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The Reformation and the Men Behind It
Steven J. Lawson, DMin
The Protestant Reformation stands as the most far reaching, world-changing display of God’s grace since the birth and early expansion of the church.
What is Reformation Day?
Stephen J. Nichols, PhD
A single event by a single person on a single day changed the world. It was October 31, 1517.
Here I Stand: The Foundation of Gospel Truth
Robb Brunanski, PhD
Our world had been shrouded in the darkness of Roman Catholicism for nearly a thousand years, with little access to the Word of God and an increasingly perverted “gospel” being proclaimed. Along came a monk named Martin Luther!
Classic Articles & Resources on Reformed Theology
Various Authors
A truly massive sampling of some of the best resources on Reformed Theology posted on Monergism.com (a highly recommended website)!
The Verse of the Reformation
Josh Buice
Many people have images of this angry monk named Luther making his way to the castle door in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517, to nail the 95 Theses as an open rebuke and challenge to the Roman Catholic Church. That’s not exactly how it all happened.
The Ninety-Five Theses in Their Theological Significance
Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield
“A poor peasant’s son, then a diligent student, an humble monk, and, finally, a modest, industrious scholar, Martin Luther had already exceeded the half of the life-time allotted to him, when—certainly with the decision characteristic of him, but with all the reserve imposed by his position in life and the immediate purpose of his action—he determined to subject the religious conceptions which lay at the basis of the indulgence-usages of the time to an examination in academic debate.” (Kalkoff)
Resources on Martin Luther
Various Scholars
Links to online books on the life of Martin Luther. Some are quite long, but these are great resources!
Martin Luther's Biblical Commentary: New Testament
Erik H. Herrmann, PhD
Luther’s exposition of the Bible was not only fundamental to his academic vocation, it also stood at the very center of his reforming work. Through his interpretation of the NT, Luther came to new understanding of the gospel, expressed most directly in the apostle Paul’s teaching on justification.
A Reformation Potpourri
Various Scholars
Covering a wide range of topics on the Reformation, most of these links are to well written, though lengthly, online books! Recommended especially for researchers!
The Five Solas
These five statements of the evangelical faith lay at the center of what distinguished the theology of the Reformation from the theology of the Roman Catholic church in the 16th century. Sola scriptura is the belief that because Scripture is God’s inspired Word, it is the only inerrant, sufficient, and final authority for the church. Sola gratia proclaims that all of our salvation, from beginning to end, is by grace and grace alone. Sola fide maintains that the believer receives the redemption Christ has accomplished only through faith. Solus Christus is the assertion that Christ alone is the basis on which the ungodly are justified in God’s sight. Because of these things, the Reformers held fast to the phrase soli Deo gloria, that only God receives glory for our salvation.
Why Luther is Not Quite Protestant
The Logic of Faith in a Sacramental Promise
Phillip Cary
John Calvin honored Luther as a pioneer of the Reformation, whose work was completed by those following after him who were not so entangled in the old ways of the medieval church. Ever afterwards many Protestants have regarded Luther as not fully Protestant, certainly not as consistently Protestant as Calvin. This is a reasonable judgment. There are a number of points, most prominently in his sacramental theology, where Luther is closer to Catholicism than the Reformed tradition ever gets. This of course makes Luther ecumenically very interesting, a possible bridge between sundered territories of the Christian church. For one who is not fully Protestant may by the same token be less one-sidedly Protestant.
How Faith is Not a Work
Phillip Cary
Presented to the Eastern Theological Society, November 2005.
“The title of my talk points to a problem that I’ve thought about ever since I was in high school—it once motivated much of my thinking about theology. But in recent years I’ve largely forgotten about it—I no longer ask this particular question much—because the answer to the question was really more like changing the subject than like answering it.”
Five Questions for Five Solas
Jesse Johnson
The gospel preached by the Apostles and attested to by the resurrection was so clear and compelling that the first years of the church were marked by rapid growth. It seemed that the church really would turn the world upside down. However, through the incursion of error, the politicization of the church, and the mysticism of the Catholic magisterium, by the middle ages a cloud of darkness settled over the truths of the New Testament.
By the 1100s, people in Europe could no longer read the Scriptures; there were few (if any) gospel teaching churches, and it appeared that the darkness of man-made religion had permanently eclipsed the truth of the gospel.
