a hundred inmates on death row, all guilty. If he decides to pardon ten of them as an act of pure mercy, is he being “unfair” to the other ninety who receive their just sentence? No. The question is not why he only pardoned ten, but why he pardoned any at all. The answer is grace.

Romans 9:14-15: “Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy…’”

Objection 2: “This destroys free will and makes us robots.”

This assumes a definition of “free will” the Bible doesn’t use. We do have a will and we make real choices based on our desires. The problem is that our natural desire is for sin (John 8:34). We freely choose what our hearts love most, and before salvation, that is never God.

God’s grace doesn’t destroy our will; it liberates it. Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us a new heart with new desires, so that we willingly and freely choose to follow Christ.

Ezekiel 36:26: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Philippians 2:13: “…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Objection 3: “If God has already chosen who will be saved, why bother with evangelism?”

Election is the greatest motivation for evangelism! God doesn’t just choose who will be saved (the end), He also chooses how they will be saved (the means)—and that is through the preaching of the gospel.

Analogy: A farmer is promised by a trustworthy source that his field will produce a great harvest. Does this make him lazy? No! It motivates him to go out and plant the seed, knowing his work will not be for nothing. We share the gospel because we know God has promised a harvest, and our words will be used to bring His chosen people home.

Acts 18:9-10: Jesus encouraged Paul to keep preaching in a hostile city, saying, “…for I have many in this city who are my people.”

Objection 4: “What about verses like John 3:16 that say ‘whoever believes’ can be saved?”

This is absolutely true! Anyone and everyone who believes in Jesus will be saved. Election doesn’t contradict this; it explains it.

The offer of the gospel is universal and genuine. But the question remains: why does a spiritually dead sinner, who hates God, decide to believe?

Election is the answer. God’s choice is the reason why “whoever” believes. It’s the divine cause behind our human response.

Why This Doctrine Matters

Unconditional election is not a cold, abstract theory. It is a doctrine full of warmth, comfort, and hope.

It Promotes Humility: It reminds us that we contributed nothing to our salvation. We can’t boast about our faith or choices, because even those were a gift.

It Gives Assurance: Our salvation is not anchored to our weak and wavering ability to hold on, but to the unshakeable, eternal decision of an all-powerful God. He chose us, and He will not let us go (Romans 8:29-30).

It Inspires Worship: It reveals the breathtaking depth of God’s grace. It leads us to praise Him for His amazing love in choosing to save us for reasons found only in His own heart.

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Limited Atonement

Christ’s death effectively secures the redemption of His people.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

— John 10:11

The Christian doctrine of limited atonement, also known as definite atonement or particular redemption, teaches a specific and powerful truth: Jesus Christ’s death on the cross was intentionally designed to fully atone for the sins of a specific group of people—the elect—whom God chose for salvation.

This name can be misleading. It’s not a limit on the power or value of Christ’s sacrifice, which is infinite and sufficient to save every person who has ever lived. Instead, it’s a statement about God’s purpose and design.

Think of it this way: a skilled surgeon doesn’t just leave medicine on a shelf and hope the right patients find it. He walks into the operating room with a specific patient on the table and performs the surgery that saves that patient’s life. The surgery is performed with skill sufficient to save anyone — its power is not in question — but the surgeon’s purpose was to save this patient. Christ entered the world not merely to make salvation possible but to actually accomplish it for every soul the Father gave Him.

This doctrine is central because it shows God’s plan of salvation is perfectly coordinated. It highlights God’s sovereignty, the unity of the Trinity’s purpose, and guarantees that Christ’s work on the cross was a complete and total success, accomplishing exactly what God decreed.

The Case for Limited Atonement

This idea can be understood by following a logical progression based on what the Bible teaches.

1. Was Jesus’s death part of a specific plan?

Yes. Christ’s death wasn’t a random act of goodwill. It was a precise and purposeful part of God’s eternal plan to redeem the specific people He had already chosen.

John 10:11,15: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

Acts 20:28: “…to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

The bottom line: God’s plan of salvation starts with His choice (election). If God chooses specific people to save, His “sheep,” “the church,” and “His people,” it’s logical that He would send His Son to die for those same specific people. A sacrifice intended for everyone, but only effective for a few, would create a disconnect in God’s plan and leave salvation uncertain.

2. What did Jesus’s death actually achieve?

The Bible presents Christ’s death as a true substitution that actually saves a particular people, not one that just makes salvation possible for all people. His death paid the price in full.

Matthew 1:21: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

John 17:9: “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.”

Titus 2:14: “[He] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession…”

The bottom line: If Christ’s death only made salvation possible, it would mean that His sacrifice could (and for many, does) fail to achieve its ultimate goal. This would imply His work was imperfect. Instead, the Bible teaches His death was a perfect success that effectively redeems the people God gave to Him. A ransom doesn’t just make a captive “rescuable”; it actually buys their freedom.

3. Was Jesus’s sacrifice a guaranteed success?

Yes. Scripture speaks of Christ’s blood as purchasing and securing a definite redemption for His people, not creating a hypothetical opportunity for all humanity.

Hebrews 9:12: “…by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

Revelation 5:9: “…for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

Isaiah 53:11: “…the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

The bottom line: The power of the atonement is seen in its results. It doesn’t just offer forgiveness; it actually justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies the redeemed. If Jesus died for the sins of those who ultimately perish in hell, it would mean His precious blood was shed in vain for them and God’s intent failed. Limited atonement upholds the perfect power and efficiency of Christ’s sacrifice.

4. How does this idea connect the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

Limited atonement is the doctrine that ensures the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in perfect harmony.

John 6:37-39: “All that the Father gives me will come to me… And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”

Romans 8:32: “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

2 Timothy 1:12: “…I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.”

The bottom line: The Father elects a people, the Son redeems that same people, and the Spirit applies salvation to that same people. An unlimited atonement creates a disunity, where the Son dies for many whom the Father did not choose and the Spirit does not regenerate. Limited atonement shows the Trinity working together with one perfect, unbreakable purpose.

Answering Common Objections

Objection 1: “Doesn’t this make God seem unloving or unfair?”

This misunderstands God’s love and confuses it with a requirement to treat everyone identically. God’s grace is a sovereign gift, not an obligation.

God’s love is demonstrated in the incredible depth of His sacrifice for the elect (Romans 5:8), not in offering a potential salvation to every person.

Scripture shows that God expresses different kinds of love without being unjust. He had a particular covenant love for Israel that He did not have for other nations (Romans 9:13).

The gospel call is genuinely offered to all who hear it (Matthew 22:14), but God sovereignly ensures it is effective for His chosen.

Objection 2: “But what about verses that say Jesus died for ‘the world’ or for ‘all’ people?”

This relies on taking the words “world” and “all” out of their biblical context. These words often mean “all kinds of people without distinction,” not “every single person without exception.”

John 3:16’s “world” revealed that God’s plan of salvation was now for all nations (Gentiles as well as Jews), not just Israel.

1 John 2:2 says Jesus is the atonement for the sins of the “whole world.” John is assuring his readers that Jesus’s death is not just for their community, but for the entire worldwide body of believers from every tribe and nation.

1 Timothy 2:6 says Jesus is a “ransom for all.” The context in verses 1-2 shows Paul urging prayer for all types of people, including “kings.” The meaning is that Christ’s death saves people from all classes and stations of life. If “all” meant every individual, it would logically lead to universalism, a belief the rest of Scripture denies (Matthew 25:46).

Objection 3: “If only the elect are saved, why bother preaching the gospel to everyone?”

This confuses the scope of the atonement with the command of the gospel. We are commanded to preach to everyone because evangelism is the very means God uses to call His elect to Himself.

We preach indiscriminately because we don’t know who the elect are. We are simply called to proclaim the good news and trust God with the results (Romans 10:14).

Jesus Himself gave the command for a universal proclamation (Matthew 28:19).

This doctrine actually motivates evangelism because it guarantees success. When Paul was afraid in Corinth, God told him, “Do not be afraid… for I have many in this city who are my people” (Acts 18:10). This assurance spurred him on. The great historical Reformers like Calvin were passionately missionary-minded because they knew God would save His sheep through the preaching of the Word.

Objection 4: “Doesn’t this ‘limit’ the power of Jesus’s sacrifice?”

This confuses the purpose of the atonement with its power. The doctrine affirms that Christ’s sacrifice has infinite value and is sufficient for all, but it was intended for and effective for the elect.

Christ’s sacrifice has infinite worth — the Canons of Dort rightly affirm that it is “of infinite worth and value, abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world.” The question is not whether it could have saved every person, but what the Father and the Son intended it to do. And Scripture answers clearly: He came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), to lay down His life for His sheep (John 10:15), and to give Himself up for the Church (Ephesians 5:25). The atonement is not a blank check left on a table for whoever picks it up — it is a ransom price that was paid, received, and applied, and every soul for whom it was paid will be brought home.

The Bible says Christ is able “to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him” (Hebrews 7:25), showing His unlimited power.

Views of unlimited atonement actually diminish its power by making it merely potential rather than actual. Scripture, however, speaks of it as a finished work that truly canceled our debt (Colossians 2:14).

Why This Doctrine Matters

The doctrine of limited atonement is not meant to restrict hope but to build assurance on the solid rock of Christ’s finished work.

It Promotes Humility: It reminds us that salvation is entirely a work of God’s particular grace. We were not saved because we were more worthy or made a better choice, but because Christ set His love on us and died for us specifically (Ephesians 2:8-9).

It Gives Assurance: Knowing Christ died specifically for you means your salvation is secure. His blood was not shed on a “maybe”—it was the guaranteed payment for your redemption. If He gave His own Son for you, He will surely give you all things (Romans 8:32-34).

It Inspires Worship: It magnifies the personal love of Christ, who, as Paul said, “loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). This leads to profound gratitude and praise for a Savior who laid down His life intentionally and successfully for His sheep.

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Irresistible Grace

God’s grace transforms the heart, making the unwilling willing.

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”

— John 6:44

The Christian doctrine of Irresistible Grace, also known as Effectual Calling or Effective Grace, is the Bible’s teaching that when God sovereignly chooses to save someone, His grace will effectively accomplish its purpose. Because of our Total Depravity, our hearts are naturally resistant to God. Irresistible grace overcomes this resistance not by force, but by transforming our hearts from within. It renews our will so that we willingly and joyfully turn to Jesus in faith.

This grace is irresistible not because God drags people into heaven against their will, but because it is so powerful and beautiful that it changes the will itself, making the sinner want to come to God.

Analogy: Light in a Dark Room

When you flip a switch in a pitch-black room, the darkness doesn’t fight back or argue. It is instantly and effectively replaced by light. The darkness isn’t forced out; it is simply overcome. In the same way, God’s grace doesn’t coerce a sinner; it floods their heart with spiritual light, replacing the darkness of unbelief and enabling them to finally see and love the truth.

This doctrine is the guarantee that God’s plan of salvation will be perfectly applied by the Holy Spirit to all those for whom Christ died.

A Look at Irresistible Grace

Question 1: If we are naturally resistant to God, how can anyone ever choose Him?

The Bible teaches that, due to our sinful nature (often called total depravity), we are spiritually “dead” and hostile toward God. We don’t have the natural ability or desire to seek Him on our own.

Analogy: You can’t ask a person who is physically unconscious to get up and walk to a doctor. They need the doctor to come and revive them first. In the same way, a spiritually dead person needs God to first give them a new heart before they can respond to Him.

John 6:44: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”

Romans 8:7: “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27: God promises, “And I will give you a new heart… I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.”

The Bottom Line: If we are truly unable and unwilling to come to God, a simple invitation (like hearing a sermon) isn’t enough. God’s grace must work internally and irresistibly to change our hearts and enable us to say “yes” to Him.

Question 2: Does the Bible describe God’s call to salvation as always effective?

Scripture shows a difference between a general call and an effectual (or effective) call. The general call goes out to everyone who hears the gospel, but it can be rejected. The effectual call is God’s personal and powerful call to His chosen people (the elect), and it always results in salvation.

