Tag: History

Reformation Day Reading

~ fundyreformed ~ 6 Comments

Happy Reformation Day!

This is the 491st anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenburg Church. Because of the printing press, this step by Luther was soon the spark that kindled the Reformation fires across much of Europe. And as Dan Phillips points out, if we enjoy the privilege of freely worshipping in a non-Catholic, Christian church of almost any Protestant denomination (or even no denomination), we have Martin Luther to thank. We don’t need to idolize Luther, however. Instead we can be thankful for God’s mercy in providing us with the Reformation and the blessings we still enjoy because of it.

Here is some reading for you this Reformation Day.

Calvinism by Fives

~ Bob Hayton ~ 10 Comments

Calvinism seems to spread by fives: five points, five solas, and I bet we could think of other groups of five. Five Reformation countries (Germany, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, England). Five key Reformers (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Huss, Wycliffe). Okay, I know Huss and Wycliffe came earlier….

As most good Calvinists, I know my fives. My TULIP and my Solas. Or do I? I’m starting to read a new book by Joel Beeke entitled Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism. I should mention that my copy is a review copy provided by Reformation Trust Publishing. (Click here for details on how to blog your way to a free Reformation Trust book).

As Beeke works through the history of Calvinism, I’ve learned quite a bit: even though I’m a Calvinist blogger! I learned that the five solas are best understood in light of their Roman Catholic counterparts, and that the five points of Calvinism were actually four. The points were the Synod of Dort’s response to 5 Arminian points, and were actually given in 4 groupings, with 2 of the points treated under one heading (since they were inseparably joined in the minds of the Calvinists).

To help all of you learn your fives, let me provide some excerpts from Beeke’s book that will explain more about these two groups of Calvinist High Fives.

The Protestant response to Roman Catholic abuses gradually settled into
five Reformation watchwords or battle cries, centered on the Latin word solus,
meaning “alone.” These battle cries, expounded in chapter 10, served to contrast
Protestant teaching with Roman Catholic tenets as follows:

Protestant Roman Catholic
Scripture alone (sola Scriptura) Scripture and tradition
Faith alone (sola fide) Faith and works
Grace alone (sola gratia) Grace and merit
Christ alone (solus Christus) Christ, Mary, and intercession of saints
Glory to God alone (soli Deo gloria) God, saints, and church hierarchy

[from Chapter 1: Calvinism in History: The Origins of Calvinism, pg. 5.]

Though these points do not represent all of Calvinism and are better regarded as Calvinism’s five answers to the five errors of Arminianism, they certainly lie at the heart of the Reformed faith, for they flow out of the principle of absolute divine sovereignty in the salvation of sinners. They may be summarized as follows:
1. Unconditional election and saving faith are sovereign gifts of God.
2. While the death of Christ is sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world, its saving efficacy is limited to the elect.
3–4. All people are so totally depraved and corrupted by sin that they cannot exercise free will toward, or effect any part of, salvation. In sovereign grace, God irresistibly calls and regenerates the elect to newness of life.
5. God graciously preserves the redeemed so that they persevere until the end, even though they may be troubled by many infirmities as they seek to make their calling and election sure.
Although the canons have only four sections, we speak of five points or heads of doctrine because the canons were structured to correspond with the five articles of the 1610 Remonstrance. The third and fourth sections were combined into one because the Dortian divines considered them to be inseparable and hence designed them as “Head of Doctrine III/IV”.

[from Chapter 2: Calvinism in History: Confessing the Faith, pg. 25-26]

Vern Poythress on the Christocentricity of Scripture

~ fundyreformed ~ 6 Comments

Dr. Vern Poythress of Westminster Seminary is an ardent advocate of Redemptive Historical interpretation. He recently contributed History of Salvation notes for the forthcoming ESV Study Bible. Crossway just released his article, Overview of the Bible: Survey of the History of Salvation, included at the front of the ESV Study Bible. I’d encourage everyone to read that brief article (3 1/2 pdf pages). Succinctly yet powerfully, Poythress covers the whole gamut of how the Bible works together as a whole in recording the History of Salvation, and highlighting the glory of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

The ESV Study Bible blog, points out a recent interview of Vern Poythress at the Beginning with Moses blog. I’ve read the first two parts, but the third is due on Monday. The questions and answers there are also worth your time. I especially like how Poythress concludes the second interview post:

It is not fashionable nowadays, but I confess that I do believe that every passage, and even every word, of the OT reflects Christ.

