For some years, I have complained about Baptist squatters in the Reformed house. These are those Baptists who insist on re-defining the adjective Reformed. As it turns out, however, this habit of squatting is not new at all. Indeed, one of the earliest examples occurred in 1680. I use theContinue Reading
As Reformed Christians, we confess that infants of believing parents (or of at least one believing parent) should be baptised. Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 74 asks, “Should infants, too, be baptised?” Answer: Yes. Infants as well as adults belong to God’s covenant and congregation.[1] Through Christ’s blood, the redemption fromContinue Reading
The New Testament teaches that Jesus is the true Israel and David’s greater son (Matthew 2:15 as a fulfilment of Hosea 11:1; Acts 2:29-33, Galatians 3:16, Philippians 3:3; Hebrews 8-10 as a fulfilment of Jeremiah 31:31-34). It is in Christ’s church — as Jesus’ mystical Spirit-filled body — that weContinue Reading
I received a piece of spam mail late last week offering to “elevate” the worship service at my church. I can think of a number of verbs that might pique the interest of a Reformed church: purify, reform, sanctify, solemnize are some that come to mind but elevate is notContinue Reading
There is one huge difference between the altar call and the Reformed understanding of the sacraments. In the altar call, the qualification was “if you truly meant it”, which made the subjective state of the sinner the critical factor in whether or not one actually benefited from going forward. DidContinue Reading
Jesus introduced the Lord’s Supper at a solemn time, the Passover meal on the night before His death. Paul shows its solemnity in the warnings he gives to those who would participate in the supper in 1 Corinthians 11:17–34. Paul is concerned that Christians in the Corinthian church are notContinue Reading
By Simon Jooste The overriding witness of Scripture is God’s salvation of sinners (Gen. 3:15; John 3:16; Luke 24:27). Natural man remains dead in his sins unless God acts (Rom. 3:9-20; Psalm 53). If God did not extend his grace, there would be no hope for this fallen world (Gal.Continue Reading
By Simon Jooste The piety of God’s Old Testament people revolved around public worship, and in the context of covenant. Whether in the tabernacle, temple or in exile, the Jews drew their strength from the official and public ministry of the Word: the preaching, the sacraments and the sacrifices (see:Continue Reading
By Simon Jooste Under the New Covenant signed in Christ’s blood, God’s institution of the slaughtered paschal Lamb and festive meal at Passover (Num. 9:1-3; cf. Exodus 12:11-27) has now been replaced with Christ’s establishment of the ongoing sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 26:26-29; cf. 1 Cor. 11:23-26). TheContinue Reading
By Simon Jooste Space does not permit an elaborate historical treatment of the question of Christ’s presence in the Lord’s Supper. Suffice to say, the ancient church exhibited a variety of views on the relationship between the signs of bread and wine and the thing they signified (Christ crucified andContinue Reading