John 6:37: “All that the Father gives me will come to me…” (This is a statement of certainty, not possibility).

Romans 8:30: “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

1 Corinthians 1:24: “But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

The Bottom Line: Notice the unbreakable sequence in Romans 8—it’s often called the “golden chain” of salvation. Everyone who is “called” is also “justified.” There are no dropouts. If the call could be resisted and fail, this chain would be broken. The Bible presents it as a guarantee.

Question 3: Does irresistible grace mean we don’t have free will?

This is a common misunderstanding. Irresistible grace doesn’t destroy our will; it liberates our will from its slavery to sin. It changes our desires so that we freely choose what we once rejected.

Analogy: Imagine a person who is deathly ill and, because of their sickness, despises food. You could offer them a feast, but they would refuse it. If a doctor gives them a cure that not only heals their body but also restores their appetite, they will then willingly and joyfully choose to eat. The cure didn’t force them to eat, but it made them able and willing to do so. God’s grace is that cure.

Philippians 2:13: “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (God works in us to produce the desire and the action).

Acts 16:14: Speaking of Lydia, it says, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”

2 Timothy 2:25: Paul hopes that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.”

The Bottom Line: God renews our hearts so that our greatest desire becomes Him. We then choose Him according to our new, freed will. Our choice is genuine, but it was made possible only by God’s irresistible work in us.

Question 4: What does this teaching mean for a Christian’s confidence and our view of God?

Irresistible grace provides profound assurance and shows the beautiful, unified work of the Trinity in our salvation. The Father chooses us, the Son dies for us, and the Holy Spirit effectively calls and seals us.

John 10:27-29: “My sheep hear my voice… I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

1 Peter 1:2: Believers are chosen “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ…”

Ephesians 1:13-14: When we believe, we are “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance.”

The Bottom Line: If salvation depended on our ability to overcome our own resistance, we could never be sure. But because it rests on God’s powerful, irresistible grace, we can be confident that He who started the work in us will see it to completion. The Trinity works in perfect harmony to save every person They intend to save.

Answering Common Objections

Objection 1: “This makes people sound like robots and violates free will.”

It only violates our “freedom” to remain in sin. As the analogy of the sick patient showed, grace liberates the will to desire what is good. True freedom is being set free from sin’s bondage (John 8:34-36), not having complete autonomy from our Creator. God gives us a new nature, and we then act according to that new nature (Psalm 110:3).

Objection 2: “What about Bible verses where people resist the Holy Spirit?”

This goes back to the difference between the general and effectual call. People can (and do) resist the Holy Spirit’s general call that comes through preaching (Acts 7:51) and the conviction of their conscience. However, the irresistible, internal, and regenerating call given only to the elect cannot be ultimately resisted, because it involves changing the heart itself (John 6:65).

Objection 3: “If grace is irresistible, why bother praying for the lost or evangelizing?”

Because prayer and evangelism are the very tools God has ordained to bring His elect to salvation!

Analogy: A surgeon uses a scalpel to perform a life-saving operation. The surgeon’s skill makes the outcome certain, but the operation won’t happen without the scalpel. Evangelism is God’s “scalpel.” We share the gospel (Romans 10:14-15), and God uses that message to irresistibly call His people. Knowing this should motivate us, because it guarantees our efforts will not be in vain for those God is calling (2 Timothy 2:10).

Objection 4: “Doesn’t this belief lead to spiritual laziness or fatalism?”

Just the opposite! A true understanding of this doctrine should fuel a life of gratitude and holiness. Grace doesn’t just save us; it trains us to live godly lives (Titus 2:11-12). Knowing that God is powerfully at work in us encourages us to persevere, confident that He will finish what He started (Philippians 1:6). It leads to diligence as we seek to confirm our calling and election (2 Peter 1:10).

Conclusion: The Comfort of Irresistible Grace

This doctrine is not meant for philosophical debates but for the comfort and encouragement of the believer. It serves three beautiful pastoral purposes:

It Promotes Humility: It reminds us that our faith is a gift, not our own achievement. We have no room to boast, only to thank God (1 Corinthians 4:7).

It Gives Assurance: It secures our salvation in the hands of a powerful God, not our own wavering will. He who called us will keep us (John 10:28-29).

It Inspires Worship: It magnifies God’s incredible power and sovereign love that could conquer our stubborn hearts, leading us to praise Him for His amazing, transformative grace (Psalm 65:4).

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Perseverance of the Saints

Those whom God saves, He keeps forever.

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

— John 10:28

The Christian doctrine of perseverance of the saints teaches that anyone God saves will be kept by His power and will never permanently fall away from faith. In other words, if you are saved, you are eternally secure.

This doesn’t mean our salvation depends on our own strength or ability to hold on to God. It’s the other way around: God holds on to us.

Analogy: Think of it like a father holding his child’s hand while crossing a busy street. The child might stumble or try to let go, but the father’s grip is what guarantees they make it safely to the other side.

This doctrine is foundational because it shows that our eternal security rests not on our shaky grip on God, but on His unbreakable grip on us.

The Case for the Perseverance of the Saints

This idea can be understood by following a logical progression based on what the Bible teaches.

Question 1: If God starts our salvation, will He finish it?

Yes. The Bible teaches that God’s plan of salvation is an unbreakable chain. If God chose you, called you, and saved you, He will absolutely see you through to the very end. His purpose cannot be defeated by our weakness.

Romans 8:29-30: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined… And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Philippians 1:6: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

John 10:28-29: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand… no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”

The bottom line: Salvation is like a golden chain with five links: foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. The “golden chain” is a powerful metaphor for the unbreakable process of salvation described in Romans 8:29-30. The key idea is that every person who is part of the first link will inevitably be part of the last. God Himself forges every link, ensuring no one is ever lost along the way.

Let’s look at the first and most foundational link: foreknowledge.

What Foreknowledge Doesn’t Mean

When we hear “foreknowledge,” our modern minds often think it means God simply looked into the future, saw who would choose to have faith in Him, and then chose them based on their foreseen decision. In this view, God’s choice is a reaction to ours.

What Foreknowledge Does Mean

However, in the Bible, the word “to know” (and by extension, “to foreknow”) often implies a much deeper, more intimate, and active relationship. It’s not just about knowing about someone; it’s about setting one’s love and affection upon them in a special, covenantal way.

Think about how the Bible uses the word “know”:

God said to Israel, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2). God obviously knew about the other nations, but He had a special, saving relationship only with Israel.

Jesus will say to false professors on judgment day, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23). He isn’t saying He was unaware of their existence; He’s saying, “We never had a relationship.”

So, when the Bible says God “foreknew” His people, it means that He set His saving love and affection on them from eternity past. It was an active choice of the heart, not a passive gathering of information about the future.

An analogy: It’s less like a scientist observing a reaction from a distance and more like a groom choosing his bride before the wedding. His choice isn’t based on merely observing what she will do; it’s a proactive, loving decision to set his heart upon her.

The Unbreakable Five Links

With this understanding of foreknowledge as the anchor, the rest of the chain follows with perfect, logical security:

Foreknowledge: Before time began, God set His saving love upon His people. This is the foundation of it all.

Predestination: Because He chose to love them, He then predestined (or predetermined) their ultimate destiny: to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus.

Calling: At the proper time in their lives, God effectively calls these chosen individuals to Himself through the gospel, drawing them out of spiritual death and into spiritual life.

Justification: When they are called, God declares them righteous in His sight. He forgives their sins and credits them with Christ’s perfect righteousness. This is a legal, once-for-all declaration.

Glorification: Finally, this process will be completed in the future when God removes all sin from their lives and brings them into His presence in glorified, perfect bodies.

The power of this chain is that it is unbroken. Everyone God foreknew, He will glorify. His loving choice in eternity past guarantees our glorious state in eternity future.

Question 2: Are true believers truly secure?

Absolutely. Scripture says that true believers are “sealed” and “guarded” by God’s power. This is God’s guarantee that He will finish what He started in us.

Ephesians 1:13-14: “…you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance…”

1 Peter 1:5: “[Believers] by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Jude 24: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.”

The bottom line: The Holy Spirit acts as a divine down payment on our salvation. Just like a down payment guarantees the final purchase of a house, the Spirit’s presence guarantees our future inheritance in heaven. God isn’t just our Savior; He’s also our bodyguard.

Question 3: What about when we sin or stumble?

Perseverance doesn’t mean perfection. True believers still sin, stumble, and require God’s discipline. However, God’s discipline is proof of our sonship, not a threat of disownment. He corrects us to bring us back, not to cast us out.

Hebrews 12:5-7: “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

1 John 3:9: “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

Jeremiah 32:40: “…I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.”

The bottom line: When a true child of God wanders, their loving Father pursues and disciplines them to restore them. He changes our hearts so that, even when we fail, our deepest desire is to return to Him. Someone who leaves the faith permanently shows they were never truly part of the family to begin with.

Question 4: So, where does our confidence come from?

Our confidence comes from God’s unchanging character and unbreakable promises, not our own performance. This doctrine anchors our hope in the faithfulness of God, who cannot fail.

Romans 8:38-39: “For I am sure that neither death nor life… nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

2 Timothy 4:18: “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom.”

Psalm 138:8: “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.”

The bottom line: Our salvation is not a ship tossed about by the waves of our feelings and failures. It is held firm by an unbreakable anchor—the love and power of God Himself. He will bring us safely home.

Answering Common Objections

Objection 1: “Doesn’t this give people a license to sin?”

This misunderstands the doctrine. Perseverance of the saints is not preservation in sin, but preservation from sin.

God doesn’t just save us from hell; He saves us for holiness. Being “born of God” means we have a new nature that desires to please Him (1 John 3:9).

A genuine faith always produces good works, or “fruit” (James 2:17). Someone who feels free to live in sin shows that they likely haven’t experienced true, saving faith.

God’s grace doesn’t make us lazy; it makes us grateful. The security we have in Christ motivates us to obey Him out of love, not fear.

Objection 2: “What about Bible verses that warn people about falling away?”

These warnings are one of the primary means God uses to keep His true children on the right path.

Think of them like “Guardrail” signs on a dangerous road. They aren’t there because the engineer expects you to drive off the cliff; they are there to prevent you from doing so.

These warnings serve to test the faith of those in the church. Those who heed the warnings and persevere show they are true believers. Those who ignore them and fall away reveal they were never truly saved in the first place (1 John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they were not of us…”).

Objection 3: “If my salvation is secure, why do I need to try to live a holy life?”

This sets up a false choice. The Bible holds two truths together: God works, so we work.

Philippians 2:12-13 puts it perfectly: “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

We don’t work for our salvation; we work out our salvation. Our effort is the evidence and result of God’s power working within us. It’s like a sailboat: the wind (God’s Spirit) provides the power, but the sailor must still raise the sails (our effort) to move.

Objection 4: “But I’ve seen people who seemed to be Christians walk away from the faith.”

The Bible makes a distinction between those who merely profess faith and those who truly possess faith.

Jesus warned that many will say “Lord, Lord,” but He will say, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:21-23). Their association was outward, not inward.

Temporary backsliding is different from final apostasy. A true believer, like Peter who denied Christ, will be brought to repentance and restoration. An apostate, like Judas, will not.

Perseverance is the ultimate test. Enduring to the end is the mark of a genuine believer (Hebrews 3:14).

Why This Doctrine Matters

Perseverance of the saints is not a technicality; it’s a deeply pastoral truth that fuels the Christian life.

It Leads to Humility: It reminds us that our endurance depends entirely on God’s grace, not our own strength. We can’t boast about staying saved.

It Gives Real Assurance: In times of doubt, failure, or suffering, it gives us unshakable peace, knowing that our security rests in God’s powerful, loving hands.

It Inspires True Worship: Understanding that God is committed to preserving us to the very end leads to profound gratitude and praise for His incredible, covenant-keeping faithfulness.

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Infant Baptism – Why Baptize a Baby?

