Sola Scriptura - Scripture Alone

 After considering the Solas regarding Grace, Faith, and Christ, we come to the heart of the dispute between the Reformers and Rome, the question of authority. How do we know what we know in terms of God and His doctrine? For the Reformers, the very gospel was at stake in how this question is answered.

Sola Gratia - By Grace Alone

Over the next couple of weeks I will be publishing short articles which were written for a church newsletter..... This is the first in the Sola series. Unlike most of what I produce, these articles are brief and simple. In some cases I would say a great deal more and may in fact differ (to some extent) with what I've written. 

But the purpose was not to make an argument but rather to touch on the issues of historical theology and (at most) raise a few points of consideration.

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During the centuries we call the Middle Ages, the gospel was obscured, if not buried under a mountain of tradition and theology driven more by philosophy, than a faithful reflection of Scriptural teaching. While the New Testament teaches baptism and the Early Church clearly placed a great deal of stock in the Lord's Supper, over time these simple rites were transformed into complex rituals, and many more were added to the list. Repentance became confused with penances and to this was added pilgrimages, the veneration of relics, the cult of saints, and so much more. By the time we reach the Middle Ages, the gospel of grace taught in the New Testament was all but lost. The average Catholic believed that through the ministrations of the priests, the various rituals, and after a season of suffering in purgatory, they would at last be granted access to heaven and the Divine Presence. The gospel was no longer one of grace but of man-made works and the traditions of men.

The Rich Young Ruler, Law, and New Covenant Supremacy (I)

Not long ago I listened to a sermon on the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19 and I was struck by the difficulty the preacher seemed to have in dealing with the passage. I agree, there are some interpretive challenges but I think that often these difficulties are the result of theological baggage that's brought to the text.

Another Example of Progressive Orthodoxy

https://churcheswithoutchests.net/2025/03/13/the-imitation-of-christ/

I am pleased to note de Bruyn also offers some praise for the Theologia Germanica, another worthy pre-Reformation work.

But as I've often argued there's a problem with this approach to orthodoxy - it's progressive. Men like de Bruyn are willing to say that à Kempis and the anonymous author (the Friend of God from the Oberland) of the Theologia were Christians.

A PCA Take on Paedocommunion

https://gospelreformation.net/dear-pastor-may-my-child-take-the-lords-supper/

Spinnenweber is to be commended as he covers all the bases and his treatment of the subject is fair. Unfortunately his conclusions are completely wrong.

How Should Christians View Their Children?

https://jacobrcrouch.wordpress.com/2024/11/01/train-your-kids-to-be-christians/

There is much that is positive in this article and I do not doubt Crouch's sincerity nor do I wish to simply cast his comments in a negative light. Rather I wish to utilize them and discuss some of the tensions and inconsistencies that exist within the Reformed and Evangelical communities.

Churchill's Christian Civilization (II)

The Churchill Cult in the United States finds its most tangible expression in Fulton, Missouri the site of his famous speech. Though most people are unaware of this, a small London church (reconstructed by Wren after the 1666 fire) was dismantled in the 1960's and moved to Missouri and is a symbolic platform for the Churchill museum. In a kind of strange commemorative fusion it combines Churchill, Christianity and (it would seem) the call to take up arms in the Cold War.

The Ripples of Evangelical Collapse

Looking at a social media photo of members of our wider family circle (a network of relations connected by marriage) – I'm struck once again by the rapid fall of American Evangelicalism. The photo is of a mother, her daughters and their 'spouses'. One of the daughters stands boldly and unashamedly with another woman.