Obadiah Sedgwick, a member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines and minister of God’s Word at Coggleshall, Essex, (later, at St. Paul's, Covent Garden, London), produced a series of messages that tackled the believer's battle with doubts and fears.This book was called, 'A Puritan Treatise on Assurance,' and outlines the nature, kinds, springs and also the remedies for those doubts that affect a believer's walk with God. He deals with 14 'springs of doubting' and then proceeds to explain cures relevant to each of these areas.In this Reformation blog my chief interest is in tracing how Sedgwick treated the problem of doubt in the matter of justification. My aim is, over 5 consecutive Monday

In recent times we have been regaled by the philosophy of what is called the Emergent Church. The title of this modern movement suggests a progression from darkness into light. However, the reality is quite the opposite: those who position themselves under this banner – though they claim to represent a “new Reformation,” and boast of their own 95 Theses and their own new Luther to point the way – the path along which they are leading the Church is actually a retreat into pre-Reformation spiritual and intellectual darkness. Before the Reformation darkness had been deepening across Europe for 1000 years. Though the Catholic Church had travelled for the best part of this millennium (500-150

Wittenberg is known as the 'Cradle of the Protestant Reformation'; no other city has such close with the Protestant Reformation as this ‘Luther City’ along the Elbe. The Reformation had its beginnings here. It was the centre of Martin Luther’s activity. DEVELOPMENT OF WITTENBERG Elector Frederick the Wise aspired to elevate Wittenberg – which had long served as the capital of the Electorate of Saxony and as the seat of power of the Elector and Duke of house Saxony-Wittenberg – to the status of one of the leading spiritual and cultural centres of Europe. The Renaissance buildings constructed during this golden age continue to dominate the city’s skyline to this day. In 1512, Luther was offere

I particularly enjoyed reading an article by Avery Foley that was posted by Answers in Genesis that appeared under the title of this blog post, 'From Noah to Martin Luther: The Doors of Reformation.' One excerpt that challenged me was when Avery appealed for 'A New Reformation': "When Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church, he took a public stand for God’s Word, truth, and the gospel. We need more pastors, parents, and Christian leaders who will be like Luther and take a public stand for truth and the gospel. We live in a time when truth is considered irrelevant, and everyone does what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). As Christians, we cannot live like this. We ha

When Luther looked at the text of Genesis concerning creation, he marvelled at Moses’ use of simple words and was troubled by the way many commentators and writers had confused the clear scriptural account of creation. He warned those of his day that, ‘Among the Hebrews, the Latins or the Greeks, there is no guide whom we can follow with any safety in this area’.1 Luther was referring to such men as Lucretius (1st century B.C.) who in his writings on, ‘the Nature of the Universe’2 attacked concepts central to the biblical story of creation as ‘sheer nonsense’. Lucretius stated, ‘Nothing can ever be created by divine power out of nothing’ ... ‘the theory that they (the gods) deliberately crea

When Luther sent his 95 Theses to Albrecht, the Archbishop of Mainz, he was hoping to spark a debate on the misuse of Indulgences within the Catholic Church. His introductory line set the tone for the rest of the Reformation battle: “Out of love for the truth, and the desire to make it plain.” This has been our aim at Martyrs in opening our Reformation Room (for the sake of accuracy we should really say “Rooms” as this project has undergone much mission creep since day one to the extent that it now occupies four rooms and incorporates a tour through many sections of the Martyrs Memorial church): to make the truth of faith alone in Christ alone plain to the neighbourhood in which the Lord ha

Though the scaffolding that surrounds Nick Page's book on the Reformation – 'A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation' – is very much tongue-in-cheek, the main structure is composed of a plethora of facts. His explanation of what indulgences are is particularly helpful. "And so a whole purgatory-avoidance industry grew up. One of the chief purgatory-avoidance schemes was the saying of a Mass for the souls of the dead. People would leave money in their wills to pay for Masses to be said for them, and the reward was that you would get some time taken off your stay in purgatory. But that was expensive, and only really an option for the wealthy. So another scheme was created in which ordin

Obadiah Sedgwick, a member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines and minister of God’s Word at Coggleshall, Essex, (later, at St. Paul's, Covent Garden, London), produced a series of messages that tackled the believer's battle with doubts and fears. This book was called, 'A Puritan Treatise on Assurance,' and outlines the nature, kinds, springs and also the remedies for those doubts that affect a believer's walk with God. He deals with 14 'springs of doubting' and then proceeds to explain cures relevant to each of these areas. In this Reformation blog my chief interest is in tracing how Sedgwick treated the problem of doubt in the matter of justification. My aim is, over 5 consecutive Mond

The latest booklet produced by the Reformation Committee of the Free Presbyterian Church has reached Lock, South Australia. Compiled by Rev. Ron Johnstone (Convenor of the Committee), copies of this booklet were taken by the Moderator, Rev. Thomas Murray, on his recent visit to our churches in Australia. While I am delighted that the booklet has managed to travel in excess of 10,000 miles from Belfast to South Australia, I am even more gratified to note the expansion in the congregation that meets here since my visit with them a couple of years ago. May the Lord continue to spread the central message of the Reformation – Justification by Faith Alone – in these days of sad compromise, plus ad