Understanding why some Christians baptize their infants.

“For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

— Acts 2:39

When considering why some Christians baptize their infants rather than waiting for them to mature, we must first ask a foundational question: what is the point of baptism? To answer this, we need to look at the historic Christian understanding of a sacrament.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 92) defines a sacrament as “an holy ordinance instituted by Christ; wherein, by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits of the new covenant, are represented, sealed, and applied to believers.”

Let’s break down the two most important words in that definition: sign and seal.

A Sign: A sacrament is a visible symbol of God’s invisible grace. Think of a wedding ring; it’s a physical sign of an unseen commitment. In baptism, the water is a powerful sign of the cleansing from sin that Jesus provides and the new life we receive from the Holy Spirit.

A Seal: A sacrament is also God’s official seal, like a king’s mark on a royal decree that guarantees a promise. Baptism is God’s seal on His people, assuring them that the promises of the Gospel are for them personally.

Crucially, this view doesn’t mean the act works like magic. The power of baptism isn’t tied to the water itself but is made effective by the Holy Spirit through faith. For someone baptized as an infant, that personal faith can blossom years after the sign was first applied.

The Purpose and Command of Baptism

From this perspective, baptism is a sign and seal of several core Christian truths, and it is not an optional extra but a direct command from Jesus.

A Sign of Union with Christ: Baptism vividly illustrates our union with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:3-4: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

A Sign of Cleansing and Forgiveness: The water symbolizes the washing away of our sins. Ananias told Paul in Acts 22:16: “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached again from Acts 2:38: “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”

A Sign of Entrance into the Church: Baptism is the formal initiation into the family of God, the visible church. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

A Command to Be Obeyed: Jesus Himself commanded baptism in the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).

The Old Testament Roots: From Circumcision to Baptism

To understand the timing of baptism for infants, we must look at how God has always worked with his people. This view is rooted in Covenant Theology— a framework for understanding the Bible that sees God relating to humanity primarily through two covenants: the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace. It teaches that all of Scripture is a unified story of God’s redemptive plan, which unfolds through these covenants and finds its ultimate fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

God has long used water to symbolize cleansing and salvation. The apostle Peter in 1 Peter 3:20-21 connects Noah’s family being brought safely through the water of the flood to the salvation represented in baptism. Paul describes the Israelites’ escape through the Red Sea as a type of baptism in 1 Corinthians 10:1-2.

However, the key connection is this: Baptism is the New Covenant replacement for circumcision.

In Genesis 17, God established His covenant with Abraham, and the sign of that covenant was circumcision. Who received this sign? God commanded that it be applied not only to Abraham (the adult believer) but also to the male infants in his household: “He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised” (Genesis 17:12). An infant was included in God’s covenant family and received its sign because he was the child of a believer.

The Apostle Paul makes a direct link between these two signs in Colossians 2:11-12, stating that in Christ believers have a new kind of circumcision, “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.” This shows that baptism is the New Covenant fulfillment of the Old Covenant sign.

The core of God’s promise is the same; only the outward sign has changed.

The Case for Baptizing Infants

Based on this link between the Old and New Covenants, the argument for infant baptism becomes clear. If infants of believers received the sign of the covenant then, they should receive the sign of the covenant now.

The Promise Is for Children: Peter’s sermon at Pentecost concludes with a promise that echoes this family-based covenant: “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2:39).

Household Baptisms: The New Testament records the baptisms of entire households, such as Lydia’s in Acts 16:15, and the Philippian Jailer’s in Acts 16:33, and the household of Stephanas in 1 Corinthians 1:16. In that culture, the term “household” naturally included children. Their exclusion would have been a major change from how God had always worked, yet it is never mentioned.

The New Covenant Is Better, Not More Restrictive: The New Covenant is described as better in Hebrews 8:6. It would be inconsistent for a better covenant to suddenly exclude children from being marked as members of the visible community when they had always been included before.

What About Faith? How Can a Baby Believe?

This brings us to the final, crucial question: How can it be right to baptize an infant who has no understanding of the act?

The answer lies in recognizing that baptism is primarily God’s act, not ours. It is God who places His covenant sign and seal upon a person. The validity of God’s promise doesn’t depend on the recipient’s immediate understanding. An eight-day-old Hebrew infant had zero understanding of the Abrahamic covenant, yet God commanded that he receive its sign. The sign marked him as part of God’s visible covenant community, setting him apart as a recipient of the promises and calling him to the faith that those promises require.

This view does not diminish the necessity of faith for salvation; it simply does not demand that a profession of faith must always precede the sign. For an adult convert, faith comes first. For a child of believers, the sign is applied based on God’s promises. That child is then raised “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4), calling them to personally embrace the realities to which their baptism pointed.

Baptism is not a one-time event to be forgotten, but a present reality to be lived out. Martin Luther famously said he would fight temptation by declaring, “I am baptized!” The Reformed tradition heartily agrees with the impulse behind that declaration — not that the water itself regenerated us, for the Westminster Confession is clear that “the efficacy of baptism is not tied to that moment of time wherein it is administered” (WCF 28.6) — but that what God signified and sealed in baptism remains true every morning we wake up and every evening we lay our heads down. For one baptized as an infant, this means growing into the full understanding of what God declared over them at the beginning of their life. Their entire Christian walk becomes the process of living out the truths their baptism signified — and the God who placed His sign upon them is the same God who is faithful to bring that work to completion.

The Lord’s Supper – Why Does It Matter?

Understanding what Christ gave His church in the bread and the cup.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

— 1 Corinthians 11:26

If you have spent any time in a Christian church, you have almost certainly seen it — the bread broken, the cup poured, and the congregation invited to eat and drink together. But what exactly is happening? Is it merely a memorial? A ritual? Something more?

The Lord’s Supper is one of the two sacraments Christ gave to His church, and yet it is often the least understood. Many Christians participate in it regularly without ever stopping to ask what it is, what it does, and why Christ thought it important enough to command on the very night He was betrayed.

As with baptism, the best place to begin is with the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s definition of a sacrament (Q. 92): “an holy ordinance instituted by Christ; wherein, by sensible signs, Christ, and the benefits of the new covenant, are represented, sealed, and applied to believers.” The Lord’s Supper is a sign — a visible picture of an invisible reality. And it is a seal — God’s own confirmation that the promises of the gospel are for you personally.

But the Lord’s Supper is not merely a picture hanging on a wall. It is a means of grace — an instrument through which the Holy Spirit actually strengthens and nourishes the faith of those who receive it rightly. That distinction makes all the difference.

The Institution: What Did Jesus Do?

The Lord’s Supper was not invented by the church. It was instituted by Christ Himself, on the night before He went to the cross, in the context of the Passover meal — the annual feast that commemorated God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

Read

1 Corinthians 11:23–26

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

Notice the setting. The Passover lamb had been slain in Egypt so that death would pass over God’s people. Now Jesus — the true Passover Lamb — takes bread and wine and says: this is about Me. I am the fulfillment of everything the Passover pointed toward. My body will be broken. My blood will be poured out. And when you eat and drink these elements, you are proclaiming that My death is the ground of your salvation.

This is not a suggestion. It is a command: “Do this in remembrance of me.” The Lord’s Supper is not optional. Christ gave it to His church because His people need it.

What Is the Lord’s Supper? A Sign and Seal of the Gospel

The Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 168, asks: “What is the Lord’s Supper?” and answers: “The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of the New Testament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine according to the appointment of Jesus Christ, his death is showed forth; and they that worthily communicate feed upon his body and blood, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace; have their union and communion with him confirmed; testify and renew their thankfulness, and engagement to God, and their mutual love and fellowship each with other, as members of the same mystical body.”

That is a dense sentence. Let’s unpack what the Supper actually does for the believer.

1. It Proclaims Christ’s Death

Every time the bread is broken and the cup is poured, the church is making a public declaration: Christ died for sinners. The Supper is a sermon you can see, touch, and taste. It proclaims the same gospel that is preached from the pulpit, but it speaks to the whole person — not just the ears, but the hands and the mouth and the heart. In a world full of words, God gave His people a meal.

1 Corinthians 11:26: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

2. It Nourishes and Strengthens Faith

The Lord’s Supper is not merely backward-looking. It is a present means of grace — an instrument the Holy Spirit uses to strengthen our faith right now. Just as physical food nourishes the body, the Supper spiritually nourishes the soul. When you come to the table weak, doubting, and weary from the fight against sin, God meets you there and feeds you. He does not wait until you are strong enough to deserve it. He gives you the meal so that you might become strong.

John 6:35: “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’”

3. It Confirms Our Union with Christ

At the heart of the Christian life is union with Christ — the reality that by faith we are joined to Jesus so that everything He accomplished belongs to us. The Lord’s Supper is a tangible confirmation of that union. When you take the bread and the cup, you are receiving a sign and seal that you belong to Him, that His body was broken for you, and that His blood was shed for you.

1 Corinthians 10:16: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”

The word Paul uses here — koinōnia, often translated “participation” or “communion” — means a real, genuine sharing in the thing itself. We do not merely remember Christ at the table. We commune with Him.

4. It Binds Us to One Another

The Lord’s Supper is not a private devotional exercise. It is a corporate meal — the family of God eating together at their Father’s table. When we share the one bread, we are declaring that we belong to one body.

1 Corinthians 10:17: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

This is why the Supper is rightly administered in the context of public worship, under the oversight of the elders, and not as a solo act. It is a meal that requires a family.

5. It Points Us Forward

The Lord’s Supper is not only a remembrance of the past and a nourishment for the present — it is a promise about the future. Every time we eat and drink, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. The Supper carries within it an ache and a hope: we are not yet home, but we will be. The meal we share now is a foretaste of the great marriage supper of the Lamb, when Christ returns and all things are made new.

Revelation 19:9: “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Luke 22:18: “For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

What Happens at the Table?

When the bread is placed in your hand and the cup is lifted to your lips, what is actually happening? The Reformed confessions give an answer that is both careful and breathtaking: Christ is truly present — not physically in the elements, but spiritually, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the faith of the believer.

Christ’s body is in heaven. He ascended, and He remains at the right hand of the Father until He returns (Acts 3:21). The bread remains bread. The wine remains wine. But the Holy Spirit — the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead — takes those ordinary elements and uses them as instruments to genuinely nourish and strengthen the believer’s soul. You are not merely thinking about Christ at the table. You are communing with Him.

1 Corinthians 10:16: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”

The word Paul uses here — koinōnia, often translated “participation” or “communion” — means a real, genuine sharing in the thing itself. This is not the language of bare memory. This is the language of encounter.

Think of it this way: when the Word is preached, God uses ordinary human words to communicate divine truth and to create faith. The preacher’s voice is not transformed into the voice of God. And yet the Spirit works through those ordinary words to do something genuinely supernatural. The Supper works the same way. The bread remains bread. The wine remains wine. But the Holy Spirit takes those ordinary elements and, through faith, makes them the occasion of a real encounter with the living Christ.

The Westminster Confession puts it as well as it can be put:

Westminster Confession of Faith 29.7

“Worthy receivers, outwardly partaking of the visible elements in this sacrament, do then also inwardly by faith, really and indeed, yet not carnally and corporally, but spiritually, receive and feed upon Christ crucified, and all benefits of his death: the body and blood of Christ being then not corporally or carnally in, with, or under the bread and wine; yet as really, but spiritually, present to the faith of believers in that ordinance, as the elements themselves are to their outward senses.”

Read that sentence carefully. The Confession says the believer really and indeed feeds upon Christ — but spiritually, not carnally. Christ is as really present to the faith of the believer as the bread and wine are to the senses. This is not “just a symbol.” It is not a bare memorial. It is a genuine, Spirit-wrought communion with the living Christ.

Calvin himself confessed that the how of this mystery exceeded his ability to explain. He was content to experience what he could not fully articulate — and he urged others to do the same. The Supper is not a puzzle to be solved but a gift to be received.

How Should We Come to the Table?

