Van Til on Driscoll

Mark Driscoll's rejection of the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son of God (declared in ecumenical creeds and Reformed confessions) is discussed here (Part 1), here (Part 2), here (Part 3), and here (Part 4).

It appears Cornelius Van Til was on the mark once again when he said:

It is sometimes contended that ministers need not be trained in systematic theology if only they know their Bibles. But "Bible-trained" instead of systematically trained preachers frequently preach error. They may mean ever so well and be ever so true to the gospel on certain points; nevertheless, they often preach error. There are many "orthodox" preachers today whose study of Scripture has been so limited to what it says about soteriology that they could not protect the fold of God against heresies on the person of Christ. Oftentimes they themselves even entertain definitely heretical notions on the person of Christ, though perfectly unaware of the fact. (An Introduction to Systematic Theology [New Jersey: P & R, 2007], ed. William Edgar, 22)

Christ's Descent Into Hell

The Apostles' Creed declares that Christ descended into hell, "I believe in...Jesus Christ...our Lord: Who was...crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell."

What does it mean for Christ to have descended into hell? Danny Hyde explains:





Also available here

The Creeds and Confessions—Servants of the Gospel

"In making its confession, the church lifts up its voice to do what it must do—speak amazement of the goodness and truth of the gospel and the gospel's God. Creeds and confessional formulae exist to promote that act of confession: to goad the church towards it, to shape it, to tie it to the truth, and so to perpetuate the confessional life and activity of the Christian community. In this way, creeds and confessional formulae are the servants of the gospel in the church."

— John Webster, Confessing God, 69 (italics original).


"It is not that the authority of the confessions is 'very nearly tantamount to that of Scripture,' but it is tantamount to that of Scripture, assuming that a given confession is biblical and intended to be subscribed because (quia) it is biblical. If a confession is not biblical, it should be revised so that it is biblical, or it should be discarded in favor of a confession that is biblical."

— R. Scott Clark, Recovering the Reformed Confession, 178 (italics original).

The Joy of Being Confessionally Reformed

On an older post, I briefly discussed my journey from thinking I was "Reformed" to being "Truly Reformed", which is to say, "Confessionally Reformed", embracing the biblical beauties of The Heidelberg Catechism, The Belgic Confession, The Canons of Dordt, The Westminster Confession of Faith, The Westminster Larger Catechism, and The Westminster Shorter Catechism (otherwise known as The Six Forms of Unity), along with the ecumenical creeds (The Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Athanasian Creed) and The Definition of Chalcedon.

Now I would like to share this very inspiring message by R. Scott Clark on the joy of being confessionally Reformed.

To the confessionally Reformed, I hope this message fosters in you a deeper love for this gift of truth that the Lord has graciously bestowed upon you. To my brothers and sisters who have not yet been blessed as such, may this message be the Lord's means of leading you into all truth.

Soli Deo Gloria!