The Tulip Driven Life

  Those appealing to the early church fathers really have to appeal to the earliest of the earliest to be consistent, and that would be the Apostolic fathers, the first generation after the Apostles themselves (and when we can read the Apostles in the inspired, written word of God, we ought not to place the generation after the Apostles on equal or even higher footing as an infallible interpreter of the Apostles). But within the first several centuries (and thereafter) of the Church after Christ's ascension, there was much debate, development, disagreement, etc. This shouldn't surprise us, as we see that throughout Scripture itself. An appeal to oral tradition in itself is fine, so long as that is not regarded as infallible or the highest authority. No reasonable person denies that the inscripturated word was transmitted orally before it was written down. No one has a problem that God had inspired prophets and men and women having visions or dreaming dreams, etc., but now ...

 This is from sermon notes/outline I put together in preparation a while back for a sermon structured around the Heidelberg Catechism Question 44, and WLC question 50.  H.C. Lord’s Day 16, Part 2 – Christ Suffered Hell – Sermon Outline Intro: Did Christ descend into a place called hell or Sheol? What is hell and Sheol?   Need: God’s Word, the crafting of the Apostle’s Creed, and our Reformed Confessions teach that Christ’s whole life, but especially in His dying and remaining in death til the 3 rd day, was all a descent into hell to redeem His people from death and God’s wrath, and bring them up out of death into heavenly life with Him. Theme: Christ suffered hell in His life, death at the cross, and remaining buried in death until the 3 rd day.   1.        Hell’s meaning in Scripture shows Christ suffered and entered into death for us. 2.        Christ’s work of redemption was accompli...