I’d encourage you to check out what Poythress says in connection with this claim. The whole of Scripture really is Christo-centric. Poythress’ notes are one of the main reasons I’m so excited about the new ESV Study Bible, by the way. In treating the Bible academically, we run the risk of forgetting that it is a living Book. We need to think when we read it, yes. But we also need to listen to the Holy Spirit. We can easily miss the forest for the trees, and Vern’s Salvation History notes will remind us of the major themes of Scripture as we battle over the meaning of each individual passage therein.

One last note: Poythress has many articles and even book available online for free at the website he jointly shares with his friend John Frame. Check out www.frame-poythress.org for some great, freely available, Christ-centered resources.

America — A Pagan Nation?

~ fundyreformed ~ 24 Comments

In the conclusion to my series on understanding the land promise made to Israel, I made the claim that America is just another secular, pagan nation. I’m not too surprised that someone objected to my claim. The idea that America is a Christian nation is a very common idea, but it is still misguided.

Yes, some godly people were involved in the founding of America. Most of our founders at least acknowledged God. But when they founded the nation, they founded a run-of-the-mill, secular nation. God made no promise in His Word about the founding of our nation. Our nation granted freedom of religion to non-Christian religions. The laws of our nation are secular laws, they do not come out of the pages of Deuteronomy.

But wait, some would say, didn’t our laws derive from Biblical principles? That may be, but they were still secular laws for a secular people. Excommunication from the church is never dished out by the secular state, here.

We may truly be thankful for the Christian, godly influence in the founding of our society. That may have given us advantages and blessings. But it does not constitute our country as uniquely created by God. We have no claims for God’s special favor. Like every other nation of men, we are accountable to obey God’s laws. And God ultimately is responsible for the authority our leaders have (Rom. 13).

Since America is just another secular nation, it should not surprise us when our country follows the whims and desires of fallen man. Christians in the era of pre-Christian Rome had a far worse society to deal with than we have. Roman senators openly kept mistresses and/or homosexual boys, Christianity was directly persecuted, and Bibles were illegal. Yet one will not find the Christians of that era complaining about how bad things were and how hard it was to be a Christian.

Today, however, Christians complain about how bad things are, and they long for the good old days, when America was truly a Christian place. However, America never was a Christian place. Morality apart from Christ is as heinous to God as immorality apart from Christ. A day where everyone saves face and looks good, while still being rebellious to God in their hearts, is not an age I want to return to. And I am at a loss to see how preventing homosexual marriage, and laws of this nature, do anything to “reclaim America for Christ”. The law is powerless to save.

We as Christians need to realize that we will always be in a world that hates us and in an environment that makes it hard for us to live for Christ. Always, until Jesus comes, that is.

And while I’m all for efforts to impact our culture for Christ, focusing on politics and political reforms often diverts us from the cause of the Gospel. It also blurs the distinction of Christianity in the eyes of the world. Rather than being known as those who prize the Gospel and love Christ, we are viewed as those who aim to foist our morality on the general public through whatever means possible.

Christianity is not a political party, nor a social club. American Christians, can’t ignore their global brothers and sisters. God is for America just as much as He is for Pakistan, North Korea, and every other nation where members of Christ’s body live. I’m not against being patriotic, but we must not pretend God is. We are citizens of a heavenly country, and just “passing through” this world, whatever earthly country we may dwell in.

Great Read on George Whitefield

~ fundyreformed ~ 1 Comment

I recently read an excellent overview of George Whitefield‘s life and influence.

Apparently, he surpasses Charles Spurgeon when it comes to his preaching and lasting influence. 80% of the population of the American colonies heard him preach at least once, and he also ministered extensively in the British Isles.

His prominence stems solely from his passionate commitment to Christ and the gospel, rather than from any books or organizations he left us. He was truly a servant of Christ.

In all the political thoughts, take time to focus on Christ. If you have a little bit of time, contemplate Whitefield.

Other resources for additional study include:

Picture borrowed from Wikipedia article on Whitefield.