June 12, 2024 by John Fonville
Carl Trueman clarifies a common misconception that is popular among Evangelicals concerning the Protestant Reformation doctrine of sola scriptura....
July 26, 2023 by John Fonville
J.C. Ryle answers the common arguments in favor of “Baptismal Regeneration,” which are based on the Baptismal Service of the Prayer-book. ...
July 14, 2023 by John Fonville
J.V. Fesko on the sacraments as visible words- a visible proclamation of the gospel....
July 13, 2023 by John Fonville
J.V. Fesko on the Word of God as the chief means of grace. ...
July 7, 2023 by John Fonville
Martin Davie explains from the homily, ‘Of Prayer’ in the Second Book of Homilies, how the English Reformers taught that the only true purgatory is the death of Christ and no other purgation is either necessary or possible....
May 15, 2023 by John Fonville
Why Use Written Prayers?- Why does your church use prewritten prayers in your service? Isn't this a dry, rote, unthinking, way for the church to pray and worship? Don't pre-written prayers stifle the Spirit and hinder freedom and promote mechanical, vain repetition? Aren't spontaneous prayers more genuine and heartfelt than prewritten prayers? ...
May 5, 2023 by John Fonville
This writing of Martin Luther is from the introduction to his “Postils” (a group of model sermons which he wrote while at the Wartburg Castle). This brief foreword is full of comfort and good news. In it, Luther sets forth insightful instruction on how to read the Gospels (and the entirety of Scripture- the OT and NT)....
August 25, 2022 by John Fonville
My argument is this: By the year 1700, Protestant Christianity had begun developing significantly new practices and understandings of the Christian faith that focused upon Christian renewal, conversion, new birth and the coming millennial kingdom. These new practices and understandings were a dramatic departure not only from Roman Catholic Christianity, but also from the original Reformation convictions of Martin Luther and John Calvin some one hundred and fifty years earlier. Evangelical Christianity, of the free church variety especially, is the contemporary expression of this third form of Christianity. Probably most Evangelicals are unaware that their Christian experience and piety are far removed from Reformation Protestant beginnings. Evangelicals would do well to recover their lost heritage....
August 20, 2022 by John Fonville
Martin Luther's primary concern when constructing the German mass and order of the liturgy in 1526 was that the gospel be proclaimed for the people in their context....
July 28, 2022 by John Fonville
Martin Luther on the worthy reception of the Lord's Supper....
July 27, 2022 by John Fonville
Infant baptism sets Christian discipleship from birth within a covenant context, which means means to understand discipleship as something connected to the ordinary means of God’s grace and the routine work of the church....
June 27, 2021 by John Fonville
Richard Sibbes discussing the Christ-centered focus of all the Scriptures....
February 28, 2020 by John Fonville
Richard Sibbes: The Glory of God is Greatest in the Gospel...
February 25, 2020 by John Fonville
Michael Horton on what the third use of the law can and cannot do....
February 25, 2020 by John Fonville
Gerald Bray: "'What would Jesus do?’ seems like an innocent question to ask, but it is impossible to answer literally and does not reflect the teaching of the New Testament. ...
February 24, 2020 by John Fonville
The late 16th century Anglican pastor/theologian, William Perkins, on seven differences between the law and gospel....
February 21, 2020 by John Fonville
No Creed But The Bible?- Carl Trueman on the unbiblical creedal statement, "The bible is our only creed and our only confession."...
February 20, 2020 by John Fonville
Philip Schaff: The 39 Articles are found in every collection of Reformed confessions....
November 19, 2015 by John Fonville
A review of David Platt's book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream....
November 10, 2015 by John Fonville
George Hunsinger shows how Jonathan Edwards crosses the fine line laid down by the Reformation concerning justification sola fide. Edwards taught that works are not simply external evidence that faith exists. Rather, works are necessary to the efficacy of faith. Works, as the external expression of faith, play a role in justification....
December 2, 2025 by John Fonville | Category: Reformation Anglicanism | Tags: sola scriptura, heidelberg catechism, gospel, Regeneration, Reformation, creeds, Anglicanism, hermeneutics, Thirty-Nine Articles, Carl Trueman, Anglican Theology, prima Scriptura, biblical authority, Tradition 1, Tradition 2, Tradition 0, Keith Mathison, Scripture and tradition, church tradition
Some Anglicans describe biblical authority using the phrase prima Scriptura, placing the Church’s tradition as the lens through which Scripture is interpreted. This article explains why the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura is fundamentally different. Drawing on Keith Mathison’s categories of Tradition 0, Tradition 1, and Tradition 2, and Carl Trueman’s insights...
Keep ReadingNovember 4, 2025 by John Fonville | Category: Anglican History & Identity | Tags: sola scriptura, Reformation, Book of Common Prayer, Anglicanism, Anglican Formularies, Thirty-Nine Articles, Reformation Anglicanism, Anglican identity, Ordinal, Classical Anglicanism, Elizabethan Settlement, Homilies, Anglican History, The Center for Reformation Anglicanism
Anglicanism isn’t a vague nostalgia—it’s a Reformation identity anchored in Scripture and the historic formularies (Articles, 1662 BCP, Ordinal, Homilies). Here’s why Paramount Church embraces Reformation Anglicanism, articulated by our Rector, John Fonville, Director of the Center for Reformation Anglicanism....
