Churches Have a Certain Latitude of Diversity (Calvin)

In the early part of 1555, some important men of Berne, Switzerland heard that John Calvin was causing problems in the church by being something of a maverick in the areas of ceremonies, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and other aspects of church life and liturgy.  When Calvin found out that these men were upset with …

Legalism Indulges the Sinful Nature (Bridges)

 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.... You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free" (Gal. 5:1; 13 NIV).  One awesome outcome of Christ's death and resurrection is that we are free in Christ.  Now it is true that sometimes Christians flaunt their freedom by bragging about what kind of …

The Liberty of the Will (Muller)

  I appreciate how Richard Muller summarizes the Reformed understanding of the human will under his entry "libertas naturae" in Dictionary of Latin and Greek Theological Terms: "The freedom or liberty of nature; viz., the liberty that is proper to a being given its particular nature.  No being, not even omnipotent God, can act contrary …

Moderation, Contentment, and Christian Liberty (Calvin)

John Calvin's section on Christian liberty in his Institutes is one of my favorite parts of this outstanding book.  It's biblical, Christ centered, founded on grace, pastoral, and very level-headed.  At one point Calvin says that Christian freedom does not mean we can be luxury-seeking gluttons and drunks who chase after our own lusts.  Note …

The Conscience, Love, and Submission

I've always been fascinated by the human conscience.  Maybe it started about 20 years ago when I first read Luther's self-defense where he said his conscience was held captive by God's Word.  Maybe my interest in the conscience started when I was learning about freedom of conscience in the context of the Reformation and sola …