Tag Archives: regeneration

Regeneration, Intelligence, and Philosophy

By D. G. Hart | Published: June 21, 2012
bell curve

May we have a little clarity on the nature of regeneration, puh-leeze? Sorry to pick on the neo-Calvinists again, but a common construction of regeneration among those who stress the antithesis is to attribute to the supernatural work of the Spirit the intellectual genius of believers. This interpretation is strongest among the neo-Calvinists who are… Read More→

Posted in Adventures in Church History, Neo-Calvinism | Also tagged , , , , , | 512 Responses

Forensic Friday: Who’s Lutheran Now?

By D. G. Hart | Published: August 19, 2011

From Luther’s sermon for the seventh Sunday after Trinity (1534): Thus St. Paul says: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey: whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” and this means, as you now through grace are bound to… Read More→

Posted in Application of Redemption | Also tagged , , | 12 Responses

Hi, I’m A Christian So I Can Be Trusted

By D. G. Hart | Published: February 2, 2011

Well, that’s actually a complicated assertion since the holders of 2k do not appear to be trustworthy people from the perspective of 2k’s critics. Let me explain. A repeated contention against 2k is that it relies too much on general revelation or the light of nature. Not only is general revelation apparently insufficient for unbelievers… Read More→

Posted in Christian politics, Lordship of Christ | Also tagged , , , | 51 Responses

Forensic Friday: Machen on Paul

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 30, 2010

There could be no greater error, therefore, than that of representing the Pauline doctrine of justification by faith as a mere afterthought, as a mere weapon in controversy. Paul was interested in salvation from the guilt of sin no whit less than in salvation from the power of sin, in justification no whit less than… Read More→

Posted in J. Gresham Machen, The Hinge | Also tagged , | 3 Responses

Where’s Waldo Wednesday: Machen on Regeneration

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 28, 2010

Regeneration, or the new birth, therefore, does not stand in opposition to a truly scientific attitude toward the evidence, but on the contrary it is necessary in order that that truly scientific attitude may be attained; it is not a substitute for the intellect, but on the contrary by it the intellect is made to… Read More→

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Where’s Waldo (A Day After) Wednesday

By D. G. Hart | Published: July 1, 2010

What you gotta like about this quote is the close proximity of justification and two-kingdom political theology. If water, the Spirit, and justification are what get you into the Kingdom of God, how exactly does that work for accounting? And the author even concedes that the claim is “hard” to accept, which might account for… Read More→

Posted in Application of Redemption | Also tagged , , , | 3 Responses

Where’s Waldo Wednesday in the Tetrapolitan Confession*

By D. G. Hart | Published: June 9, 2010

Chapter 3 Of Justification and Faith . . . . First, therefore, since for some years we were taught that man’s own works are necessary for his justification, our preachers have taught that this whole justification is to be ascribed to the good pleasure of God and the merit of Christ, and to be received… Read More→

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Where’s Waldo Wednesday: Dead Bodies

By D. G. Hart | Published: June 2, 2010

Thanks to one of the interlocutors at oldlife, I have been mulling over the meaning of union with Christ in light of the Shorter Catechism’s teaching that the bodies of deceased saints, while resting in their graves (an argument against cremation, mind you), remain united to Christ. It is indeed a mind numbing thought to… Read More→

Posted in Application of Redemption | Also tagged , , , , , , | 1 Response

Where’s Waldo Wednesday: Did He Say “Impetration”?

By D. G. Hart | Published: May 19, 2010

We are told that God saves us in His mere mercy, by a renovating work of the Holy Spirit, founded on the redeeming work of Christ; and we are told that this renovating work of the Holy Spirit was in order that we might be justified and so become heirs. Here the purchase by the… Read More→

Posted in Application of Redemption | Also tagged , , , , | 9 Responses

Where’s Waldo Wednesday: Has WTS Been Liberated from Its Westminster Captivity?

By D. G. Hart | Published: April 28, 2010

This post from a professor at Regent University’s School of Divinity deserves more interaction for what it says about evangelicalism. But for now the following excerpt is worth pondering for ongoing considerations about union with Christ. What is particularly noteworthy, from this oldlifer’s perspective, is how much WTS during the era of union hegemony, has… Read More→

Posted in Application of Redemption, Neo-Protestantism, Westminster | Also tagged , , , , | 30 Responses