Presbyterian and Reformed

God's covenant always includes households. When Abraham was given the covenant sign of circumcision, it wasn't for him alone. And young men were never required to wait until adulthood to receive the covenant sign. Nor was there a demand for a voluntary assent to a conversion experience first. In baptism, the same covenant carries a new sign that is given to both boys and girls. Our children receive the sign because they belong, by birth and promise, to the covenant. Does that mean baptism regenerates or that an infant is necessarily already regenerate? No. Baptism doesn't depend on the faith of the recipient at its administration. It is, among other things, a summons for the child to receive the promise given to him. Think of it as a public gospel call that will become effectual in time within the elect heart. The covenant sign belongs to covenant children. And the children of the faithful stand within its promises until they prove otherwise. (Quotes in the video are from Ursinus. on LD 26.) @Presbyterianism

Silicon Sunday School: Infant Baptism as Sacrament. I'm posting this on America's 250th birthday. And nothing runs against the grain of American individualist religiosity quite like infant baptism.

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee,  and shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;  that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. Deut. 30:1-3 The covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai was not formally the covenant of works. 1. Because that cannot be renewed with the sinner, in such a sense as to say, if, for the future, thou shalt perfectly perform every instance of obedience, thou shalt be justified by that, according to the covenant of works. For by this, the pardon of former sins would be pre-supposed, which the covenant of works excludes. 2. Because God did not require perfect obedience from Israel, as a condition of this covenant, as a cause of claiming the reward; but sincere obedience, as an evidence of reverence and gratitude. 3. Because it did not conclude Israel under the curse, in the sense peculiar to the covenant of works, where all hope of pardon was cut off, if they sinned but in the lead instance. -Witsius @Presbyterianism

Lord's Day 27 Deuteronomy 30:1-6 Zechariah 13 Matthew 3 Colossians 2:6-12 Psalm 40 (for singing) Aids: Heidelberg Catechism: Q. HC 72-74 Westminster Confession: Ch. 26 Larger Catechism: Q. 167 Belgic Confession: Art. 15 Canons of Dordt: First Head, Article 17 Second Helvetic Confession: Ch. 7 Calvin's Institutes: Book 4, ch. 16 A reading plan with 365 daily Bible readings is posted here. Follow at your own pace. There's a mirror channel @RefReading just for the Lord's Day readings, with one post a week on Saturday mornings. "How do I know I belong to Jesus?" There needs to be more clarity out there about the doctrine of assurance. If you need help, please read the classic book on assurance by Louis Berkhof. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thes. 5:23 @Presbyterianism

Your reminder that there is no immediate political solution and jumping into GOP politics again will only lead to heartache. While politics matters and can't be neglected, America is too big and too complex for us to make much of a difference. Any Christian Nationalism requires both at least a Christian elite and coherent nationhood. Neither exists today, and greasing the GOP will not fix either. In fact, we should not expect a great reversal in our lifetimes. We can, however, have a great influence on the Church. There is a great need for reformation (or splits) in our denominations. There are also millions of churchgoers who have never heard the gospel coherently. Much can be done. Happy 250. @Presbyterianism

OK, I hate technology now. @Presbyterianism

from "Font of Pardon and New Life: John Calvin and the Efficacy of Baptism" By Lyle D. Bierma (Oxford UP)

I kind of feel bad for the trads. They have serious convictions and their leadership hates them for it. Rome looks past all sorts of terrible people, choosing to attack her greatest supporters. Yet there's not much to say until the trads start realizing the problems didn't just start with Vatican II. @Presbyterianism.

The Battle of the Boyne was fought on July 1, 1690, between the forces of James II, a Catholic, and the Protestant King William III. The engagement resulted in a victory for William. @Presbyterianism

Based on Christian Smith, Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America (OUP, 2025). @Presbyterianism

Smyth is an OPC minister. @Presbyterianism

This guy is the Final Boss of Anglicanism. @Presbyterianism