July 2026
Podcasts
The 53rd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), the denomination to which New Life belongs, was held June 22-25 in Louisville, KY. You can listen to Ruling Elder Mel Duncan (who served as this year’s moderator) and Teaching Elder Jackson Lin summarize what took place on The Westminster Standard podcast.
Perhaps the most lingering stain in our nation’s history concerns the practice of slavery. Scripture regulated slavery in the ancient world but falls short of condemning it outright, which in the minds of critics leaves an indefensible and intolerable stain on the Bible as well. But PCA pastor Adriel Sanchez explains on a brief episode of his Core Christianity podcast how slavery in the Bible differed significantly from chattel slavery in the United States and from the transatlantic slave trade. He also points out how the teaching of Scripture played a crucial role in the eventual abolition of slavery.
Articles
In light of this year’s 250th celebration of the Declaration of Independence, check out a thoughtful article by Christian social thinker Os Guinness about the current political climate and our nation’s need for spiritual renewal.
The Westminster Assembly, which produced the Westminster Confession of Faith along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, convened on July 1, 1643, in London. A brief article by Brian Cosby from Ligonier Ministries offers a glimpse into the historical background, composition, and work of the assembly.
“Who Were the Westminster Divines?”
6W Chronicles: Brief Profiles in Church History
As a way to introduce readers to some influential figures in the church’s past, the 6W Chronicles briefly address six questions: Who? When? Where? What did they do? Why should we know about them? What works can I reference by or about them?
Who? Jan Hus
When? 1373-1415
Where? Jan Hus was born in Husinec (hence his name) in a region known as Bohemia (which inspired a popular contemporary rhapsody!) in what is today the Czech Republic.
What did he do? Jan Hus was born to peasant farmers and educated at the University of Prague. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1400, he served in university positions in Prague and was appointed to preach at Bethlehem Chapel. Influenced by the writings of John Wycliffe (Anne of Bohemia had married King Richard II of England in 1382, allowing Wycliffe’s ideas to spread into Bohemia), Hus campaigned for church reform. He called for renewed purity among the morally corrupt priesthood of his day, believing that a priest’s authority should be based not merely on his office but primarily on godly character. He condemned the sale of indulges, denying that the forgiveness of sins could be bought while teaching that God alone, in Christ Jesus, could forgive sins. He argued that the people should be given both the bread and the cup in communion (the chalice became a symbol of the later followers of Hus, called Hussites). Finally, Hus taught that the Bible was the supreme and only infallible authority for the church. For propagating these ideas Hus was excommunicated four different times, eventually undergoing voluntary exile for the sake his congregants in 1412. He continued writing and preached in barns, fields, towns, and forests until Pope John XXIII convened a council in Constance (present day Germany) in 1414 with the aim of ending a long-standing papal schism and eradicating false teaching. Hus was asked to appear before the council with the promise of safe conduct from Sigismund, the king of Hungary. However, Hus was immediately arrested upon arrival and kept for seven months in awful conditions in an old Dominican monastery (today it is the luxurious Steigenberger Insel Hotel). During his trial, he was not permitted to answer any of the 30 charges eventually levied against him. The trial concluded with Hus refusing to recant his teachings unless he could be shown his errors from Scripture. He was condemned and sentenced to be burned at the stake on Saturday, July 6, 1415 (Sigismund claiming that any promise made to a condemned heretic was not binding). Witnesses to his execution say that he died singing.
Why should we know about him? Along with John Wycliffe and others, Jan Hus is often considered a “pre-Reformer,” helping to set the stage for the Protestant Reformation that followed about 100 years later. Several of the things he stressed – the preaching of the Word, the supreme authority of Scripture over church councils, opposition to indulgences and other priestly abuses – were all echoed by Martin Luther. Hus did not teach the doctrine of justification by faith alone, but Luther rightly admitted, in certain respects, “We are all Hussites without knowing it.” As he faced the flames of execution, it’s alleged that Hus (whose name means goose) uttered a prophecy that found fulfillment in Luther: “Today you will roast a lean goose, but a hundred years from now you will hear a swan sing, whom you will leave unroasted and no trap or net will catch him for you.” On December 17, 1999, Pope John Paul II confessed to an international symposium, “Today, on the eve of the Great Jubilee, I feel the need to express deep regret for the cruel death inflicted on Jan Hus.”
Works? Hus’ book De Ecclesia (On the Church), as well as a collection of his letters, considered among the world’s treasures by some scholars for their pastoral warmth, can be purchased online. For works about Hus, the standard is Jan Hus: A Biography by Matthew Spinka, a native Bohemian Protestant.
Theolingo: Building Your Theological Vocabulary
Theolingo aims to help you expand your learning of important theological terms. This month’s term is apocalypse.
In today’s popular usage, the word apocalypse suggests a coming global catastrophe resulting in widespread destruction and the end of life on earth as we know it. But in the Bible the term is used in a broader, more nuanced, way. The word comes from the Greek apokalypsis (ἀποκάλυψις) meaning “unveiling” or “revelation.” The book of Revelation – the final book in the New Testament – is so called because it begins with the words: “The revelation of Jesus Christ.” The word “revelation” in this verse translates the Greek ἀποκάλυψις, so it could more woodenly read: “The apocalypse of Jesus Christ.” While the vision – the revelation, unveiling, apocalypse – that John received on Patmos certainly speaks of destruction and cosmic upheaval through wars, earthquakes, and plagues as God unleashes his just judgment on the world, it also anticipates renewal and purification. Biblically speaking – and contrary to modern assumptions – the apocalypse doesn’t usher in a dark, dystopian future but it brings glory and a new age of everlasting blessedness where peace, justice, and righteousness prevail. Like the Old Testament prophecies about the coming “Day of the Lord,” the apocalypse means judgment for the ungodly but salvation for God’s people looking to Jesus as their blessed hope. Come, Lord Jesus.
Quotes
A pre-Reformation commitment to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura can be detected in this quote from Jan Hus:
“… every Christian is expected to believe explicitly and implicitly all the truth which the Holy Spirit has put in Scripture, and in this way a man is not bound to believe the sayings of the saints which are apart from Scripture, nor should he believe papal bulls, except insofar as they speak out of Scripture, or insofar as what they say is founded in Scripture simply.” – Jan Hus
In a letter written less than two weeks before his execution, Hus’ sense of dependence upon God to display the courage of a martyr is made clear in this prayer:
“Oh most kind Christ, draw us weaklings after Thyself, for unless Thou draw us, we cannot follow Thee! Give us a courageous spirit that it may be ready; and if the flesh is weak, may Thy grace go before, now as well as subsequently. For without Thee, we can do nothing, and particularly not go to a cruel death for Thy sake. Give us a valiant spirit, a fearless heart, the right faith, a firm hope, and perfect love, that we may offer our lives for Thy sake with the greatest patience and joy. Amen.” – Jan Hus
In the years leading up to the American Revolutionary War, there were those in the colonies who supported fighting for independence and those who opposed it. On March 23, 1775, before the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry gave one of the most famous speeches urging independence, ending with the words: “Give me liberty or give me death!” It seems appropriate on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence to give a bit more of the context of his famous quote:
“They tell us, sir, that we are weak, unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Besides, sir, we have no [choice]. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged. Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable—and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, ‘Peace! Peace!’ but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” – Patrick Henry
Final Thought
The branch with the most fruit bows the lowest.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” – Philippians 2:3