Because the Lord’s Supper is a genuine means of grace — not merely a symbolic gesture — Scripture takes the manner of our participation seriously.

Read

1 Corinthians 11:27–29

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

This passage has caused some Christians to avoid the table out of fear. But Paul’s instruction is not “stay away if you are a sinner.” If that were the standard, the table would be permanently empty. His instruction is to examine yourself — and then eat. The self-examination is not meant to drive you from the table but to prepare you to receive it well.

What does worthy participation look like? The Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 171, gives helpful guidance. Those who come to the table should:

Understand what the Supper is — not a magical ritual, but a sacrament in which Christ and His benefits are offered to believers through bread and wine.

Examine their spiritual condition — looking for evidences of faith, repentance, love, and obedience, while acknowledging remaining sin and weakness.

Exercise faith — coming not in self-confidence but in reliance upon Christ’s finished work. The table is for those who trust in Him, not for those who trust in themselves.

Come with genuine hunger — a desire to grow in grace, to be renewed in their commitment to Christ, and to be strengthened for the road ahead.

The Supper is not for the perfect. It is for the hungry. It is a meal for sinners who know they are sinners and come anyway — because they know that the One who invites them to the table is the same One who died for them.

Who Should Come to the Table?

The Reformed tradition has historically practiced what is called fenced communion — meaning the table is not open to everyone without distinction, but is guarded by the elders of the church for the protection of both the congregation and the individual.

This is not gatekeeping for its own sake. It flows directly from Paul’s warning in 1 Corinthians 11. If eating and drinking unworthily brings judgment, then the shepherds of the church have a responsibility to help their flock come to the table rightly.

Generally, the table is open to those who:

Have made a credible profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Have been baptized.

Are members in good standing of a faithful Christian church (not necessarily the one administering the Supper, but a church where they are known, taught, and held accountable).

Are not under church discipline.

Children who have not yet made a profession of faith are typically not admitted to the table — not because they are excluded from the covenant community (their baptism testifies that they are included), but because the Supper requires the capacity for self-examination that Paul describes. This is different from baptism, where the sign is applied to the child based on God’s covenant promises. The Supper requires the recipient to “discern the body” — to understand, at least in a basic way, what they are receiving and why.

In many Reformed and Presbyterian churches, children are admitted to the table after a period of instruction and upon making a public profession of faith before the session (the board of elders). This is not an arbitrary hurdle. It is a joyful milestone — the moment when the child who was baptized as an infant embraces for themselves the realities their baptism signified.

How Often Should We Celebrate?

Scripture does not prescribe a specific frequency for the Lord’s Supper. Jesus said “as often as you do this” — but He did not say how often “often” should be. The early church appears to have celebrated it weekly (Acts 2:42, 46; 20:7), and Calvin himself argued passionately for weekly communion, writing that the Supper should be administered “at least once a week” and calling infrequent observance a deficiency introduced by the devil.

In practice, most Reformed and Presbyterian churches celebrate the Supper monthly or quarterly. Some have moved toward more frequent observance in recent years. The important principle is that the Supper should be celebrated regularly and reverently — frequently enough that it is a normal part of the church’s worship, not so rare that it becomes an exotic event disconnected from ordinary Christian life.

If your church celebrates the Supper infrequently, it may be worth asking why. Christ gave His people two sacraments, not one. The preaching of the Word is a means of grace. Prayer is a means of grace. And so is the Lord’s Supper. A church that regularly preaches and prays but rarely comes to the table is leaving one of God’s appointed gifts unopened.

Answering Common Questions

Question 1: “What do you mean it’s more than a symbol?”

The Lord’s Supper is not less than a symbol — the bread and wine genuinely represent Christ’s body and blood. But it is more than a symbol. It is a means of grace — an instrument the Holy Spirit uses to genuinely feed and strengthen the believer’s faith. When you come to the table, God is not merely watching you remember. He is actively nourishing your soul through the elements by His Spirit. The bread remains bread and the wine remains wine, but through them the Holy Spirit accomplishes an extraordinary spiritual work — a real communion with the living Christ.

Question 2: “Why can’t I just take communion by myself at home?”

Because the Lord’s Supper is, by its nature, a communal meal. The word “communion” is not accidental. Paul’s entire discussion in 1 Corinthians 10–11 is addressed to the gathered church. The Supper declares not only our union with Christ but our union with one another as members of His body. To take it in isolation is to miss half of what it means.

Additionally, the sacraments are administered under the authority and oversight of the church’s elders. This is not a bureaucratic technicality — it is a pastoral protection. The elders are responsible for ensuring the Supper is rightly administered, that the congregation is properly taught, and that those who come to the table are doing so in a manner consistent with Paul’s instructions. A solo communion has no such accountability.

Question 3: “I don’t feel worthy to come to the table. Should I abstain?”

If you are waiting until you feel worthy, you will never come. And that is precisely the wrong response to Paul’s exhortation. Paul does not say “examine yourself and stay away.” He says “examine yourself and eat.”

The table is not a reward for the righteous. It is a means of grace for the weak. Christ did not institute the Supper for those who have arrived but for those who are still on the way. If you come with a genuine faith — even a faltering one — and a real sorrow for sin — even an imperfect one — and a true desire to cling to Christ — even when your grip feels loose — then the table is for you. Come hungry. He will feed you.

The Westminster Confession addresses this directly: “Although ignorant and wicked men receive the outward elements in this sacrament, yet they receive not the thing signified thereby; rather, by their unworthy coming thereunto, are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, to their own damnation. Wherefore all ignorant and ungodly persons, as they are unfit to enjoy communion with him, so are they unworthy of the Lord’s table, and cannot, without great sin against Christ, while they remain such, partake of these holy mysteries, or be admitted thereunto” (WCF 29.8). But the very next section adds the pastoral balance: this does not mean that the fearful or doubting should exclude themselves. The Larger Catechism, Q. 172, explicitly warns against keeping away from the table because of a sense of unworthiness, calling this a failure to obey Christ’s command.

Question 4: “Does it matter whether we use bread or wafers, wine or grape juice?”

Christ used bread and the fruit of the vine. The Westminster Standards speak of “bread and wine.” The Reformers consistently used these elements because they are what Christ instituted. The bread should be real bread — broken, shared, and eaten — because the breaking signifies the breaking of Christ’s body. Wine was the element Christ used and has been the historic practice of the church for two thousand years.

Some churches use grape juice, a practice that emerged in the 19th century through the temperance movement. While Christians can disagree on this in good conscience, the historic Reformed practice follows the institution: bread and wine. The elements are not arbitrary. Christ chose them, and they carry meaning — the bread that sustains, the wine that gladdens the heart (Psalm 104:15), both ordinary gifts of creation elevated to carry the weight of the gospel.

Why This Sacrament Matters

It promotes humility: Every time we come to the table, we confess that we cannot sustain ourselves. We need to be fed. We are dependent — on Christ’s finished work for our justification and on His ongoing provision for our sanctification. The Supper is a weekly or monthly reminder that the Christian life is received, not achieved.

It gives assurance: The bread placed in your hand and the cup lifted to your lips are God’s personal, tangible confirmation that the promises of the gospel are for you. Not for Christians in general. For you, specifically, by name. God knows that we are dust, and He meets us where we are — giving us something we can hold, taste, and swallow as a seal of His love.

It inspires worship: The Supper lifts our eyes to Christ — to what He has done, to what He is doing, and to what He will do when He returns. It is backward-looking (remembering the cross), inward-looking (examining ourselves), outward-looking (declaring the gospel to the world), and forward-looking (proclaiming His death until He comes). There is no richer act of worship this side of glory than gathering with God’s people around the table of the Lord.

If you belong to a church that celebrates the Lord’s Supper, do not neglect it. Come to the table as often as it is set before you. Come with repentance and faith. Come expecting the Spirit to meet you there — because He will. And if you belong to a church that rarely celebrates it, gently ask your elders whether the congregation might benefit from coming to the table more often. Christ gave His church this meal for a reason. He knew we would need it.

Westminster Confession of Faith 29.1

“The Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of his body and blood, called the Lord’s Supper, to be observed in his church, unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of himself in his death; the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers; their spiritual nourishment and growth in him; their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto him; and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other, as members of his mystical body.”

Soli Deo Gloria

Water and Salvation in the Bible

From the flood to the Living Water — how Scripture uses water to reveal God’s saving work.

“Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.”

— John 4:14

Water as a Symbol of Cleansing

Water holds profound symbolic significance throughout Scripture, representing both physical and spiritual purification. From Genesis to Revelation, water points to God’s cleansing work — His work of washing away what separates His people from Himself.

In the Genesis account, the floodwaters purge the earth of its rampant corruption (Genesis 6-9). God uses the waters of judgment to cleanse a world that had become so steeped in wickedness that “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Yet even in judgment, there is grace — Noah and his family are carried safely through the waters, preserved by God for a new beginning. The flood is not merely destruction; it is purification with a purpose.

This pattern continues throughout the Old Testament. The Israelites pass through the waters of the Red Sea, delivered from slavery in Egypt into freedom as God’s covenant people (Exodus 14). The waters that save Israel are the same waters that destroy Pharaoh’s army — a vivid picture of how God’s saving acts are simultaneously acts of judgment against sin and evil. Later, the priests were required to wash with water before entering the tabernacle to minister before the Lord (Exodus 30:19-21), reinforcing that approach to a holy God requires cleansing.

In the New Testament, Jesus speaks to Nicodemus about being “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5), connecting water to the Spirit’s work of granting new life. The prophets had long anticipated this. Ezekiel records God’s promise: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you” (Ezekiel 36:25-26). What the Old Testament ceremonies pointed toward, the Spirit accomplishes in reality.

Jesus: The Living Water

One of Jesus’ most profound statements about water occurs in His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. He declares, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). Here, Jesus presents Himself as the source of “living water,” offering eternal satisfaction and life.

The context of this encounter matters. The Samaritan woman had come to the well at midday — likely to avoid the other women of the town, given the life she had been living. She came looking for ordinary water and found the One who could satisfy the thirst she did not know how to name. Jesus uses water as a metaphor to make clear that just as physical water quenches physical thirst, He as the Living Water satisfies our spiritual thirst. Believing in Him and embracing His teachings bestows eternal life and a fulfillment that the world cannot provide. The woman who came to the well avoiding her neighbors left and told her entire town about Jesus (John 4:28-29, 39).

During the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stands and proclaims, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38). The timing is significant — the Feast of Tabernacles included a daily water-pouring ceremony commemorating God’s provision of water from the rock in the wilderness. Into the middle of that ceremony, Jesus stands and declares that He Himself is the fulfillment of what the ritual has always pointed toward. This invitation underscores that true spiritual life and refreshment are found through faith in Christ alone.

Baptism: A Sign and Seal of the Covenant of Grace

Baptism, instituted by Christ, is a sacrament that signifies the believer’s union with Christ, the regeneration wrought by the Spirit, remission of sins, and commitment to walk in newness of life. Administered with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, baptism is a means of grace — but its efficacy lies not in the water itself or in the mere act of being baptized. It is God’s action through the sacrament, applied by the Holy Spirit and received by faith, that brings about these spiritual realities. In baptism, water symbolizes cleansing from sin and inclusion in God’s covenant family, but it is not the water that accomplishes this — it is God working through the sacrament He ordained.

This distinction matters because it protects us from two errors. On one side, some treat baptism as though the water itself confers salvation — that the act alone, apart from faith, washes away sin. On the other side, some reduce baptism to a mere symbol — a public profession with no real spiritual substance. The Reformed understanding holds these together: baptism is a true means of grace through which God strengthens and confirms the faith of His people, while remaining clear that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone.

In this way, baptism functions as a sign of God’s covenant of grace — His promise to save His people through faith in Jesus Christ. Just as circumcision marked entrance into the covenant community in the Old Testament, baptism marks inclusion in the New Testament church and God’s promise to be a God to us and to our children (Genesis 17:7; Acts 2:39). When infants are baptized, it reflects their inclusion in the covenant community and the commitment of their parents and the church to raise them in the faith. For those baptized as infants, this sign anticipates the faith they are expected to profess as they mature within the covenant community. Baptism does not guarantee salvation — but it marks the child as set apart within the community where the ordinary means of grace are at work.

