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The Heart of the Reformation :: The Weekend Reading List

On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther, then a Catholic Priest, pounded his 95 Theses to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Posting topics for debate on the church door was commonplace, and wouldn’t have felt monumental that particular day, but Luther’s confrontation of Catholicism would ultimately spark the Protestant Reformation.
While we want to fasten on the Word, we also want to show how we’re part of a chain in history that goes back, and back, and back. We’re not trying to be so innovative that we’re the first generation to get it all right. — D.A. Carson

Reading the language of Luther, John Calvin, and the other Reformers can be disheartening today. In addition to calling the Pope the “antichrist,” Calvin also hurled names like “pigs,” “riffraff,” and “asses” at his opponents.

“When you read Luther and Calvin, a lot of their polemical statements, a lot of the ways in which they talk about the Papacy, and so-on, you look at them and say, ‘you shouldn’t talk that way,’” concludes Timothy Keller. “But that was a different situation… It was life-and-death.”

The tension of orthodoxy and ecumenicism is the foundation for understanding how the Reformation affects faith today. In an article on the tendency to overuse the label “heretic,” Episcopal Priest Justin Holcomb observes, “We may be tempted to think that since theology so easily divides, we are better off simply agreeing to disagree.”
We must remember that the sum of what Christians should believe is not identical to the essentials we must believe for salvation. We need to leave room for believers to grow in their understanding of the faith. We believe in justification by faith in Christ, not justification by accuracy of doctrine. We are saved by grace, not by intellectual precision. — Justin Holcomb

This doesn’t mean the abandonment of disciplined and thoughtful faith, however. Holcomb reminds, “In order to love God aright, and to be assured of the salvation he offers, we must know who God is and what he has done for us in and through Jesus Christ.”

Modern believers won’t handle the relationship between the Protestant and Catholic Churches the same (even Dr. Keller admits, “I don’t own all that rhetoric”), but we can grow in our understanding of the gospel through the words of the Reformers.
The reason we believe the Reformation is so important is because we think they did get the Bible right. You had a massive movement in which people sought to look at Scripture and find out what the biblical gospel truly was. — Timothy Keller
Integrating the gospel-centrality of the Reformation with a humble and winsome unity with Christians from various theological backgrounds is critical today. And there may be greater opportunity as Protestant support of the Pope soars. For his part, Pope Francis has extended an olive branch. In a letter to Evangelicals and Catholics in Chicago the Pope writes:

We know that the visible unity of the Church is the work and gift of the Holy Spirit, who will bring it about in His time… The division among Christians is the fruit of our sin, and it is a scandal and our greatest impediment for the mission for which the Lord has called us: announcing the Good News of the Gospel.

Today, the blood of the many Christians slaughtered in diverse parts of the world cries out to heaven. The one that persecutes does not make a mistake, he doesn’t ask if they are Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox… they are Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, and that is enough. This blood challenges us: Do we have the right to make our divisions a priority while the blood of our brothers is shed for the testimony of Jesus Christ?

This is the moment of reconciliation, to accept “the unity in reconciled diversity,” an expression of Oscar Cullman. We know very well what divides us, let us be more strengthened in what unites us: the common faith in Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Savior, the Word of God, and Baptism. — Pope Francis

Luther’s intention wasn’t division, but renewal. The heart of the Reformation is the recovery of the gospel, inside the Church, for the good of the world. The Reformers teach us that waywardness in the Church — whether theological heresy or structural division — is overcome by the work of Christ, and that by joining this work we plant seeds of faith for future generations.

Today’s Reading
2 Kings 11-12 (Listen – 7:38 )
2 Timothy 2 (Listen – 3:17)

This Weekend’s Readings
2 Kings 13 (Listen – 4:33) 2 Timothy 3 (Listen – 2:21)
2 Kings 14 (Listen – 5:06) 2 Timothy 4 (Listen – 2:48)

The Weekend Reading List

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How to be Filled with the Spirit :: Throwback Thursday

2 Timothy 7, 14

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control… By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.

By Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)

Any holiness teaching or any doctrine of sanctification which begins by saying, ‘Now about getting rid of that particular sin of yours,’ is in itself starting in the wrong way. The scriptural method is positive; the way to deal with these things is to be filled with the Spirit.

The scriptural way of dealing with them is to clarify our thinking about these various sins, and it says: Can you not see that those things are incompatible with this great truth? If you want to avoid the pestilences and diseases that arise out of the swamps down in the valleys, the best thing to do is to walk to the top of the mountain.

Far too often, it seems to me, we tend to think of being filled with the Spirit in mechanical terms. The idea seems to be conjured up in our minds of an empty vessel and of something being poured into it. But clearly that must be wrong, because the Holy Spirit is not an influence, nor a power. We must not think of him in terms of electricity or of steam, for the Holy Spirit is a Person; he is described everywhere in the Scriptures in a personal manner. So when we think of being filled with the Spirit what we really mean is that the blessed Person of the Holy Spirit is controlling us, dominating and influencing us.

We often speak about being ‘full of life’. Or we say of certain people that at the moment they are really full of something. When a man becomes interested in some special person he is absolutely full of that person. It does not mean that the person is poured into him, but it does mean that the person is controlling his thoughts, his desires, and his activities, dominating the whole of his life and especially his thoughts. He is thus under the influence of and is being mastered by that person.

Most of the excesses and errors into which people have fallen with regard to this doctrine of being filled with the Spirit are almost invariably due to the fact that they think of the Spirit as some force or power that can be injected or transfused into us, instead of thinking of him in terms of this relationship to the Person who has been given to us and who dwells with us.

*Excerpt from “Growing in the Spirit.” Republished in The Assurance Of Our Salvation: Exploring The Depth Of Jesus’ Prayer For His Own: Studies In John 17, Crossway Books, 2015.

Today’s Reading
2 Kings 10 (Listen – 6:30)
2 Timothy 1 (Listen – 2:37)
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Infinite Happiness

1 Timothy 6.17

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

*Editor’s Note: Today we hear the voice of Robert Murray M’Cheyne. (The Park Forum’s Scripture reading plan is based off his design.) In this sermon from 1848, M’Cheyne affirms our life in Christ as much as he rebukes our love for the world.

By Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813-1843)

We know very little of God; but we know that he is infinitely happy. You cannot add to his happiness, nor take from it. The Bible shows that his happiness mainly consists in giving, not in receiving:
  1. His giving food to all creatures is very wonderful — not one sparrow is forgotten before God.
  2. He gives to the wicked: “He makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust.” Just think for a moment how many thousands God feeds every day who blaspheme his name, and profane his Sabbaths.
  3. But, most of all, he gave his own Son. Although he was emptying his own bosom, yet he would not keep back the gift.

Now, some of you pray night and day to be made like God: If you will be like him, be like him in giving. It is God’s chief happiness, be like him in it. [And yet, you will object:]

My money is my own.

Christ might have said, My blood is my own, my life is my own; no man forces it from me: then where should we have been?

Would you have me give to wicked people, who will go and abuse it?

Christ might have said the same, with far greater truth. Christ knew that thousands would trample his blood under their feet; that most would despise it; that many would make it an excuse for sinning more; yet he gave his own blood.

God gives to wicked people, who go and abuse it; yet that does not diminish his happiness. God makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and pours down rain on the just and on the unjust.

Oh, my dear Christians! if you would be like Christ, give much, give often, give freely, to the vile and the poor, the thankless and the undeserving. Christ is glorious and happy, and so will you be. It is not your money I want, but your happiness. Remember his own word: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

*Abridged and language updated from Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s sermon, More Blessed To Give Than To Receive.

Today’s Reading
2 Kings 9 (Listen – 6:32)
1 Timothy 6 (Listen – 3:16)
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True Minimalism

1 Timothy 5.6

She who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.

