The Calvinist International
Our next installment in our series from Zacharias Ursinus’s teaching on the doctrine of God (see also part 1 and part 2) is his defense of the traditional theological explanation against the detractors of his day. You will notice that the Reformed churches were opposed by the “biblicists” of their day. Ursinus does respond by […]
We continue our series on Zacharias Ursinus’s explanation of the doctrine of the God (see part 1 for more), looking now at His explanation of the Trinity. The following comes from his Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, eighth Lord’s Day section 3, pg. 129-132 of the P&R edition. Readers will notice a strongly “traditional” explanation, […]
Given the recent widespread confusion about the doctrine of God among Reformed theologians, we thought it would be helpful to post some excerpts on the basic concepts of theology proper from Zacharias Ursinus. Ursinus gives a scholastic treatment of the question, one that is both traditional and succinct. The following comes from his Commentary on […]
Explaining Question and Answer 91 of the Heidelberg Catechism, Zacharius Ursinus explains why, if we are justified by faith in Christ’s works, we should then also do good works. More than just “should,” he explains why the Reformed maintain that good works are indeed “necessary.” Thus, his question is framed “Why good works are to […]
In his Heidelberg Catechism lectures, Zacharias Ursinus lists 17 “theses” on baptism. These form a section of their own, and they appear after his commentary and exposition of Heidelberg Lord’s Day 27. For those who have the hard-cover version of the P&R reprint titled Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, the theses begin on pg. 371. We have […]
A few years ago, Dr. Kenneth Stewart published a paper which sought to rebut the charge that the doctrine of “regeneration,” due to the effects of Revivalism, had been dramatically transformed into something different from its meaning at the time of the Reformation. His paper is well worth your reading, but in it he makes […]
In his Commentary on the 26th Question of the Heidelberg Catechism, Ursinus gives a brief explanation of differing views among the Reformers concerning the age of the Earth. He claims a “common reckoning” of Biblical chronology which allows a conclusion that the world was 5,534 years old. He writes: Lastly, God created the world, not […]
Explaining the theology behind Q&A 25 of the Heidelberg Commentary, Zacharias Ursinus has a lengthy discussion of Trinitarian theology, covering the basic theological affirmations and denials, but also parsing out the more difficult aspects of the logic and language. The balance between pastoral language and intent in the Catechism and then scholastic detail in the […]
The Heidelberg Catechism rather famously includes Christian education under the duties required by the 4th Commandment: Question 103. What doth God require in the fourth command ? Answer. First, that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be maintained In Ursinus’s commentary, we are given this explanation: The maintenance of schools may be embraced […]
There is much more to be said about Zacharias Ursinus’s view of adiaphora and worship. Our previous post on the issue was widely read, but it did raise a number of important questions. The most interesting is in regards to Ursinus’s relationship to the so-called “regulative principle of worship.” To allow for man-made “ceremonies” in […]