Peter himself draws this connection when he writes that baptism “now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). Peter affirms the real significance of baptism while making clear that it is not the water doing the saving — it is the resurrection of Christ and the believer’s appeal to God in faith. Notably, Peter ties this to the flood narrative — the very waters that judged the world carried Noah safely through. In the same way, the waters of baptism point to the judgment Christ endured on our behalf and the deliverance God provides through Him.

Simply put: baptism without faith does not confer salvation. It is faith in Christ’s finished work that justifies and saves (Ephesians 2:8-9). But baptism is not therefore empty. Along with the preaching of the Word and the Lord’s Supper, it is a visible word — a tangible sign that reinforces the gospel message, strengthens the believer’s faith, and provides assurance of God’s promises. It is one of the ordinary means God uses to sustain and grow His people throughout the Christian life.

Water as an Act of Mercy

Water in Scripture carries profound sacramental meaning, but it also appears in the most ordinary acts of mercy — and God values both.

In Matthew 25:35-40, Jesus describes the final judgment and reveals that acts of kindness to others are, in essence, acts of service to Him: “I was thirsty and you gave me drink… Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” The righteous in the parable are surprised — they did not realize that in serving the hungry, the thirsty, the sick, and the imprisoned, they were serving Christ Himself. Jesus teaches that simple acts of kindness — giving a cup of water to someone who is thirsty — are seen by God as significant and meaningful, because serving others in need is serving Him.

While giving a cup of water may seem like a small gesture, it reflects a heart transformed by God’s grace. True faith in Christ leads to loving actions towards others. These acts of kindness are not what save us, but they are evidence of a living faith. James 2:17 states that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” The genuine faith that saves us also moves us to serve and love others. Scripture is clear that genuine faith produces genuine compassion — the two cannot be separated.

This teaching of Jesus calls believers to live out the gospel in practical ways. By meeting the physical needs of others, we demonstrate the love of Christ to a hurting world. Providing water to the thirsty, feeding the hungry, and caring for the sick are ways we can reflect God’s love and compassion. When we engage in these acts of service, we participate in the mission of Christ, who came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). By serving others, we show that we have understood and embraced the gospel message, witnessing to the transformative power of God’s grace in our lives.

Believers are encouraged to look for opportunities to serve others, knowing that these acts are valued by God. Even the smallest act, like giving a cup of water, has eternal significance when done in Christ’s name. This perspective helps us to see every act of kindness as a way to honor and serve our Lord. None of these acts add merit to our standing before God, but our actions visibly reinforce that we are His children and desire to glorify Him.

The next time you have a bottle of water and see someone who is thirsty, do not hesitate to offer it. A small act of mercy for the body may open a door to share the Living Water that satisfies the soul.

Understanding “Catholic” and “Apostolic” in the Ancient Creeds

What the ancient creeds really mean by these words.

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call.”

— Ephesians 4:4

When Christians recite the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed, we encounter language that can feel unfamiliar or even uncomfortable. The Apostles’ Creed confesses belief in “the holy catholic church,” while the Nicene Creed goes further, declaring belief in “one holy catholic and apostolic church.” For many believers these words raise questions. We’re not Roman Catholic, so why are we confessing belief in “the catholic church”? And what does “apostolic” mean in this context?

These ancient terms carry profound theological weight that we lose when we try to update or sanitize them. Understanding what the creeds actually mean by “catholic” and “apostolic” helps us grasp something essential about the nature of the church and our place in it.

The Word “Catholic” Doesn’t Mean What You Think

Let’s address the elephant in the room first. When both creeds speak of the “catholic” church, they’re not referring to Roman Catholicism or any particular denomination. The word predates the split between Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism by centuries, and it has nothing to do with modern denominational divisions.

The English word “catholic” comes directly from the Greek katholikos, which simply means “universal” or “according to the whole.” It’s a compound of kata (according to) and holos (whole). When the early church used this term, they were distinguishing the true, universal church of Jesus Christ from various local heresies and schismatic groups that were popping up in different regions.

Ignatius of Antioch, writing around AD 110 in his Letter to the Smyrnaeans (8.2), made the point clearly: “Wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church.” He wasn’t talking about a particular organization or hierarchy. He was making a straightforward claim that the real church isn’t confined to one location or faction—it’s the whole body of Christ across the world.

Think of it this way: the church catholic is the church that exists everywhere, believes the same apostolic gospel, and spans all times and places. It’s not limited to one city, one culture, or one era. It’s the full body of Christ across all ages and nations. When we say “catholic,” we’re affirming that we’re part of something far bigger than our local congregation or even our denominational tradition.

Why Both Creeds Use “Catholic”

Both the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed use the word “catholic” because both are making the same essential claim about the church’s universal nature. This wasn’t accidental or arbitrary—it was theologically necessary.

By the time these creeds were being used throughout the church, there were already groups claiming to be the “real” Christians while denying essential doctrines or splitting off into isolated factions. Against all these fragmenting forces, the creeds confess: we believe in the catholic church—the universal church, the whole church, the church that maintains apostolic teaching across all times and places.

The Nicene Addition: “Apostolic”

The Nicene Creed goes beyond the Apostles’ Creed by adding a fourth mark of the church: it’s not just “one, holy, and catholic,” but also “apostolic.” This addition wasn’t random—it addressed a specific need in the fourth-century church.

The word “apostolic” points us to the foundation of the church’s teaching and authority. Paul makes this explicit in Ephesians 2:20, describing the church as “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” The church is apostolic because it continues to hold fast to what the apostles taught, wrote, and passed down.

Here’s where the Reformed perspective offers clarity that some other traditions obscure: apostolic succession is fundamentally about message, not mechanism. A church that has bishops who can theoretically trace their ordination back to the apostles but has abandoned apostolic teaching is not truly apostolic. Conversely, a church that faithfully preaches and teaches what the apostles delivered—even if it was planted last year—stands in genuine apostolic succession.

How the Marks Connect

The Nicene Creed’s four marks—one, holy, catholic, and apostolic—aren’t just a list. They’re interconnected realities that define the true church.

The church is one because there’s one Lord, one faith, one baptism. The church is holy because it’s set apart by God for his purposes. The church is catholic because it’s universal—it extends across geography and history. The church is apostolic because it’s built on the foundation of apostolic teaching.

These marks guard us against different errors. “One” challenges our divisions. “Holy” challenges our worldliness. “Catholic” challenges our sectarianism. “Apostolic” challenges our tendency to drift from foundational truth.

Why These Words Matter Today

Some might wonder if we shouldn’t just update the creeds’ language to avoid confusion. There’s wisdom in retaining the historic language. First, using these ancient terms connects us with believers across twenty centuries of church history. Second, the very strangeness of these words forces us to think more deeply about what we’re confessing. Third, these words challenge our tendency toward individualism and presentism.

What We’re Really Confessing

When we say “I believe in the holy catholic church” or “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church,” we’re not expressing faith in the church the way we have faith in God. The church isn’t an object of saving faith.

Rather, we’re confessing that we believe the church exists as a real, divinely established entity. We’re affirming that God has called out a people for himself from every tribe and tongue and nation. We’re declaring that Christ is building his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

This confession challenges our individualism. American Christianity in particular tends toward a “Jesus and me” spirituality that downplays the corporate nature of the faith. But the creeds won’t let us get away with that. We don’t follow Jesus as isolated individuals. We’re part of a body, members of a household, stones in a temple. The church isn’t optional or secondary—it’s central to God’s plan of redemption.

Confessing With Understanding

The next time you recite either of these ancient creeds—whether in corporate worship or private devotion—let these words land with their full weight. You’re declaring that you belong to the universal body of Christ, united across oceans and centuries by the same apostolic gospel. You’re standing on the foundation laid by the apostles and maintained by faithful teachers across two thousand years of church history.

This is the church catholic. This is the church apostolic. And by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, this is your church too.

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Nicene Creed (AD 381)

We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen.

Burial or Cremation — An Opportunity for Discussion

A Christian perspective on honoring the body and the hope of resurrection.

“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”

— 1 Corinthians 15:44

As a Christian, my preference for burial over cremation has been influenced by biblical narratives and theological principles that have shaped my faith. The preference is not merely a matter of tradition but is connected to my understanding of Scripture and the hope it offers for the future.

Scripture, while not prescribing a specific method for handling human remains, provides numerous examples and themes that guide the Christian practice of burial. In the book of Genesis, we read about Abraham and his wife Sarah. When Sarah dies, Abraham secures a burial place for her in the field of Machpelah. This act of securing a specific resting place for his beloved wife sets a precedent for respecting the deceased and maintaining a connection to our ancestral heritage. Similarly, the narrative of Jacob shows his sons bringing his body back to Canaan for burial in the cave of Machpelah alongside his forefathers. This emphasizes the importance of being buried in a place connected to one’s lineage and spiritual legacy.

The New Testament also highlights the burial of Jesus. After His crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea, a follower of Jesus, obtains permission to lay His body in a new tomb. Jesus’ burial fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, which speaks of His grave being assigned with the wicked and the rich in His death. This event underscores the dignity of His physical body and points towards the hope of resurrection. The burial of Jesus is not just a historical fact but a theological statement about the sanctity of the body and the promise of eternal life.

There are several scriptural examples that inform the Christian understanding of burial. For instance, in Deuteronomy 34:5-6, the death of Moses is recounted, stating, “Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor.” The act of God Himself burying Moses underscores the importance of honoring the body even in death. Ecclesiastes 12:7 reflects on the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death, saying, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” This verse suggests that the body should return to the earth, reinforcing the idea of burial as a natural and reverent way of handling the deceased.

In the early Christian community, the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:5-10 serves as a cautionary tale. After their deceit, the passage mentions, “the young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him.” This act of burial is done with solemnity and respect. Similarly, following Stephen’s martyrdom, Acts 8:2 notes that “devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.” This shows the early Christian community’s desire to honor and grieve for the deceased through burial.

Burial is an integral part of the Christian faith, reflecting the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ burial and resurrection symbolize the hope of eternal life. Paul speaks of the body being sown perishable and raised imperishable, highlighting the significance of burial as a precursor to resurrection glory (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). This belief in the bodily resurrection is central to Christian doctrine. The act of burial aligns with this belief, treating the body with dignity and reverence, as it is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Additionally, burial follows the biblical example set by the patriarchs and Jesus Himself. Throughout the Bible, God’s people have been buried with honor and respect. Abraham’s purchase of the field of Machpelah for Sarah’s burial and Jacob’s burial alongside his forefathers establish a tradition of honoring the deceased by laying them to rest in a specific place. Jesus’ burial in a new tomb by Joseph of Arimathea underscores the sanctity of burial within the Christian faith. Christians believe in the resurrection of the dead, as professed in the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” Burial is an act of faith in this promise, symbolizing the believer’s participation in Christ’s burial and resurrection. It aligns with the biblical narrative, honoring the physical body as God’s creation, and serves as a testament to the hope Christians hold in the resurrection of the dead.

Burial also allows the Christian community to bear witness to their faith. Funeral rites and burial ceremonies publicly affirm belief in the resurrection and eternal life. These ceremonies provide comfort and hope to the bereaved, strengthening communal bonds within the body of Christ (Romans 12:15). Christians are called to emulate Christ in all aspects of life and death. Jesus’ burial, marked by dignity and reverence, signifies the importance of treating the deceased with utmost respect. This act of burial points to the fulfillment of prophecy and God’s redemptive plan.