“Materialism is the other person’s disease,” quips sociologist Juliet Schor. Over 80% of Americans believe people are too materialistic. Yet Schor’s research shows that drastically fewer people believe this is a problem for themselves, their own family, or friends.

Recent research has revealed the words of 1 Timothy 5 — dying while living — to be an apt metaphor for the effects of materialism. A longitudinal study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found a bi-directional relationship with materialism and loneliness; “Materialism fosters social isolation which in turn reinforces materialism.” The Guardian reported on a similar study:
“People in a controlled experiment who were repeatedly exposed to images of luxury goods, to messages that cast them as consumers rather than citizens and to words associated with materialism (such as buy, status, asset and expensive), experienced immediate but temporary increases in material aspirations, anxiety and depression. They also became more competitive and more selfish, had a reduced sense of social responsibility and were less inclined to join in demanding social activities.”

Research and Scripture agree on the problem, but diverge on what will adequately solve it. The words in 1 Timothy are given less as critique than exhortation. Though originally responding to a specific group of widows, we find pictured a thriving life of faith: “She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.”

Contrast this with a recent article that admitted, “if you have more stuff than you do space to easily store it, your life will be spent a slave to your possessions.” The author’s proposed solution was this: “Deliberately choose a life with less.”
Cleaning out, consuming less, and resisting the myth that a larger home solves storage problems are all helpful (and necessary) steps in this process. But it is possible to do all this and still be materialistic — living under what researchers define as “a value system that is preoccupied with possessions and the social image they project”

The challenge in 1 Timothy 5 is to have such preoccupation with Christ that everything else becomes secondary. Possessions and wealth become tools for Christian service by removing their power over us as their bottom line transfers from our identity to Christ’s glory.

Today’s Reading
2 Kings 8 (Listen – 5:18)
1 Timothy 5 (Listen – 3:22)
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Precision in Praise

1 Timothy 4.13
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

It’s easy to be far more specific in criticism than in praise. We tend to get by with generic sentiments of affirmation — “good job,” or “nice work.” But for negative feedback we choose our words carefully, providing examples and details.

This same dynamic extends into Christian circles in regards to theology. Responses to theological disagreements — or even ambiguous language around theology — are extensive. Conversations delve into the minute, response posts are written, even books get published to ameliorate theological angst. In contrast, orthodoxy and clarity often yield nods of approval with the occasional, “she got it right on that one.”
Devoting ourselves to reading Scripture and taking in Christian teaching is far easier in an insight-hungry culture than living a life of gospel-centered exhortation.

The word “exhortation” in 1 Timothy comes from a powerhouse of a Greek word — paraklesis. Though paraklesis is used to talk about appeal and earnestness (twice each), the other 26 times that it occurs in the New Testament it means comfort, encouragement, even consolation.

The desire of the early church was to command a strong knowledge of Scripture to comfort, encourage, and console people in a broken world. In other words, the most crystallized presentations of Scripture and theology weren’t used for tearing down, but for building up.

Nowhere do we see this more clearly than when Paul walks into Athens. Though profoundly disturbed by their idolatry, he reasoned, empathized, and even praised their spirituality (all of which was directed toward paganism!).
For Peter, as for Paul, Christian servanthood means being at the disposal of others, as Christ was for us, in order to win others to him for the long view, rather than demanding one’s rights for individual fulfillment and personal adornment in the short view. — Royce Gordon Gruenler

Paul encouraged the Athenians toward the gospel. His only rebuke, which came after he established relational credibility through commitment and investment, was that generic spirituality fell short of the glory of God.

Relational depth and Scriptural precision in exhortation laid the foundation the Athenians needed in order to be confronted by the implications of the gospel — namely, that they too were broken, prideful, and in need of a savior.

Evangelism stalls when we do not thoroughly apply the words of comfort, encouragement, and consolation God has entrusted to his Church through the Scriptures. It is wisdom which makes the most of every opportunity with those outside the church by filling each conversation with grace.

Today’s Reading
2 Kings 7 (Listen – 3:55)
1 Timothy 4 (Listen – 2:05)