Faith Alone---The Doctrine of Justification


Book Description

Renowned biblical scholar Thomas Schreiner looks at the historical and biblical roots of the doctrine of justification and offers an updated defense of this pillar of Reformed theology. Reinvigorating one of the five great declarations of the Reformation—sola fide—Schreiner: Summarizes the history of the doctrine, looking at the early church and the writings of several of the Reformers. Walks readers through an examination of the key biblical texts in the Old and New Testament that support the Reformed understanding of justification. Discusses whether justification is transformative or forensic and introduces readers to some of the contemporary challenges to the Reformation teaching of sola fide, with particular attention to the new perspective on Paul. Five hundred years after the Reformation, the doctrine of justification by faith alone still needs to be understood and proclaimed. In Faith Alone you will learn how the rallying cry of “sola fide” is rooted in the Scriptures and how to understand this doctrine in a fresh way. —THE FIVE SOLAS— Historians and theologians have long recognized that at the heart of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation were five declarations, often referred to as the "solas." These five statements summarize much of what the Reformation was about, and they distinguish Protestantism from other expressions of the Christian faith: that they place ultimate and final authority in the Scriptures, acknowledge the work of Christ alone as sufficient for redemption, recognize that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, and seek to do all things for God’s glory. The Five Solas Series is more than a simple rehashing of these statements, but instead expounds upon the biblical reasoning behind them, leading to a more profound theological vision of our lives and callings as Christians and churches.




Peter Martyr Vermigli and the European Reformations: Semper Reformanda


Book Description

This collection of essays on Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) not only demonstrate his shaping influence on Reformed Protestantism, but also illuminates some of his more important and provocative contributions to the various Reformations in sixteenth-century Europe, both Catholic and Protestant.




Ecclesia Semper Reformanda


Book Description

This volume is the fruit of the eleventh Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology (LEST XI) which was organized by Leuven's Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies from 11-14 October, 2017. On the occasion of the five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, this conference focused on the ongoing need for the renewal and reform of the Churches, a desideratum encapsulated in the well-known adage, Ecclesia semper reformanda. The quest for such renewal constitutes a challenge for theologians of all confessional traditions. This volume focuses particularly on the themes and topics that were at the forefront of the theological controversies which raged during the transitional period between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, some of which are still unresolved. Part I focuses on the foundations of theology, viz. Scripture, tradition(s), and/or reason. Part II investigates the important theological issues that have their roots in the Reformation Era, including the tensile relationship between sin, grace, free will, justification and sanctification, and the controversies related to the Eucharist, including the notion of sacrifice. Part III examines democratization and leadership structures in the Church. Part IV explores what a historically-informed awareness can contribute to an ecumenically-oriented reflection on the renewal and reform of the Church today.




Just Do Something


Book Description

Hyper-spiritual approaches to finding God's will don't work. It's time to try something new: Give up. Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or-even worse-they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting...waiting...waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction. But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like. No need for hocus-pocus. No reason to be directionally challenged. Just do something.




Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformanda


Book Description

The European Theology Teachers' Convention (ETTC), held every second year, attracts Adventist scholars from all over Europe, including Russia and Lebanon. This meeting held at Newbold College of Higher Education (Binfield, UK) 25-29 March 2015, centred around one of the leading thoughts of the Reformers: Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda. Reformation should never stop but rather be a never-ending process. It implies deconstruction and reconstruction of methodologies, of paradigms, and of practices. The present book includes nine presentations, covering the fields of biblical studies, systematic and pastoral theology.




Always Reforming


Book Description

A collection of essays mines the whole terrain of systematic theology to refresh, renew, and reform the church for its next season, featuring contributions from senior theologians like Gerald Bray, Henri Blocher, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, and Stephen Williams among others. Original.







Semper Reformanda


Book Description

The chapters in this volume contribute to recent scholarship exploring the reform of worship as a central feature of Protestant communities at their inception and through the ages. Case studies ranging from sixteenth-century Geneva and its environs to the early modern Netherlands and South Asia to nineteenth-century America provide a corrective to traditional depictions of Reformed worship as a static, sober, interior, and largely individual experience focused on the sermon. The key moments in the broad stream of Reformed worship traditions analysed by an international team of experts yield collectively an image of the adaptive and negotiated character of worship attitudes and practices over time and in varied cultural settings. The contributions examine the phenomenon of worship in broadly construed ways and from angles ranging from ritual studies, liturgical innovation, material culture, and social impact. A second »red thread« running through the volume concerns the material, sensory, emotional, and experiential dimensions of Reformed religious culture. Worship emerges as both a site of conflict and renewal in Reformed traditions, inspiring not only confrontations and debates but also fruitful engagements that stimulated and continue to invite reflection on this critical category of Reformed faith traditions, self-understandings, and cultural impact.




The Problem with Evangelical Theology


Book Description

There is no doubting the legacy of the Protestant Reformers and their successors. Luther, Calvin, and Wesley not only spawned specific denominational traditions, but their writings have been instrumental in forging a broadly embraced evangelical theology as well. In this volume, Ben Witherington wrestles with some of the big ideas of these major traditional theological systems (sin, God's sovereignty, prophecy, grace, and the Holy Spirit), asking tough questions about their biblical foundations. Witherington argues that evangelicalism sometimes wrongly assumes a biblical warrant for some of its more popular beliefs, and, further, he pushes the reader to engage the larger story and plot of the Bible to understand these central elements of belief. --Donald K. McKim, Editor, Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith




Sacred Mysteries


Book Description

'Sacred Mysteries' opens by reflecting on the continual process of reform in the church and on the foundational principles for all liturgical action. It then moves to a discussion of each of the sacraments, with particular reference to the way they are ritualized in the assembly. A final chapter addresses practices that can cloud the experience of mystery during liturgical celebrations and thus inhibit rather than enhance the power of the rite.