When talking about what cremation it is helpful to point out how it compares with the practices of other religions, where cremation is more common. In Hinduism, for example, believers in reincarnation view cremation as a way to release the soul from the physical body, allowing it to move on to the next life. The body is typically cremated on a pyre, and the ashes are often scattered in a sacred river, such as the Ganges, to purify the soul and ensure a better rebirth. Similarly, Buddhism sees cremation as a means to detach the soul from the physical body, aiding in the soul’s journey through the cycle of rebirth and karma. Cremation is common, with rituals varying by culture. The ashes may be enshrined in stupas or scattered in natural settings.

Sikhism practices cremation, reflecting the belief in the impermanence of the physical body and the eternal nature of the soul. The cremation ceremony is communal, emphasizing life’s transient nature and the importance of remembering the deceased’s virtues. Jainism, on the other hand, believes in non-attachment to the body and views cremation as a way to sever the soul’s connection to the physical form. Cremation is performed simply, often followed by rituals reflecting on the deceased’s life and contributions. In Japan, Shinto practices often include cremation, influenced by both Shinto and Buddhist beliefs about purity and the soul’s journey. Cremation is followed by rituals to honor ancestral spirits, believed to influence the living.

Choosing between burial and cremation should be influenced by your theological, cultural, and personal beliefs. My preference as a Christian for burial will allow my own expression of my faith in the resurrection, the sanctity of the body, and continuity with biblical practices to be used for discussion. For Christians, being able to articulate the reasons for preferring burial can provide a meaningful perspective that could lead to further discussions about our faith and core beliefs.

Ultimately, we never know when the Holy Spirit will change someone’s heart, but we are called to explain why we have hope in the resurrection. What better starting place than why we believe burial is a good option for a Christian?

Four Views on Revelation

A survey of how Christians have read the last book of the Bible.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.”

— Revelation 1:1

If you’ve spent any time in evangelical churches, you’ve probably encountered wildly different readings of the Book of Revelation. Some people treat it like tomorrow’s newspaper. Others think it was entirely fulfilled in the first century. Still others throw up their hands and say it’s all symbolic. And if you grew up in a church with a prophecy chart on the wall, you might assume that the Left Behind version is the only game in town.

It isn’t. The church has been reading Revelation for two thousand years, and faithful Christians have landed in very different places. Confessional Reformed and Presbyterian churches have generally recognized this, welcoming amillennialists, postmillennialists, and historic premillennialists to their pulpits — while drawing the line at dispensationalism, not because of its millennial position per se, but because it functions as a theological system that reshapes how one reads the whole Bible in ways incompatible with covenant theology.

That kind of charitable firmness — holding convictions without unchurching brothers who disagree — is the spirit I want to model here. What follows is a survey of the four major interpretive approaches, a note on why dispensationalism raises deeper concerns, and a case for why I believe one view handles the text better than the others.

The Four Schools

Preterism — “Most of This Already Happened”

Preterists believe that the bulk of Revelation’s prophecies were fulfilled in the first century — particularly in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the fall of the Roman Empire. The beast, the tribulation, and the fall of Babylon all refer to events the original audience either experienced or was about to experience. Partial preterists (the orthodox kind) still affirm a future return of Christ and final judgment; they simply believe the dramatic middle chapters of Revelation are behind us.

What they get right: Preterism takes the original audience seriously. When John writes that these things “must soon take place” (Rev. 1:1), preterists let “soon” mean soon. That’s not nothing — it’s a genuine exegetical strength. Revelation was a letter to real churches, and those churches needed to understand it in their own lifetime.

Where it struggles: The cosmic scope of Revelation’s later chapters is hard to fit into first-century events. The fall of Jerusalem was catastrophic, but was it really the final defeat of death? The new heaven and new earth? The lake of fire? Partial preterism handles this by pushing chapters 20–22 into the future, but the seams can show. This view is most commonly paired with postmillennialism — the belief that the gospel will progressively triumph throughout history before Christ returns.

Historicism — “It’s a Map of Church History”

The historicist view reads Revelation as a prophetic timeline stretching from the apostolic age to the Second Coming, with each seal, trumpet, and bowl corresponding to a specific era or event in Western church history. This was the dominant Protestant view from the Reformation through the 19th century, and the Reformers loved it — because it let them identify the papacy as the Beast.

What they get right: Historicism affirms that Revelation speaks to every generation, not just the first or the last. It also gave the Reformers genuine courage, assuring them that God had foreseen the corruption of the church and was working through history to reform it.

Where it struggles: No two historicists can agree on which events correspond to which symbols. The system requires constant revision as history unfolds, and it’s hopelessly Eurocentric — as if God wrote Revelation exclusively for Western Christendom and forgot about the church in Africa, Asia, and South America. This view has largely fallen out of serious scholarly use and is maintained today primarily by Seventh-day Adventists.

Futurism — “The Best Is Yet to Come (and It’s Terrifying)”

Futurists believe that while chapters 1–3 address the first-century churches, the bulk of Revelation (chapters 4–22) describes events still in our future — a great tribulation, the rise of Antichrist, the return of Christ, and a literal thousand-year earthly kingdom. This is the most popular view in American evangelicalism, and it comes in two very different forms that need to be distinguished.

Historic premillennialism is the older and more restrained version. It teaches that Christ will return before a literal millennium, but it does not require a pretribulational rapture, does not sharply separate God’s plan for Israel from His plan for the Church, and reads Revelation with genuine sensitivity to its symbolic and literary character. This view has ancient roots — Papias, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus all held something like it — and it has had able modern defenders such as George Eldon Ladd (see his A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 1972). Historic premillennialists can and do hold to covenant theology, and confessional Reformed churches have generally welcomed them to their pulpits.

Dispensational premillennialism is a different matter — not because of its millennial timing, but because of the theological system underneath it. Dispensationalism, as developed by John Nelson Darby in the 19th century and popularized through the Scofield Reference Bible, the Dallas Theological Seminary tradition, and the Left Behind series, builds on several commitments that create structural problems for how one reads the whole Bible.

What futurists get right: Futurism takes the spectacular, earth-shaking imagery of Revelation at something close to face value. If the judgments of the seals, trumpets, and bowls haven’t happened yet, you don’t have to strain to find historical fulfillments. It also preserves a vivid, urgent expectation of Christ’s return, which is genuinely biblical.

Where it struggles: If chapters 4–22 describe events thousands of years after the seven churches received John’s letter, what was the letter for? Why would John tell persecuted believers in Ephesus and Smyrna that events two millennia away “must soon take place”? The time indicators are a real problem for futurism. Additionally, the track record of futurist prediction-making (from Hal Lindsey to Y2K to countless failed Antichrist identifications) has done real damage to the credibility of this approach.

A Note on Dispensationalism

It’s worth pausing here to explain why dispensationalism raises concerns that go beyond the millennial question itself. The issue is not that dispensationalists are less sincere or less committed to Scripture — many are deeply devout believers. The issue is that dispensationalism introduces theological commitments that reshape how one reads the entire Bible, and several of those commitments are difficult to reconcile with what Scripture actually teaches.

The Israel/Church distinction. Dispensationalism maintains that God has two fundamentally distinct peoples — Israel and the Church — with two distinct programs running throughout history. The Church is a “parenthesis” or “mystery” inserted into God’s plan when Israel rejected the kingdom offer, and God’s promises to ethnic Israel remain to be fulfilled in a future millennial kingdom. But the New Testament consistently presents the Church as the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel, not an interruption of them. Paul calls Gentile believers “Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29). He describes the Church as being grafted into Israel’s olive tree (Rom. 11:17–24). Peter applies Old Testament Israel language directly to the Church: “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9). The wall of separation between Jew and Gentile has been broken down in Christ (Eph. 2:14–16), creating “one new man” — not two parallel programs.

The pretribulational rapture. Dispensationalism teaches that Christ will secretly return to rapture the Church before a seven-year tribulation, and then return again publicly at the end of the tribulation. This two-stage return has no clear support in the text of Revelation, no attestation in the history of interpretation before the 19th century, and depends on a reading of passages like 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 that most exegetes — including historic premillennialists — find unpersuasive. The New Testament consistently presents the return of Christ as a single, visible, glorious event.

A hermeneutic that drives theology. Perhaps most fundamentally, dispensationalism operates with a hermeneutical principle — that Old Testament promises to Israel must be fulfilled “literally” to ethnic Israel in a future earthly kingdom — that functions as a grid placed over the entire Bible. When the New Testament authors interpret Old Testament prophecy in ways that don’t fit this grid (as they frequently do — see, for example, how Acts 2:16–21 handles Joel 2, or how Acts 15:15–17 handles Amos 9), the dispensational system has to explain away the New Testament’s own interpretation. That’s a significant problem. The New Testament should interpret the Old, not the other way around.

None of this means dispensationalists aren’t brothers and sisters in Christ. They are. But it does mean that dispensationalism as a system introduces interpretive commitments that pull in a different direction from the covenantal reading of Scripture that the Reformers recovered and that the Reformed confessions enshrine.

Idealism — “It’s About the Whole Story”

Idealists read Revelation not as a timeline of specific events — past, present, or future — but as a symbolic portrayal of the ongoing conflict between Christ and Satan, the Church and the world, that runs throughout the entire period between Christ’s first and second comings. The best versions of this view (sometimes called redemptive-historical idealism) don’t deny that the symbols had first-century referents or that there will be a real, future consummation. They simply insist that the primary purpose of the book is to reveal patterns and realities that are true in every age. This view is the natural home of amillennialism — the belief that the “thousand years” of Revelation 20 symbolizes the present reign of Christ from heaven over His church.

What they get right: Quite a lot, in my view — which is why I’ll say more below.

Why I Land Here

I’m convinced that the amillennial, redemptive-historical reading of Revelation is the most exegetically responsible position available. Here’s why.

It does justice to the genre. Revelation is apocalyptic literature, a genre that communicates through dense, layered symbolism drawn from the Old Testament. When John sees a lamb with seven eyes and seven horns, no one thinks he’s describing a literal animal. The entire book operates this way. An interpretive approach that honors the symbolic character of the genre — without evacuating it of real meaning — is simply reading the book the way it was written.

It respects the original audience and every audience since. Unlike futurism, which struggles to explain why first-century Christians would care about events millennia away, and unlike preterism, which can leave later generations with a museum piece, the idealist approach allows Revelation to function the way it appears designed to function: as a pastoral word to suffering saints in every age. The beast is Rome. The beast is also every totalitarian regime that demands ultimate allegiance. Both are true simultaneously.

It handles Revelation 20 with integrity. The amillennial reading of the millennium — that it represents Christ’s present reign and the binding of Satan at the cross — fits naturally with the rest of the New Testament’s teaching. Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). Paul declared that God “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame” (Col. 2:15). The binding of Satan is not a future event; it’s a finished work that limits his power to deceive the nations during the church age, even as he continues to rage against the saints.

But the strongest exegetical case involves the phrase “the first resurrection” itself. Meredith G. Kline — one of the most brilliant Old Testament scholars in the Reformed tradition — demonstrated in his article “The First Resurrection” (Westminster Theological Journal 37, no. 3 [Spring 1975]: 366–375) that the word “first” (prōtos) in Revelation 20 does not merely mean “first in a sequence of the same kind.” In Revelation 21, the “first heaven and first earth” pass away and are replaced by something “new” — not a second version of the same thing, but a qualitatively different reality. “First” in Revelation marks what belongs to the present, passing age. “The first resurrection,” then, is not the first of two bodily risings; it is the believer’s entrance into life with Christ in the intermediate state — the souls living and reigning with Christ in heaven — which belongs to this present age and gives way to the consummate, bodily resurrection at Christ’s return. As Kline showed, this reading is confirmed by the interlocking of “first resurrection” and “second death” in the same passage: premillennialists rightly acknowledge that the “second death” is qualitatively different from the first (spiritual death, not merely a second physical dying), yet inconsistently insist that the “first resurrection” must be the same kind as the second.

This isn’t a clever trick of spiritualizing. It is careful attention to how John actually uses his own vocabulary — and it has been embraced and extended by scholars like G.K. Beale, Vern Poythress, Dennis Johnson, and Sam Storms.

