Judgment According to Works?? (Vos)

The Bible teaches that sinful people cannot earn salvation or contribute to their salvation.  Justification and eternal life are free gifts of God received by faith alone in Christ alone (Rom 4:1-8, Gal. 2:15-16, Eph 2:8, etc.).  Or as the Heidelberg Catechism says, the good we do can't make us right or help make us…

On the First Day of The Week… (Vos)

There are various biblical reasons why Christians gather together on the first day of the week to worship Christ the risen king. One of the better reasons is a redemptive historical one. What does that mean? Geerhardus Vos explained this well in the section of his book Biblical Theology where he talks about the sabbath.…

Redemption and Revelation (Vos/Horton)

 As we grow in the Christian faith we learn more about God's word (and vice-versa).  Sometimes we take huge steps in understanding Scripture and sometimes we take smaller steps. Either way, we're growing in grace and knowledge.  For me, one major area of growth in understanding Scripture was when I began to learn about the…

Predestination and Reformed Theology (Vos)

The doctrine of election (predestination) is tied tightly to other aspects of Reformed theology.  Geerhardus Vos expresses this well in his Reformed Dogmatics (recently published in English for the first time thanks to Logos and Lexham Press – see here and here).  Vos asks this question (in vol. 1.5.4): “At what points is the doctrine…

Eternal Punishment (Vos)

 When Scripture talks about the eventual fate of the unrepentant, those who never turn to Christ in faith, it is a bleak picture of God's wrath and punishment.  It's not a fun thing to talk about, but it is a reality that makes Christians so thankful for Christ and his saving work and the eternal…