by Daniel Scheiderer If you could look below deck on a particular French ship during an eighteen-month period in the middle of the sixteenth-century, with the Reformation in Europe well underway, you may well have encountered a haggard man among the many from Scotland. Yes, this galley slave would be working as hard as others to row the ship, but he would also be sharing Scripture with the men and throwing idolatrous images of Mary overboard. John Knox was likely born in the year 1514 and was one of many to embrace the Reformation sweeping Europe. His initial role was […]

by Mike Miller John Calvin remains today a controversial figure in history. He was born at Noyon, France in 1509, and grew up in a Catholic home with his lawyer father who was possibly the treasurer for the church.  His mother would die when Calvin was young. He studied at the University of Paris to become a priest, but his father’s trouble in the church would force him to a career as a lawyer. The change of career path guided him to the University of Orleans where he studied law and read the classic Greek authors. He moved back to Paris […]

by Andrew Lindsey On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther—a monk, who was also a university professor in Bible and theology—posted the 95 Theses against indulgences on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The 95 Theses were originally written in Latin; these written assertions were intended to form the basis for debates among theological professors and church leaders. Two weeks after the 95 Theses were posted, however, some of Luther’s students translated the Theses into German and gave them to a printer. Soon, nearly everyone in Germany was discussing and debating the Theses. Within the 95 Theses, Luther questioned […]

by Daniel Scheiderer The Reformation was full of Latin terms, words like “simul justus et peccator” (at the same time just and sinner). In the previous post and this one, we are defining what are called the “Five Solas,” five Latin terms applied by Reformation theologians to summarized the major doctrinal differences between the Protestants and their Roman Catholic counterparts. Later historians and theologians have referred to the “formal” and “material” principles of the Reformation, “formal” referring to the source of doctrine and “material” to the doctrine itself. While the doctrine of “faith alone,” (sola fide) particularly in Christ alone […]

  by Matthew Tellis “For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification” -Romans 5:16  The doctrine of justification is the foundation of the Reformation. Understanding justification, biblically, was pivotal in Martin Luther’s challenge to the Roman Catholic Church, and it shaped the Protestant Reformation. The Roman Catholic view of justification relies heavily on one’s own works, but we can see plainly in Scripture that we cannot justify ourselves before God (Rom 3:10-18). Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. If, then, we cannot […]

In the 16th and 17th centuries, as they worked to enact changes that they had realized were crucial within the Church, the early Protestants came to understand that reformation is NOT a program that could be achieved simply through a right doctrinal statement and changing a handful of wrong practices. Rather, they came to understand the principle seen in the title of this post: Ecclesia semper reformanda est, “the Church is [to be] always reforming.” The Church, just as the individual members of which She is comprised, must constantly be looking into the Scriptures and reforming according to Scripture (James 1:25). Like […]

It is with great personal excitement that, in this edition of “Books Worth Reading,” I get to present you with a book on Martin Luther by my good friend, Andrew Lindsey. As many of you know, Andrew Lindsey was a member of Kosmosdale Baptist Church for approximately six years, and I have had the joy of sitting under his teaching ministry in our Aletheia Sunday School class in years past. Though Andrew has now moved to Atlanta, he is still using his gifts to serve the church at large. Specifically, Andrew has used his background in church history to produce […]

At the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention [SBC] this past June, there was a panel discussion with members from the SBC Calvinism Advisory Committee, which was headed by Drs. Frank Page and David Dockery. [Video from the panel discussion …

8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 T…

Luther on the singularity of the Gospel declared in Scripture:

“One should realize that there is only one gospel, but that it is described by many apostles.” (104)

“Just as there is no more than one Christ, so there is and may be no more than one gospel.” (105)

“The Old Testament declares the same Gospel of Jesus Christ:” (Jn. 5:39, 46; Acts 3:24; 17:11; I Pet. 1:10-12)

Martin Luther, “A Brief Introduction On What To Look For And Expect in the Gospels,” Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings, Timothy Lull, ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989)