It preserves genuine eschatological hope without speculation. Amillennialism does not deny the future return of Christ, the bodily resurrection, or the final judgment. It affirms all of these with full conviction. What it refuses to do is construct an elaborate prophetic calendar that Scripture doesn’t actually provide. Christ will return. The dead will be raised. Every knee will bow. We don’t need to know the geopolitical sequence of events leading up to that day — we need to be faithful until it arrives.

It reads the whole Bible as one story. The amillennial, covenantal reading of Revelation sees the book as the climax of the single story of redemption that begins in Genesis. There is one people of God, one covenant of grace, one King on the throne. Revelation doesn’t introduce a new program for ethnic Israel alongside the Church. It reveals the Bride of Christ — drawn from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue — as the fulfillment of everything God has been doing since He called Abraham.

A Word of Charity

Let me close with this: good and godly people disagree on these matters. I think the best Reformed and Presbyterian churches have modeled something worth imitating — welcoming amillennialists, postmillennialists, and historic premillennialists to their pulpits and elder boards, not because eschatology doesn’t matter, but because these are differences among people who confess the same Christ, submit to the same Scriptures, and affirm the same system of doctrine. As one denominational Q&A helpfully put it, “We are not a one-emphasis church. The whole Bible is our only rule of faith and life. And as to the ‘thousand years,’ they are mentioned only in the first seven verses of Revelation 20, though their implications reach into both the Old and New Testaments.”

Premillennialists, postmillennialists, and amillennialists all confess the Apostles’ Creed. They all affirm that Christ is risen, that He reigns, and that He will come again. The differences are real and worth discussing — but they are differences among family members reading the same Book under the authority of the same Lord.

I hold my amillennial convictions with confidence, but I hold them with open hands. The Lamb is on the throne regardless of which millennial view is correct. And on the last day, I suspect none of us will have gotten every detail right — but all of us who trusted in Christ will find that the ending is better than any of us imagined.

Soli Deo Gloria

20 Verses on Giving “Thanks”

Scripture on thanksgiving — from the Psalms to the Epistles.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:18

1 Chronicles 16:34
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 7:17
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Psalm 28:7
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.

Psalm 69:30
I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Psalm 106:1
Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 107:1
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

1 Corinthians 1:4
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:20
Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6–7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:15
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:15–17
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 4:2
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

1 Thessalonians 1:2
We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

How to Find a Faithful Church

The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together.”

— Hebrews 10:24–25

Finding a good church matters. The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. God saves individuals, but He saves them into a body — a community of Christ’s people who gather around His Word, receive His sacraments, and hold one another accountable in love. The church is not an optional add-on to the faith; it is the ordinary means God uses to grow and sustain His people.

But not every church that calls itself a church is faithful to what Scripture teaches. So how do you tell the difference? Here are some things to look for — and a few things to watch out for.

1. The Bible Is the Authority, Not the Pastor’s Personality

A faithful church treats Scripture as the final word on all matters of faith and life. The preaching should open the Bible, explain what it says, and apply it to the congregation — not use a verse or two as a springboard for the pastor’s opinions or motivational talks. Look for expository preaching that works through books of the Bible and lets the text set the agenda (2 Timothy 4:2). If the sermons could work just as well without the Bible, that is a problem.

2. The Gospel Is Clearly Proclaimed

The gospel — the good news that sinners are reconciled to God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ — should be the heartbeat of everything the church does. Not moralism. Not self-help. Not vague spirituality. The cross and the empty tomb should shape the preaching, the prayers, the songs, and the sacraments. A church that drifts from the gospel has drifted from the point (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

3. The Sacraments Are Practiced

Christ gave His church two sacraments: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. A faithful church practices both regularly and takes them seriously as means of grace — not mere rituals or symbolic gestures, but real instruments through which God strengthens the faith of His people (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). If a church rarely celebrates the Lord’s Supper or treats baptism casually, ask why.

4. There Is Real Church Government

The New Testament does not envision a church run by a single charismatic leader with no accountability. Faithful churches have a plurality of elders who shepherd the congregation, teach sound doctrine, and are themselves accountable to one another and to a broader body (Titus 1:5-9; Acts 20:28). Whether the structure is presbyterian, reformed baptist, or another form with meaningful elder oversight, the key is accountability. If one person makes all the decisions and answers to no one, be cautious.

5. Church Discipline Exists

This one may sound harsh, but it is actually a mark of love. A church that never confronts sin in its members is a church that does not care enough to protect them. Church discipline, practiced according to the pattern Jesus laid out in Matthew 18:15-17, is about restoration — calling wandering sheep back before they destroy themselves. A church that practices it carefully and humbly is a church that takes holiness and the wellbeing of its members seriously.

6. The Congregation Is Expected to Grow, Not Just Attend

A faithful church calls its members to more than showing up on Sundays. It provides opportunities for Bible study, prayer, and genuine fellowship. It expects its people to serve one another, to use their gifts, and to grow in their knowledge of God over time (Hebrews 10:24-25). If a church asks nothing of you beyond attendance and a check, it is not asking enough.

7. The Worship Is God-Centered, Not Experience-Centered

Worship is about God — who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised. A faithful church gathers to praise Him, hear from Him through His Word, respond in prayer and song, and receive His grace through the sacraments. The question to ask is not “did I enjoy the experience?” but “was God honored and His Word faithfully proclaimed?” (John 4:24). Be wary of churches where the atmosphere feels more like a concert or a performance than a congregation gathered before a holy God.

8. There Is a Confession or Statement of Faith

A church should be able to tell you what it believes — clearly, specifically, and in writing. Historic Reformed confessions like the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Heidelberg Catechism, or the London Baptist Confession provide a tested and proven framework that ties a church to the broader Christian tradition and guards against doctrinal drift. If a church cannot clearly articulate what it believes or dismisses creeds and confessions as unnecessary, there is little to hold it to the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3).

A Few Honest Cautions

No church is perfect. You will not find a congregation without flaws, frustrations, or people who sometimes let you down. That is not a reason to stay home — it is actually the point. The church is a gathering of sinners who are being sanctified together, not a collection of people who have arrived. If you wait for the perfect church, you will wait forever and miss what God intends to give you through the imperfect one down the road.

At the same time, do not settle for a church that makes you comfortable but leaves you unchallenged. A good church will step on your toes occasionally. It will tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. That is not a bug — it is a feature.

If you are coming from a church that hurt you, or if you have never been part of a church at all, the idea of walking through those doors can feel overwhelming. That is understandable. But God uses the ordinary, sometimes messy, gathering of His people to do extraordinary work in the lives of those who show up. Find a faithful church, commit to it, and let God do what He does best — shape you into the image of His Son alongside others who are on the same road.

Where to Start Looking

You may have noticed that I have purposefully avoided pointing toward a specific denomination or church, with the prayer that the Lord would use this page as a starting point for conversation between you and a local congregation. That said, if you are not sure where to begin, here are three confessionally Reformed Presbyterian denominations that hold to the Westminster Standards and take the marks of a faithful church seriously. Each has a church locator to help you find a congregation near you:

Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) — Find a Church

Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) — Church Directory

Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC) — Find a Church

Reformed Church in the US (RCUS) – Find a Church

These are not the only faithful churches out there, but they are a solid place to start. Visit, ask questions, sit under the preaching, and see if the marks described above are present. A good church will welcome your scrutiny — they have nothing to hide.

A Reformed Reading Plan

A Structured Journey Through Puritan &amp; Reformed Literature

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

— 2 Timothy 2:15

All Puritan texts freely available on Monergism.com in ePub, Kindle (.mobi), and PDF formats. Modern works noted as free where applicable.

How to Use This Plan

This reading plan is organized into four phases, designed to be completed over approximately 12 months — though there’s no rush. Each phase builds on the last, gradually increasing in theological depth and prose density.

Phase 1 (Months 1–3): Beginner — Accessible, warm Puritan devotional writing

Phase 2 (Months 4–6): Intermediate — Deeper theology, denser 17th-century prose

Phase 3 (Months 7–10): Advanced — Substantial masterworks of Puritan thought

Phase 4 (Ongoing): Modern Companions — Presbyterian & Reformed works to read alongside

Phase 1 — Beginner: Getting Your Puritan Legs

Months 1–3 · These are the friendliest entry points into Puritan literature.

1. The Doctrine of Repentance — Thomas Watson

Watson is the most readable of all the Puritans. His prose is vivid, full of memorable illustrations, and dripping with pastoral warmth. This short work defines true repentance with surgical precision and distinguishes it from all its counterfeits. A perfect first Puritan read.

Details

Tags: Short · Devotional · Sanctification
Suggested pace: 1–2 weeks
Available free on Monergism

2. The Pilgrim’s Progress — John Bunyan

The most famous Puritan work ever written and one of the best-selling books in the English language. Bunyan’s allegorical narrative traces Christian’s journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Deeply theological without feeling academic — an immersive story you’ll return to for life.

Details

Tags: Narrative · Allegory · Christian Life
Suggested pace: 2–3 weeks
Available free on Monergism

3. Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices — Thomas Brooks

Brooks catalogs the strategies of spiritual warfare with vivid, almost playful language. Each satanic “device” is paired with practical “remedies” drawn from Scripture. Enormously practical and endlessly quotable — the kind of book you’ll keep on your nightstand.

Details

Tags: Practical · Spiritual Warfare
Suggested pace: 2–3 weeks
Available free on Monergism

4. The Art of Divine Contentment — Thomas Watson

A rich meditation on Philippians 4:11 — “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Watson explores the nature, art, and mystery of Christian contentment with his trademark clarity and memorable turns of phrase. A balm for anxious souls.

Details

Tags: Short · Devotional · Contentment
Suggested pace: 1–2 weeks
Available free on Monergism

Phase 2 — Intermediate: Deeper Waters

Months 4–6 · More theological depth and 17th-century prose density. Patience pays off.

5. The Mortification of Sin — John Owen

Owen’s classic treatment of Romans 8:13 — the duty and means of putting sin to death. Denser than Watson or Brooks, but profoundly searching. This is the single most important Reformed work on progressive sanctification. Monergism offers both the original and a modernized/abridged edition — consider starting with the abridged version.

Details

Tags: Sanctification · Owen Essential
Suggested pace: 2–3 weeks
Available free on Monergism (original and abridged)

6. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment — Jeremiah Burroughs

Similar theme to Watson’s contentment book but far more expansive and nuanced. Burroughs unpacks the “mystery” of contentment — how a Christian can be content even in the worst circumstances, and why this is a learned spiritual art rather than a natural temperament.

Details

Tags: Pastoral · Christian Life
Suggested pace: 3–4 weeks
Available free on Monergism

7. Human Nature in Its Fourfold State — Thomas Boston

A masterwork of pastoral theology that traces the full arc of the human condition — from the original righteousness of creation, through the ruin of the fall, into the renewal of regeneration, and finally to the realities of eternity. Boston uses this fourfold framework as a spiritual diagnostic: Where do you stand? What has God done? What must change? Each section drives the reader to Christ as the only remedy for fallen human nature. Remarkably clear for a work this theologically rich.

Details

Tags: Systematic · Covenant Theology · Anthropology
Suggested pace: 3–4 weeks
Available free on Monergism

8. The Death of Death in the Death of Christ — John Owen

Owen’s definitive defense of particular redemption (definite atonement). The logic is tight and the exegesis is careful. Read J.I. Packer’s famous introductory essay first — it’s one of the best short summaries of Reformed soteriology ever written. Both are available free on Monergism.

Details

Tags: Soteriology · Atonement · Owen Essential
Suggested pace: 4 weeks
Available free on Monergism (includes Packer’s intro)

Phase 3 — Advanced: The Deep End

Months 7–10 · Substantial theological masterworks. Dense prose, intricate arguments — the crown jewels of Puritan thought.

9. Communion with the Triune God — John Owen

Owen’s treatise on the distinct communion believers enjoy with each person of the Trinity — the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. This is trinitarian devotional theology at its absolute finest. Demanding but genuinely transformative. You will never pray the same way again.

