Archive for October 2018
Barrett’s Book Notes: Reformation works for scholarship and the church
It’s Reformation Day and although the 500 hundredth anniversary may have been last year, there are still loads of books to commend. Eric Landry and Michael S. Horton, eds. The Reformation Then and Now: 25 Years of Modern Reformation Articles Celebrating 500 Years of the Reformation. Hendrickson, 2017. If you’ve been around me very long,…
Read MoreAfter darkness, light: How Calvin saved the Reformation
Celebrations of the Reformation typically revolve around the larger-than-life reformer, Martin Luther. On this Reformation Day, however, I would like to wind the clock forward two decades after Luther posted his monumental 95 theses to a debate you may never have heard of before: the Reformation debate between John Calvin and Cardinal Jacopo Sadoleto. Return…
Read MoreGod’s Word Alone: A new Zondervan course with Matthew Barrett now on sale
God’s Word Alone is now available as a Zondervan Academic course. In this book and course, scholar and professor Matthew Barrett, editor of the Five Solas Series and executive editor of Credo Magazine, explores the historical and biblical roots of the doctrine that Scripture alone is the final and decisive authority for God’s people. The online…
Read MoreJoy and the Protestant Reformation
“I’m writing a book on joy and the Reformation.” His raised eyebrows were enough to tell me he was skeptical. “What’s joy got to do with the Reformation?” It was one of those questions that is really a statement. Joy is not something many people readily associate with the Protestant Reformation. Courage, yes. Controversy, yes.…
Read MoreLearning to Preach from the Reformers
Just as the gospel of justification by faith in Christ alone was the central message of the Reformation, so the preaching of the Word was central to the work of the Reformers. Like the Apostles, the Reformers gave themselves to the ministry of the Word. Preaching came to be recognized early in the Reformation as…
Read MoreThe Apostles and Sola Scriptura
We historic Protestants believe in Sola Scriptura—Scripture as the sole final authority for life and ministry.[1] But if that’s so, then the ultimate justification for our interpretative model and the theology it produces cannot be an idea or principle extraneous to the Bible.[2] Among other things, the ultimacy, and uniqueness of Scripture’s authority implies that…
Read MoreThe Reformation and Marriage
The family and marriage are under siege today. Meanwhile, there is a marked decline in church attendance. We know these two things, but perhaps we have not been sufficiently clear on is how the two go together, for the gospel and the family go hand in hand. Lose the gospel, and you lose the rationale…
Read MoreWhy Pastors Should Engage Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
In my study at church, just above my desk, hangs a wood-crafted plaque with older English words from 2 Tim 2:15: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The plaque formerly hung in the study of Gleason Archer, the well-known twentieth…
Read MoreLiving Sacrifice: The Christian Life as Death and Resurrection
Credo Magazine’s new issue has arrived: Holiness. The following is an excerpt from William Barcley’s article, Living Sacrifice: The Christian Life as Death and Resurrection. William Barcley is Senior Pastor of Sovereign Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Charlotte, NC, and Adjunct Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Secret of…
Read MoreUnion with Christ and Justification: New Podcast Episode with Michael Horton
What is the doctrine of union with Christ, and how does it relate to justification and sanctification? Does union with Christ encompass the entire order of salvation or only refer to a specific stage in the redemption process? How should we distinguish redemption accomplished and redemption applied? What eschatological aspects are present in justification? How does…
Read MoreUnion with Christ and Justification
What is the doctrine of union with Christ, and how does it relate to justification and sanctification? Does union with Christ encompass the entire order of salvation or only refer to a specific stage in the redemption process? How should we distinguish redemption accomplished and redemption applied? What eschatological aspects are present in justification? How does…
Read MoreRaising the Cross: What Rembrandt tells us about the Gospel
Typically when we think of the Reformation and the effect it had “art” is not usually something that comes to mind. However, the theology of the Reformation had a profound impact on art. In his book, How Should We Then Live?, Francis Schaeffer explains that “to say that the Reformation depreciated art and culture or that…
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