Tag: Luther

  • The Reformers Didn’t Go Far Enough

    The magisterial Reformers of the Protestant Reformation, men like Calvin, Luther, and Knox, were used mightily by God to restore the preeminence of Scripture and to declare every precept and doctrine taken directly from the Word of God which itself stands as the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith, morality, and praxis.…

  • A Rejoinder to Reformed Presbyterians and Reformed Baptists

    Saints, for 20 years I’ve had only Presbyterians giving me hate, denigrating me, belittling me, ridiculing me, mocking me, being dismissive and haughty and insisting I am not Reformed. I finally got so sick of the abuse. I reached a breaking point, and that was the catalyst for my recent blog article on being Reformed.…

  • A Response to Reformed Presbyterians: Semper Reformanda

    Background The sine qua non of Reformed theology is soteriology. Covenant theology and certain types of eschatology are not essential core distinctives. Sadly, the majority of Reformed Presbyterians seem to be so bigoted and locked into their infantile theological cliques that they look down upon and refuse to recognize believers such as Reformed Baptists as…

  • Sola Scriptura: Defined and Defended – A Study in Authority Structures

    Background Sola Scriptura, Latin for Scripture Alone, is part of the 5 Solas of the Protestant Reformation. They are a cornerstone of Reformed theology. Sola Scriptura simply means that Scripture is our highest authority in matters of faith and morals. As this statement implies, there are other lesser authorities, but they are always subordinate to…

  • How should we worship God? RPW vs NPW

    Background The RPW (regulative principle of worship) is deeply flawed and problematic. It holds that everything which is not explicitly commanded or practiced in Scripture is forbidden. I believe it is overly restrictive, and the way many employ it is legalistic. I favor the NPW (normative principle of worship) over the RPW. Anything which is…

  • Justification: On What Basis?

    Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Romans 5:1 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of…

  • The Glorious Protestant Reformation: Some Thoughts on Reformation Day

    On this day, October 31st, in the year of our Lord, 1517, an Augustinian friar (monk) in the Roman Catholic church, Martin Luther (1483-1546), who was also a theologian, priest, and a professor at the University at Wittenberg, nailed his 95 theses, which were theological problems he saw with Catholic theology as well as practices…

  • Early Church Fathers and the question of authority

    As I see it, Scripture confers no special status to the so-called Early Church Fathers. As such their theological opinions should be judged against the Scriptures and they should not be given substantial weight when interpreting Scripture. They were closer to the Apostolic age and may well have some insights into certain matters, but their…

  • Reformed vs Catholic: determining doctrine

    “The Bible claims to be the sole and sufficient infallible rule of faith for the Christian church. The Scriptures are not in need of any supplement; their authority comes from their nature as God-breathed revelation; their authority is not dependent upon man, church, or council. The Scriptures are self-consistent, self-interpreting, and self-authenticating. The Christian church…

  • Bach and Theology: Was Bach and his music anti-Semitic or anti-Judaic?

    Baroque composer primus inter pares J.S. Bach was a man of the deep and profound Christian faith. He believed the chief aim of music is to glorify God. Bach would write on his musical manuscripts: SDG, Soli Deo Gloria – To God Alone the Glory, and JJ, Jesu Juva – Jesus Help. The topic of…