In the winter of 1510 Luther and another monk were sent to Rome to representing one side of a conflict as to how the Order of the Augustinian Hermits should be organised and governed. Luther was the junior partner in this enterprise; in reality he was simply a travelling partner as the Augustinians required monks travel in pairs. Not that he was complaining. For him this journey took the form of a pilgrimage; his secondary role allowed him free time to see and to explore the glories of the Holy City of Rome, and gave him opportunity to fulfil a cherished ambition: to obtain for himself and for those he loved just about any and every indulgence he could. Richard Friedenthal writes: “The city

Only a heart of stone could be unmoved by the pictures of famine victims in Yemen, Somalia, and South Sudan. To gaze on the emaciated frames of little children, and the empty eyes of despairing parents, prompts questions that are not easily answered. And it elicits outrage too, when we hear of corrupt regimes whose leaders misappropriate resources to fund foolish conflicts or to increase their own fortunes. They are blind to the plight of their beleaguered citizens, and often wilfully so. Christians cannot and must not ignore the plight of the suffering. We are to help those in need, primarily our fellow-believers, but not exclusively. (Galatians 6:10) The Bible speaks of another famine. “I

Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum ("The Word of the Lord Endures Forever") is the motto of the Lutheran Reformation. It originally appears in Isaiah 40:8 and was also used by Peter in his first epistle (1 Peter 1:24-25). Both scriptural passages are supremely confident expressions of the eternal faithfulness of God and the enduring power and authority of His living Word. • In Isaiah 40, where the phrase first appears, God gives to Isaiah a vision of the future redemption of Israel and the human race. The first 39 chapters of Isaiah primarily deal with God’s judgment of faithless Judah; in chapter 40, God tells Isaiah that although Israel had sinned and will be sent into exile in Babylon, the u

The latest edition of the LTBS Quarterly Magazine is now available. This is a publication from the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, Let The Bible Speak. Given the fact it is a 'Reformation Edition,' it is not surprising that it contains articles such as: • 'The State of Europe before the Reformation' (Ian Brown), • 'Biography of Martin Luther' (Stanley Barnes), • 'Lesser-Known Reformers – Ulrich Zwingli' (Wesley Irwin), • 'Lesser-Known Reformers – Philipp Melancthon' (David Brown), • 'Bible Words – Justification' (David Smith). Obtainable from: Let The Bible Speak 11 Westland Avenue Ballymoney Northern Ireland BT53 6PE or by email: ryanjamesmckee@yahoo.co.uk

Obadiah Sedgwick, a member of the Westminster Assembly of Divines and minister of God’s Word at Coggleshall, Essex, (later, at St. Paul's, Covent Garden, London), produced a series of messages that tackled the believer's battle with doubts and fears. This book was called, 'A Puritan Treatise on Assurance,' and outlines the nature, kinds, springs and also the remedies for those doubts that affect a believer's walk with God. He deals with 14 'springs of doubting' and then proceeds to explain cures relevant to each of these areas. In this Reformation blog my chief interest is in tracing how Sedgwick treated the problem of doubt in the matter of justification. My aim is, over 5 consecutive Mond

The following is the content of a message delivered by Mr Robert Campbell at the annual demonstration Scarva, 13 July 2017: The message of the gospel is powerful and profound. To have our faith in Jesus Christ alone, to have truly repented of our sin, to be walking daily in the light of His Word to the glory of God alone, reveals His amazing Grace. A Christian faith that does not radically change diminishes the radical nature of God's free grace. In the year we mark the 500th anniversary of what became the Protestant Reformation, we dare not rejoice in its effects and not think about what happened spiritually! Our society has changed vastly over the years, but societies always change. They l

Otherwise known as Luther's "spiritual home," Erfurt was where Martin Luther studied, became a monk, and was later ordained. The story is told that, in July 1505, Luther got caught in a terrible thunderstorm in one of Stotternheim's fields (district of Erfurt); afraid for his life, Luther cried into the wind, "St. Anna, help me! I will become a monk." True to his word, within two weeks, Luther marched right to the Augustinian Monastery and became a monk! Today, Stotternheim's Luther Stone marks the spot of this historical event, without which Luther may never have become the reformer who changed the world. The monastery itself was also influenced by Luther's Reformation, becoming home to the

While watching the Orange Order parade yesterday in Hillsborough, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, I photographed my favourite banner. For those who need some little initiation in our customs, Protestants celebrate the victory of William III at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 on the 12th July each year. This triumph secured religious liberty for all in Ireland. Colourful banners are displayed by each lodge on these annual parades, with scenes that remember our history expected painted on them. I am delighted to be able to claim some part in the formulation of this new banner for the Fourscore True Blues LOL 340. One of the members of the lodge, Mr James Tinsley (marching, far right in photo below

The Leipzig Debate in the summer of 1519 proved to be a watershed moment in the history of the Reformation in that it pushed the indulgence controversy beyond the question of penance and indulgences to the question of authority in the church. Johann Eck, a scholastic theologian teaching at Ingolstadt, had engaged Luther in private correspondence on the issue of indulgences, but that correspondence was published against Luther’s own wishes. In defense of his Wittenberg colleague, Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt wrote an extensive repudiation of Eck’s treatise, including well over 300 theses addressing questions of grace, free will, and penance. Eck replied in kind with another set of theses.