Eternally Assured

Why is he called "Christ" meaning "anointed?" Answer: Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who fully reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our deliverance, our only high priest, who delivered us by the on sacrifice of his body and who continually intercedes for us before the Father and our eternal king, who governs us by his Word and Spirit and who guards and keeps us in the deliverance he has won for us (Heidelberg Q&A 31)  I want to define what it means to "surrender all" to Jesus as I heard it and experienced it as a young Christian. The idea of total and complete surrender was used in context of coming to saving faith. In order to be  assured of a right standing with God, I had to surrender every facet of my life to Christ.  I was always confused and scared when I heard the concept explained in this manner, particularly when it came to con...

My friend released a chart last year on twitter that shared tensions she experienced with some Reformed teachings and how Lutheranism helped her to resolve the m.  You may find the full chart  here .  The introduction to the chart states the following:  "This is a very basic and simple chart I put together to demonstrate some of the implications I experienced with some Calvinistic and Reformed theological teaching. The first column shows some questions that came up for me, and the second column represents the way that Lutheran thought has resolved these doubts. I still love Reformed theology in many ways, but this chart represents a simplified look into why Lutheranism has been comforting to me"   I have spent a good amount of time thinking about the implications on her chart. With her permission, I thought it would be a neat idea to try and address her tensions from a Reformed perspective .  I will address one concern at a time. The last post will inc...

"Moreover though we do good works, we do not found our salvation upon them; for we do no work but what is polluted by our flesh, and also punishable; and although we could perform such works, still the remembrance of one sin is sufficient to make God reject them.  Thus then we would always be in doubt, tossed to and fro without any certainty, and our poor consciences continually vexed, if they relied not on the merits of the suffering and death of our Savior" ( Belgic Confession Article 24  )  I recently came across a devotional that went through the Lords Prayer. You can find the link here for context. The article started with the following sentence: "The implications of the Disciples prayer are profound and far-reaching." I continued to read and quickly found that the implications inferred that obedience, faithfulness, and sincerity qualifies a person to pray to God with the confidence that they will be heard. There were no qualifiers in that statement for the ...

"As pilgrim people, we constantly need to hear the assurance of the gospel." - Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored (Mike Brown and Zach Keele) "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" - 1 Peter 1:3-5 This past Sunday at church we recited the Nicene Creed, although we usually recite the Apostle's Creed. I always enjoy reciting the Apostle's Creed together at church. There is a unifying aspect to it.  Despite all of our differences we can say with one voice affirmatively what we believe. I love hearing the voices next to me knowing that we all are united to each other in Christ. Yet this past Sunday hit differen...

  Disclaimer: It is  not the purpose of this post to elaborate on the teachings of Lordship Salvation and how it compares to Reformed Confessional Theology. At the end of this post I will provide resources that deal more deeply with the differences. This post is more to describe to the best of my ability what it was like for me to  believe that the tenets of Lordship Salvation were the only faithful expression of the Christian faith. If anyone reading identifies with what I am describing, this post is for you to show you that  your sentiments are valid.  I promise that there is a better, more restful, and comforting alternative that is both faithful to the Scriptures and faithful to maintain the necessity of repentance and obedience without compromising the comfort and rest that sinners can find in Christ.  undertone: an underlying quality or feeling If there is one word that I could use to describe what it was like being influenced by the teachings of Lord...

Question: What benefit do you receive from the holy conception and birth of Christ?  Answer: He is our Mediator and with His innocence and perfect holiness covers, in the sight of God my sin, in which I was conceived and born.  (Heidelberg Catechism Question & Answer 36) During this Holiday Season, I am reminded of one of my favorite Christmas Songs "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus".  I have been rehearsing this particular lyric in my heart on repeat:  "Come to Earth to taste our sadness, He whose glory knows no end. By His life He brings us gladness, Our Redeemer! Shepherd! Friend! Leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall. This the everlasting wonder, Christ was born Lord of all"   "Come to Earth to taste our sadness, He whose glory knows no end." In times of deep distress the overarching theme for me has been the kindness and the humanity of Christ. He came to earth to taste our sadness. He left glory to become a baby who was born unde...

  So please dear Elizabeth, learn to understand God's Word better, so that you do not regard Jesus as another Moses. By this I mean, that you will not treat our Advocate and Savior as an accuser and condemner, which is the greatest dishonor with which people can dishonor Jesus"" -Petrus Dathenus (The Pearl of Christian Comfort)  " Elizabeth: But now dear brother, please tell me, what purpose would this ability to distinguish between Law & Gospel serve?  Dathenus: It will serve to comfort and strengthen you by faith in Jesus Christ, and by the aforementioned gospel promises, quiet and overcome the anxiety of your conscience which is troubled by the killing letter of the law" - Petrus Dathenus (The Pearl of Christian Comfort)  "Dear Christian, the Gospel is for you. The forgiveness of sins is for you. Jesus, and His death and resurrection, His mercy and grace, His undeserved kindness are still for you, today and always. Your life is hidden with Go...