Reeves and Chester have distilled the Reformation into its most basic distinctives and presented vital biblical doctrines within their historical context in a way that is informative and interesting, accurate and accessible, educational and edifying. The final product is a book, a little over 200 pages, that will feed the soul of Christians who are already well grounded in Reformation history, and inform the minds of the believers who only recently heard the word “Reformation” for the first time.

Over five hundred years ago, a young Augustinian monk, disturbed about the Roman Catholic Church’s many pastoral abuses and doctrinal aberrations, nailed to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, a list of topics he wanted to debate with the local religious authorities. Although he didn’t realize it at the time, Martin Luther’s “95 Theses” would serve as the catalyst for a theological and ecclesiastical upheaval within Europe that would transform churches and whole communities around the world. By returning to the Scriptures as the fount of divine knowledge and rediscovering the doctrine of justification by faith, Martin Luther and those who followed in his footsteps opened a gateway of truth and life to those who had long walked in error and death.

Celebrating Our Heritage

This year we celebrate the Reformation’s Quincentennial. We celebrate the Reformation, not as something to be praised as the mere work of men, but as a means God used to re-establish the truth of the gospel among His people and around the world. Luther’s rediscovery of the Bible and of the doctrine of justification gave birth to churches and leaders who, in turn, sought to spread this life-giving doctrine as far and wide as possible.

I am grateful to serve in a church that is the fruit of the Reformation and the Spirit-empowered labor of pastors and theologians who gave their lives to defending and proclaiming vital Reformation truths. Our doctrines of Scripture, salvation, and God’s sovereignty, in particular, all have their roots in the Christ-centered theology that was re-discovered in Europe several centuries ago.

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