Keep ReadingNovember 4, 2025 by John Fonville | Category: Anglican Formularies | Tags: grace, gospel, justification, sola fide, sola scriptura, sacraments, Salvation, Authority, Reformation, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, Roman Catholic Church, purgatory, imputed righteousness, scripture, Anglican, Reformed confession, Thirty-Nine Articles, Reformation Anglicanism, theology, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Marian doctrines, invocation of saints, relics, images, Adoration, indulgences, pardons, The Center for Reformation Anglicanism
This article contrasts the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s teaching on justification with the Reformation Anglican doctrine confessed in the Thirty-Nine Articles. Whereas the Catechism presents justification as an infused, cooperative process involving grace and merit, the Articles proclaim the biblical gospel of justification by faith only—Christ’s righteousness ...
Keep ReadingJuly 18, 2025 by John Fonville | Category: Reformation Theology | Tags: sola scriptura, gospel-centered, Liturgy, Reformation, Protestant worship, Thomas Cranmer, Reformers, reformed theology, superstition, Anglican, Reformation Anglicanism, Church of England, English Reformation, Cranmer, Church Ceremonies, Church History, Worship Reform, Liturgical Practices, Ceremony, Church Edification, Christian Festivals, Gospel Clarity, Christ-Centered Worship, Justification by Faith, Gospel Proclamation, Biblical Worship, Gospel Reformation, Worship and the Gospel, Ceremonies and the Gospel, Historic Anglicanism
A concise summary of Thomas Cranmer’s reasoning for removing ceremonies that obscured the gospel or burdened consciences, while retaining those that fostered faith, order, and clarity in worship....
Keep ReadingJune 12, 2024 by John Fonville | Category: Five Solas | Tags: sola scriptura, Ministerial Authority, Authority, tradition, creeds, confessions, Protestant Reformation, Roman Catholic Church, solo Scriptura, Scripture alone, Medieval Church, Protestant Reformers, Magisterial Authority, Carl Trueman, The Creedal Imperative, norma normata, normed norms, norma normans, norming norm
Carl Trueman clarifies a common misconception that is popular among Evangelicals concerning the Protestant Reformation doctrine of sola scriptura....
Keep ReadingOctober 27, 2021 by John Fonville | Category: Protestant Reformation | Tags: justification, john calvin, martin luther, sola fide, sola gratia, sola scriptura, soli deo gloria, Thomas Cranmer, collect, Protestant Reformation, Reformation Sunday, solo Christo, Oxford Martyrs, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley
A collect for Reformation Sunday....
Keep ReadingOctober 13, 2017 by John Fonville | Tags: moralism, merit, treasury of merit, roman catholic, infused righteousness, inherent righteousness, rc sproul, faith, belgic confession, heidelberg catechism, covenant theology, covenant of grace, covenant of works, covenant of redemption, law and gospel, mosaic covenant, abrahamic covenant, adamic covenant, davidic covenant, new covenant, moses, jesus christ, john murray, michael horton, andrew mcgowan, norman shepherd, robert traill, scott clark, benjamin franklin, glenn beck, legalism, antinomianism, creed, immortal, grace, law, righteousness, justification, redemption, propitiation, lordship salvation, imputation, active obedience of christ, passive obedience of christ, atonement, assurance, eternal security, evangelicalism, evangelical, thomas boston, scottish covenant theology, wwjd, zacharias ursinus, graeme goldsworthy, ebenezer erskine, ralph erskine, self justification, theodore beza, john calvin, martin luther, galatians, judaizers, john colquhoun, adamic administration, federal theology, messianic administration, headship theology, royal grant, suzerainty treaty, self-maledictory oath, cut a covenant, typology, hittite treaty, preamble, historical prologue, stipulations, sanctions, invocation, deposit of the treaty, monocovenantal, anathema, geerhardus vos, delbert hillers, covenant of promise, covenant of law, unconditional covenant, conditional covenant, meredith kline, obedience, blessing, curse, israel, mount hagar, mount sinai, mount calvary, mount zion, jesus, son of god, son of man, ten commandments, 10 commandments, resurrection, incarnation, nt wright, john piper, new perspective on paul, ep sanders, covenantal nomism, ge mendenhall, timothy george, t david gordon, bryan estelle, david van drunen, modern reformation, white horse inn, the gospel coalition, sola fide, solus christus, sola gratia, sola scriptura, soli deo gloria
Collapsing the covenants into one overarching theme of grace confuses law and gospel and effectively eliminates an explicit law-gospel distinction in Scripture....
Keep ReadingOctober 9, 2017 by John Fonville | Tags: john calvin, sola gratia, sola scriptura, soli deo gloria, Mercy, Salvation, Glory of God, formal cause, material cause, faith alone, Reformation 500, sola Fidea, efficient cause, Christ's obedience, Christ's death, instrumental cause, final cause, 5 Solas, soulus Christus
John Calvin discusses the four "causes" of salvation (i.e, the efficient cause- God the Father's mercy; the material cause- Christ's obedience/death; the formal/instrumental cause- faith alone; the final cause- the glory of God)....
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