Details

Tags: Trinitarian · Devotional · Owen Masterwork
Suggested pace: 4–5 weeks
Available free on Monergism

10. The Nature, Power, Deceit, and Prevalency of Indwelling Sin — John Owen

The companion volume to Mortification of Sin. Owen anatomizes the remaining corruption in the believer — how sin works, deceives, and maintains its hold even in the regenerate heart. The depth of psychological and spiritual insight here is unmatched. Both terrifying and liberating.

Details

Tags: Sanctification · Hamartiology
Suggested pace: 3–4 weeks
Available free on Monergism

11. The Existence and Attributes of God — Stephen Charnock

The magnum opus of Puritan theology proper. Charnock’s treatment of God’s attributes — eternity, immutability, omnipresence, holiness, goodness, power — is unmatched in both depth and devotional power. This is a long-term project: take it one attribute at a time, a chapter per week or even per fortnight.

Details

Tags: Theology Proper · Divine Attributes · Magnum Opus
Suggested pace: 8–12 weeks (one attribute at a time)
Available free on Monergism

12. A Discourse Concerning the Holy Spirit — John Owen

Owen’s comprehensive pneumatology covering the Spirit’s work in creation, regeneration, sanctification, illumination, and the believer’s experience. This is Owen at his most systematic and thorough — a masterclass in Reformed doctrine of the Holy Spirit that has never been surpassed.

Details

Tags: Pneumatology · Systematic · Owen Masterwork
Suggested pace: 5–6 weeks
Available free on Monergism

Modern Companions — Presbyterian & Reformed Works

Read alongside or after the Puritan texts. Free works noted; a few essential paid titles are included because they’re too good to leave off.

13. R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions Series (selected titles)

Ligonier made the entire Crucial Questions eBook series free forever — 35+ short books on Kindle and iBooks. Start with Does God Control Everything?, What Is the Trinity?, Can I Be Sure I’m Saved?, What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?, and What Is the Church?. Each is a short, clear, confessionally Reformed treatment — perfect for reading in a single sitting alongside the Puritan works. Sproul was a PCA teaching elder.

Details

Tags: Free Forever · Short · Accessible · PCA
Available free on Kindle and iBooks from Ligonier

14. The Holiness of God — R.C. Sproul

Sproul’s most important book and a modern classic. Puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life — drawing from Isaiah 6, the experience of Luther, and the justice of God to paint an awe-inspiring vision of who God is. This is the modern book to read alongside Charnock’s Attributes. Over 250,000 copies sold for good reason.

Details

Tags: Theology Proper · Holiness · PCA · Essential
Paid (~$10 Kindle) — worth every penny
Paperbacks frequently on sale at Ligonier.org

15. Chosen by God — R.C. Sproul

Sproul’s contemporary classic on predestination — nearly 200,000 copies sold. Shows that the Reformed doctrine of election doesn’t create a capricious picture of God, but rather reveals a loving God who provides grace for radically corrupt humanity. Clear, winsome, and utterly convincing. The best modern introduction to the doctrines of grace.

Details

Tags: Election · Doctrines of Grace · PCA · Essential
Paid (~$10 Kindle)
Paperbacks frequently on sale at Ligonier.org

16. The Whole Christ — Sinclair B. Ferguson

Ferguson revisits the 18th-century Marrow Controversy to shed light on the perennial tension between legalism and antinomianism. The result is one of the most important books written in the last decade — showing that the antidote to both errors is one and the same: the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ. Ferguson writes as a pastor-theologian with deep Scottish Presbyterian roots. Crossway has periodically offered this free as a digital download.

Details

Tags: Law & Gospel · Assurance · PCA · Intermediate
Paid (~$12 Kindle) — occasionally free from Crossway promotions

17. A Penitent People: The Doctrine of Repentance — Harrison Perkins

Perkins (OPC pastor at Oakland Hills Community Church, Senior Research Fellow at the Craig Center for Westminster Standards) invites readers to reconsider repentance not as dreary obligation but as a joyful gift of grace. Draws from Scripture and the Reformed confessions to show that repentance flows from faith, propels us toward Christ, and transforms both individuals and churches. A beautiful companion to Watson’s Doctrine of Repentance — read them back to back.

Details

Tags: Repentance · OPC · Confessional · 2025 Release
Paid (~$14 paperback, Christian Focus 2025)
Paid (~$10 Kindle) – I heartily recommend this book.

18. Summary of Christian Doctrine — Louis Berkhof

An accessible condensation of Berkhof’s famous Systematic Theology. Covers every major locus of Reformed doctrine in clear, organized prose. An excellent desk reference as you read through the Puritans — when Owen or Charnock raises a doctrine, Berkhof helps you see the bigger picture. Berkhof served as president of Calvin Theological Seminary.

Details

Tags: Systematic Theology · Reference · CRC
Available free on Monergism

19. Sola Fide: The Reformed Doctrine of Justification — J.I. Packer

A concise, masterful exposition of the Reformed doctrine of justification by faith alone. Packer writes with characteristic precision and accessibility. A perfect theological companion as you work through the Puritans on salvation and grace.

Details

Tags: Justification · Confessional
Available free on Monergism

12-Month Reading Schedule

Download a formatted version that includes a nicely formatted table of the timings of the readings along with modern book pairings.

PDF of “A Reformed Reading Plan”

Reading Tips

Start with Watson or Bunyan to get your “Puritan legs” under you before tackling Owen. Watson’s prose is the closest to modern English you’ll find among the Puritans.

Don’t rush the advanced tier. Charnock and Owen reward slow, meditative reading — a chapter a week is perfectly fine. These are books to be digested, not consumed.

Use the modernized editions when available. Monergism offers modernized versions of several Owen works. There’s no shame in starting there and returning to the originals later.

Read with pen in hand. The Puritans wrote to be studied, not skimmed. Underline, annotate, and journal as you go.

Pair your reading with the Westminster Standards. Almost every Puritan work on this list maps directly to specific sections of the Westminster Confession and Catechisms. Let them illuminate each other.

Grab Sproul’s Crucial Questions immediately. They’re free forever and short enough to read in an afternoon. Start with Does God Control Everything? and What Is the Trinity? — they’ll warm you up for the deeper works.

Read Perkins and Watson on repentance back to back. Watson gives you the 17th-century Puritan treatment; Perkins gives you the same doctrine from a confessional OPC pastor writing today. The resonance across 350 years is remarkable.

Puritan texts available at monergism.com/topics/free-ebooks
Sproul’s Crucial Questions free at ligonier.org

M’Cheyne Reading Plan

A commendable Bible reading plan.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

— Psalm 119:105

A commendable Bible reading plan

Likely the most important thing I can say on the subject of Bible reading is we all need to do it. The question is how do we as fallen humans rise to the opportunity to place His word deep in our hearts and minds? The only way is to draw close to Him through prayer, reading, and meditating on His word.

A frequent, consistent diet of the word of God is essential to forming a healthy ear for the truth. Meaning when someone speaks, are you familiar enough with His word to know if what is being said is truthful or not? Satan talked to our parents Adam and Eve and essentially said “Did God really say?” and that went horribly wrong. Without steeping our hearts and minds in the word, we are ill-equipped to withstand the devil’s trappings. So a morning and evening reading plan such as the Robert Murray M’Cheyne plan is an excellent way to do so.

You can choose to read 2 chapters in the morning and 2 in the evening or all 4 at once, and the most important thing to remember is to do it, not to worry about whether you have missed a day. Every day is important, but providentially, you may be hindered one day, and it is not the end of the program; simply either if it is a single session catch-up OR if it is more than a session, I commend to you His grace and just read the day you are returning as He would rather have us in His word than worrying if we are behind in our reading.

Here is a single-page formatted calendar to read the entire Bible in a year with the New Testament twice. Print and trim, and it can be folded up and placed in the back cover of your Bible. No need to start fresh; all of the word is worthwhile, just start today.

I have started a GitHub repository for documents that are associated with this site. You can download the reading plan from the link below.

RMM Bible Reading plan

About Me

Who I am and why this site exists.

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

— 1 Peter 3:15

I am just a fellow living in Texas, happy to have a wonderful wife, family, and job. A believer in God, in a confessionally reformed, Westminster Confession of Faith sort of way. Resting solely in the completed work of the Son through faith. I happen to like reading, writing, photography and most things space. If you wanted to reach me you could do so by direct message via the X.com platform @rfrmdguy.

Why This Site Exists

“What is the chief end of man?” “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” That answer from the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 1) has anchored my life, and it is the reason this site exists. I built rfrmd.com because I wanted a place where the truths of the Reformation could be shared simply, from a phone or a tablet, with anyone the Lord might draw to them. Every page here is an attempt to point back to the word of God, not away from it.

I am not a seminary professor or a pastor/teaching elder. I am an ordained ruling elder in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church who loves the Lord, loves His church, and wants to be useful. My theological convictions are rooted in the Westminster Standards, and I hold to the doctrines of grace because I believe they are what the Bible teaches and because they give all the glory for salvation to God alone, where it belongs.

If anything here helps you open your Bible, find a faithful church, or see the beauty of the gospel a little more clearly, then this site has done what I hoped it would do. And if you disagree with something I have written, I would simply ask what the Bereans would ask: search the Scriptures and see whether these things are so (Acts 17:11).

In the interest of honesty, I want you to know that AI tools were used in the drafting of the content on this site. You can read more about what that means and why I am telling you in A Note on How This Site Was Written.

Soli Deo Gloria

A Note on How This Site Was Written

Honesty about the tools behind the words.

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor.”

— Ephesians 4:25

I want to be upfront about something: AI tools were used in the creation of the articles on this site.

That sentence needs an explanation — because the conversation around AI-generated content is still young, and readers deserve to know what they are reading and how it got there. More importantly, if this site is going to encourage you to be like the Bereans and examine everything against Scripture (Acts 17:11), then you need to know what you are examining. So here is the honest account.

What That Means in Practice

Every article on rfrmd.com began with my convictions, my research, and my direction. I provided the theological framework, the confessional commitments, the Scripture references, and the specific arguments I wanted to make. AI was then used as a drafting tool — a way to produce a well-organized starting point that conformed to my guidance and could be reviewed, confirmed, and refined.

Think of it this way. Spell check was once controversial. Grammar checkers raised eyebrows. Today no one thinks twice about them. AI-assisted writing is a step further along the same road — a tool that helps a writer present his thoughts more clearly, check the quality of his references, and organize his material in a way that serves the reader well. The convictions are mine. The theology is mine. The hours spent reviewing, correcting, and rewriting are mine. The tool helped me get there more efficiently than I could have alone.

What That Does Not Mean

It does not mean I pressed a button and published whatever came out. Every page on this site has been reviewed line by line against Scripture, the Westminster Standards, and the best Reformed scholarship I know. Where the AI got something wrong — and it did, more than once — I corrected it. Where it missed a nuance that mattered, I added it. Where it produced something that did not sound like me or did not reflect what I believe, I rewrote it.

I would not put my name on something I had not read, understood, and affirmed. That is as true for AI-assisted content as it would be for a research assistant, an editor, or a co-author.

Why I Am Telling You This

Because passing off AI-assisted work as entirely self-crafted would be dishonest, and I have no interest in that. The ability to draw upon a machine to help ensure the quality and accuracy of references, to organize complex theological arguments, and to present material clearly is a reality that all writers and readers will need to adjust to in the years ahead. I would rather be ahead of that conversation than behind it.

But more than that — the material on this site concerns the God of the universe, whom I worship and adore. If I am going to write about His holiness, His truth, and His gospel, the least I can do is be truthful about how the writing was done. The substance of what you read here reflects what I genuinely believe the Bible teaches. The tool helped me say it well. The responsibility for every word is mine.

I pray that what is here — however it was produced — is truly beneficial to you, and that it points you to the One who is Himself the Truth.

Soli Deo Gloria

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

© 2026 rfrmd.com

Soli Deo Gloria