Luther’s Life: Anfechtung
The name evangelical was early on attributed to the Reformers and to Luther himself, and it was of course a fitting title as it not only grasped their recovery of the gospel, but also their emphasis upon it and the…
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Anselm of Canterbury – A Writer to Discover
Three countries claim Anselm as their own. To the Italians, he is Anselmo d’Aosta (of Aosta, the Alpine city where he was born around 1033). To the French, he is Anselme du Bec (of Bec, where he first entered monastic…
Luther’s Life: Lessons From a Controversial Colloquy
There is an episode from Luther’s life in which he played a prominent role. It is not a story with a happy ending, but we should be familiar with the Marburg Colloquy because it holds important lessons for the Reformed…
The Ruling Elder: Past & Present
I don’t know about you, but I find it interesting that Hebrews 13 ends with an encouragement to obey and submit to the elders of the congregation. In fact, leaders are mentioned three times from v. 7 to the end…
Luther’s Life: A Curse Upon Erasmus!
“Whenever I pray, I pray for a curse upon Erasmus.” That quote appears in Martin Luther’s Table Talk, the same place where he called the Prince of the Humanists “the vilest miscreant that ever disgraced the earth” and quipped that…
Recurring Failure and Never Failing Grace
The grand storyline of the Bible can at times make depressing reading if we do not pay close attention to the gospel threads that hold it together. After its glorious beginning in the accounts of creation in Genesis, our high…
The Ruling Elder: Basic Function
For the proper functioning of the church, God has established the offices of elder and deacon. Elders have the function of overseeing the church, proclaiming the Word, and shepherding the flock. While all elders must be able to teach…
Biblical Elders: Leaders Reflected in Those They Lead
God’s covenant blessing of salvation has come through his line of covenant descendants. Thus, the covenant people of God are not only identified as God’s family, but also every human family is a miniature model of God’s spiritual family, the…
The Ruling Elder: What to Look for
In God’s wisdom, ministry in a local church is to be led by faithful men, a plurality of godly elders who through the ministry of the word lead every member to partake in and do the work of ministry. It…
The Groanings of this Present Age
“One of our regular PFT columnists, Mark Johnston, submitted this brief article, which relates directly to the recent attacks in Manchester. We posted it first on our sister site, Reformation21.org, but we wanted to also post it here for our…