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 8, 2025 by John Fonville | Category: Law and Gospel | Tags: gospel, law and gospel, old covenant, covenant theology, mosaic covenant, abrahamic covenant, moses, law, galatians, judaizers, promise, Abraham, R. Scott Clark, Sarah and Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac, Abraham Was Not Moses
In his article “Abraham Was Not Moses,” R. Scott Clark underscores Paul’s clear distinction in Galatians between the temporary, law-based Mosaic covenant and the enduring, grace-based Abrahamic covenant, which serves as the foundation for the gospel. Following Clark’s insight, the following paraphrase of Galatians rephrases key verses to highlight this contrast, re...
Keep ReadingJanuary 24, 2025 by John Fonville | Category: Ecclesiology | Tags: evangelicalism, baptism, evangelicals, Church Membership, Ecclesiology
It is often said, "Don’t just go to church, be the church!"- right? ...
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 ReadingJuly 26, 2023 by John Fonville | Category: Anglican Formularies | Tags: baptism, Regeneration, Anglican church, J.C. Ryle, baptismal regeneration, Church of England, 1662 Book of Common Prayer, 39 Articles
J.C. Ryle answers the common arguments in favor of “Baptismal Regeneration,” which are based on the Baptismal Service of the Prayer-book. ...
Keep ReadingJuly 14, 2023 by John Fonville | Category: Sacraments | Tags: gospel, baptism, sacraments, means of grace, Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, Holy Eucharist, sacramental theology, Visible Gospel
J.V. Fesko on the sacraments as visible words- a visible proclamation of the gospel....
Keep ReadingJuly 13, 2023 by John Fonville | Category: Means of Grace | Tags: gospel, means of grace, Holy Spirit, Word of God, reformed theology, special grace, preaching, reading of Scripture
July 7, 2023 by John Fonville | Category: Anglican Formularies | Tags: solus christus, English Reformers, Martin Davie, 39 Articles, Article 22, Of Purgatory, English Medieval Church, Anglican Formularies, The Book of Homilies, 39 Articles of Religion
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....
Keep ReadingMay 20, 2023 by John Fonville | Tags: law and gospel, old covenant, new covenant, Anglican, Richard Sibbes, 2 Corinthians
Richard Sibbes, a 17th Century Anglican theologian, commenting on 2 Corinthians 3 concerning the difference between the law and the gospel....
Keep ReadingMay 15, 2023 by John Fonville | Category: Liturgy | Tags: worship, Prayer, Thomas Cranmer, Book of Common Prayer, Protestant Reformation, Reformation liturgies, praying, prewritten prayer, spontaneous prayer, Liturgy
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? ...
Keep ReadingMay 5, 2023 by John Fonville | Category: Gospel-centered Hermeneutic | Tags: gospel, law and gospel, faith, good works, moralism, martin luther, Jesus as example, gospel-centered hermeneutic, Jesus as Gift, grace and gratitude, Reformation theology
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)....
Keep Reading