Protestant Reformation | Samuel at Gilgal

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Vocation

Posted on Sunday, September 30, 2012 by Samuel

“For Christians to influence the world with the truth of God’s Word requires the recovery of the great Reformation doctrine of vocation. Christians are called to God’s service not only in church professions but also in every secular calling. The task of restoring truth to the culture depends largely on our laypeople.

To bring back truth, on a practical level, the church must encourage Christians to be not merely consumers of culture but makers of culture. The church needs to cultivate Christian artists, musicians, novelists, filmmakers, journalists, attorneys, teachers, scientists, business executives, and the like, teaching its laypeople the sense in which every secular vocation-including, above all, the callings of husband, wife, and parent–is a sphere of Christian ministry, a way of serving God and neighbor that is grounded in God’s truth. Christian laypeople must be encouraged to be leaders in their fields, rather than eager-to-please followers, working from the assumptions of their biblical worldview, not the vapid clichés of pop culture.”

Filed under: Bible, Christianity, God, J. Gresham Machen, Reformed Christian Topics, Worldview, Worship | Tagged: J. Gresham Machen, Protestant Reformation, Truth | Comments Off on Vocation

Reformation Day Is A Time For Christians To Celebrate!

Posted on Monday, October 31, 2011 by Samuel

If you are not familiar with Reformation Day, it celebrates the day that the Reformation began in Europe with Martin Lutherposting his 95 theses on the Wittenburg church door to protest the selling of indulgences on October 31, 1517. Little did he realize how his 95 theses would be used by God to change the world. His desire was to see the Catholic Church reform in terms of God’s Word. His intention was to begin a

Martin Luther

discussion with other teachers in the Catholic Church. Instead, Luther was used by God to begin a reformation of the church by returning to the foundation of Scripture alone. Scripture alone taught that salvation was not earned or sold by indulgences and grace was God’s alone to give.

Martin Luther is widely considered the father of the Protestant Reformation. As a monk, Luther struggled to find peace with God. He dedicated himself to fasting, flagellation, long hours in prayer, pilgrimage and constant confession. In all these rituals, he still did not find peace with God. Later, he was ordered to pursue an academic career and in doing so studied Scripture in-depth. In his studies as a Monk and university professor, Luther began to develop a sense that the Roman Church had abandoned several essential doctrines of the Christian faith; among these was what he considered to be the chief article of Christian Doctrine: Justification by Faith Alone (Sola Fide). This doctrine states that justification is entirely a work of God (monergism) and is received by men through faith in Jesus Christ. This runs contrary to the understanding taught by the Roman Church that justification is an act of coöperation between God and man (synergism).

The teachings of the Reformation are established upon Scripture alone. These doctrines are Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and all the glory to God alone. Salvation is only found by going to Christ, not by going through the motions of external obedience. The righteousness of Christ is received by faith alone. Christ’s righteousness, not ours, allows us to stand before a Holy and Just God. Christ alone is our sanctification and it is He who has paid the ransom price to purchase us from the consequences of sin and make us children of God.

One sola of the Reformation, “sola scripture”, includes emphasis on the implementation of the entire Bible in our living out our lives. We can celebrate on Reformation Day the same truth that Luther rediscovered then: that salvation is by faith alone through grace alone.

Huldrych Zwingli

History records that Luther, Calvin and other reformers were not greeted with open arms in appreciation for their work. In fact, they faced much opposition. Many were martyred for holding to reformation principles. Let us mention three of the most well-known men here:

Huldrych Zwingli was a contemporary of Martin Luther and the leader of the Swiss Reformation. Although much less recognized, Zwingli was developing many of the same conclusions concurrently with Luther. Zwingli was killed in a battle against the Roman Cantons at Kappel am Albis in October of 1851.

John Calvin is the much celebrated father of Calvinism and much of what we now call Reformed Christian theology. While, today, Calvin is often singled out for his teachings on election and predestination, most of the earlier reformers held to this view as well. The overarching theme of Calvin’s teaching was an emphasis on the sovereignty of God, or that God is absolutely sovereign in all things. His book, Institutes of the Christian Religion, and his commentaries on the books of the Bible are still used today (especially by me!).

John Knox was the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland and a student and contemporary of John Calvin. Prior to his instruction in Geneva, he was an influential reformer in the Church

John Knox

of England. During one of his frequent exiles he settled in Geneva where he was instructed in the particulars of Calvin’s Reformed theology and Presbyterian church government. Upon returning to Scotland, he was influential in the Scottish Reformation and in creating the Kirk (now Church of Scotland), instituted after Scotland’s break with Rome in 1560.

While the Reformation continues to have profound and lasting impacts on the political, economic, social, literary, and artistic aspects of modern society, it is at its heart a religious movement. The Reformation was the great rediscovery of the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

The truth of the gospel — is that God offers forgiveness and salvation not because of what we do, but because of what Christ has already done for us. The Holy Spirit used Martin Luther to restore the gospel to its rightful place as the cornerstone doctrine of Christianity. Martin Luther and the other reformers came to understand that if we sinners had to earn salvation by our own merits and good works, we would be lost and without hope. However, through the working of the Holy Spirit, the reformers rediscovered the truth of Scripture.

Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Church, Church Leadership, Faith, Grace, History, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Living Life, Philosophy, Prayer, Preaching, Theology | Tagged: Catholic Church, Christianity, Holy Spirit, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Luther, Protestant Reformation, Reformation Day | Comments Off on Reformation Day Is A Time For Christians To Celebrate!

Leaders Of The Protestant Reformation

Posted on Friday, October 30, 2009 by Samuel

Research by ChristopherBarnette.com:

Martin Luther

Martin Luther is widely considered the father of the Protestant Reformation and of Protestantism itself. In his studies as a Monk and university professor, Luther began to develop a sense that the Roman Church had abandoned several essential doctrines of the Christian faith; among these was what he considered to be the chief article of Christian Doctrine: Justification by Faith Alone (Sola Fide). This doctrine states that justification is entirely a work of God (monergism) and is received by men through faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah alone. This runs contrary to the understanding espoused by the Roman Church that justification is an act of cooperation between God and man (synergism). In addition to the 95 Theses, Luther also translated the Scriptures into the vernacular (that is, from Latin to German), authored several instructional materials and catechisms, and founded what is now known as the Lutheran Church.

Huldrych Zwingli

Huldrych Zwingli was a contemporary of Martin Luther and the leader of the Swiss Reformation. Although much less recognized, Zwingli was developing many of the same conclusions concurrently with Luther. In fact, he rejected the Roman Catholic priesthood only a few short years after Luther. Although very similar in much of their doctrine, Zwingli and Luther differed greatly on the issue of the Eucharist. While Luther strongly affirmed the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Zwingli taught a strictly memorial understanding of the sacrament. Zwingli was killed in a battle against the Roman Cantons at Kappel am Albis in October of 1851.

John Calvin

John Calvin is the much celebrated and almost equally maligned father of Calvinism and much of what we now call Reformed Christian theology. While Calvin is singled out for his teachings on election and predestination, he was hardly an innovator in the area as many of the earlier reformers held similar views. The overarching theme of Calvin’s teaching was an emphasis on the sovereignty of God, or that God is absolutely sovereign in all things. His book Institutes of the Christian Religion and voluminous commentaries on the books of the Bible are still widely used as instructional tools today. In addition to his enormous doctrinal contributions, Calvin also founded the Academy of Geneva (now the University of Geneva) and the Collège Calvin, opened a hospital for the indigent, and laid the foundation for many Reformed and Presbyterian Churches.

John Knox

John Knox was the leader of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland and a student and contemporary of John Calvin. Prior to his instruction in Geneva, he was an influential reformer in the Church of England, serving under King Edward VI and introducing reformed modifications to the newly released Book of Common Prayer. During one of his frequent exiles he settled in Geneva where he was instructed in the particulars of Calvin’s Reformed theology and Presbyterian church government. Upon returning to Scotland, he was influential in the Scottish Reformation and in creating the Kirk (now Church of Scotland), instituted after Scotland’s break with Rome in 1560. Knox’s Kirk was responsible for several social reforms in Scotland and he is recognized as the father of the Presbyterian Church.

Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Church, Education, History | Tagged: Catholic Church, Christianity, Church of Scotland, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, John Knox, Martin Luther, Protestant Reformation | Comments Off on Leaders Of The Protestant Reformation

Who Is The Founder Of America?

Posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 by Samuel

John Calvin

Quoting Loraine Boettner:

‘If the average American citizen were asked, who was the founder of America, the true author of our great Republic, he might be puzzled to answer. We can imagine his amazement at hearing the answer given to this question by the famous German historian, Ranke, one of the profoundest scholars of modern times. Says Ranke, ‘John Calvin was the virtual founder of America.”

D’Aubigne, whose history of the Reformation is a classic, writes: ‘Calvin was the founder of the greatest of republics. The Pilgrims who left their country in the reign of James I, and landing on the barren soil of New England, founded populous and mighty colonies, were his sons, his direct and legitimate sons; and that American nation which we have seen growing so rapidly boasts as its father the humble Reformer on the shore of Lake Leman.’

Dr. E. W. Smith says, ‘These revolutionary principles of republican liberty and self-government, taught and embodied in the system of Calvin, were brought to America, and in this new land where they have borne so mighty a harvest were planted, by whose hands? – the hands of the Calvinists. The vital relation of Calvin and Calvinism to the founding of the free institutions of America, however strange in some ears the statement of Ranke may have sounded, is recognized and affirmed by historians of all lands and creeds.’

All this has been thoroughly understood and candidly acknowledged by such penetrating and philosophic historians as Bancroft, who far though he was from being Calvinistic in his own personal convictions, simply calls Calvin ‘the father of America,’ and adds: ‘He who will not honor the memory and respect the influence of Calvin knows but little of the origin of American liberty.’