The Protestant Reformation (I): The German Movement
Steven J. Lawson, DMin
October 31, 1517 is a pivotal date in church history, a signature day in which the course of human events dramatically turned. It was on that date than an unknown Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the front door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
The Protestant Reformation (II): The French & Swiss Movements
Steven J. Lawson, DMin
T.M. Lindsay has written, “If a reformation be judged by its later consequences rather than by its beginnings, the movement begun in Switzerland was even more important than that which had Wittenberg for its centre.”
The Protestant Reformation (III): The Scottish Movement
Steven J. Lawson, DMin
The brushfire of the Reformation that first ignited Germany soon spread like wildfire to both France and Switzerland. Its flames quickly leaped the English Channel, and Reformation fires engulfed the British Isles. Scotland and England were, suddenly, ablaze with the truth.
The Protestant Reformation (IV): The Dutch Movement
Steven J. Lawson, DMin
As the Reformation spread on the European continent, it soon came to the Netherlands. What Calvin taught made strong inroads into the country and appeared to the Dutch as biblical truth. It was the high theology and the lofty truths of Scripture that led them to revolt against the domination of the Pope.
What Would a New Reformation Look Like?
Steven J. Lawson, DMin
For those of us who love the church, our deepest longing in this day is for God to put His glory on display in the unleashing of a new Reformation among His people. Our heart-felt desire is that we would see God usher in another history-altering movement to His church, one that would dramatically reform and restore His bride to a biblical pattern.
The Reformers
Various Authors
Presented here are 2546 excellent resources on The Reformers. This truly massive collection is in various formats, including PDF files, MP3 audio files, MP4 video files, and web pages and can be downloaded to your computer for further research.
The Gospel of the Reformation
William Webster
John MacArthur, writes: “This book is written in a gracious and irenic tone, utterly devoid of the kind of uncharitable invective and fiery emotion that have soured so many against most discussions of Catholic–Protestant differences. Webster makes his arguments with clarity, with biblical precision, and with an evident love for those with whom he disagrees. That is why this is such a powerful book.”
Reformation Essentials: Five Pillars of the Reformation
Michael S. Horton, PhD
In May 1989, a conference jointly sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School was held at the Trinity campus in Illinois. Dubbed a consultation on Evangelical Affirmations, the meeting revealed more than it settled.
The Reformed Faith
Loraine Boettner
Salvation is accomplished by the power of the Triune God. The Father chose a people, the Son died for them, the Holy Spirit makes Christ’s death effective by bringing the
elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the gospel. The entire process (election, redemption, regeneration) is the work of God and is by grace alone. Thus God, not man, determines who will be the recipients of the gift of salvation.
The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination
Loraine Boettner
The purpose of this book is not to set forth a new system of
theological thought, but to give a re-statement to that great system which is known as the Reformed Faith or Calvinism, and to show that this is beyond all doubt the teaching of the Bible and of reason. This is a 432-page online book. Excellent!
Elders at the Reformation
Vern Poythress, ThD
What are the important milestones for the Reformation? Traditionally, we date the beginning of the Reformation from Oct. 31, 1517, the day Martin Luther set out his ninety-five theses. That day was indeed a watershed. But we can also point to the importance of several other milestones. The pope excommunicated Luther on Jan. 3, 1521. On April 18, 1521, Luther declared his stance before the Diet of Worms. All three of these events were dramatic, capturing the attentions and imaginations of thousands down to the present day.
Preaching the Reformation
Various Authors
This issue of Beeson magazine (2017) commemorates the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. As
a school that trains “pastors who can preach,” we are
particularly interested in the Reformation’s influence
on preaching. The theme for this year’s issue is
“Preaching the Reformation.”
History of the Reformation in the 16th Century
Charles R. Biggs
The history of the Reformation should be of interest not only to Christians, but to the whole world. For the Reformation of the 16th century was nothing less that the restoration and reestablishment of the gospel hope of primitive Christianity.
The Manifesto of the Reformation—Luther vs. Erasmus on Free Will
Lee Gatiss
The clash between Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus over the issue of free will is ‘one of the most famous exchanges in western intellectual history.’ Examines the background to the quarrel between these two professors, and two of the central themes of Luther’s response to Erasmus—the clarity of Scripture and the bondage of the will.
Introduction to the Reformed Faith
John M. Frame, DD
This is only an “introduction” to the Reformed Faith, rather than an in-depth analysis. The in-depth analysis is to be found in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechisms, also the “three forms of unity” of the continental European Reformed churches: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Canons of Dordt.
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