Thabiti Anyabwile on Transforming Work of Spirit

“Because of the rudeness and weakness that is in us, we must allow ourselves to be governed by God’s Spirit, which is the chief key by which the gate of paradise is opened to us.” – John Calvin, Sermons on Ephesians, 1562
Our Reformation forebears understood clearly that the church constantly needed reforming according to the [...]

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The Reformation Gospel

In reflection and celebration of the Protestant Reformation in October, this past Sunday I preached “The Five-Solas of the Reformation Gospel.” You can listen to its recorded message here or read the transcript here.

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The 95 Theses by Martin Luther (91-95)

Theses 91 to 95:
91. Now if pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope all these questions would easily be disposed of; nay, they would not arise.
92. And so let all those prophets depart who say to Christ’s people ‘Peace, peace’ and there is no peace.
93. And farewell to all those [...]

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The 95 Theses by Martin Luther (86-90)

Theses 86 to 90:
86. The pope’s riches at this day far exceed the wealth of the riches millionaires, cannot he therefore build one single basilica of St. Peter out of his own money, rather than out of the money of the faithful poor?
87. What does the pope remit or dispense to those who through perfect [...]

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The 95 Theses by Martin Luther (81-85)

Theses 81 to 85:
81. This wanton preaching of pardons makes it hard even for learned men to defend the honour of the pope against calumny, or at least against the shrewd questions of the laity.
82. They ask: Why does not the pope empty purgatory on account of most holy charity and the great need of [...]

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The 95 Theses by Martin Luther (75-80)

Theses 75 to 80:
75. To hold that papal pardons are of such power that they could absolve even a man who (to assume the impossible) had violated the mother of God is to rave like a lunatic.
76. We say, on the contrary, that papal pardons cannot take away the least of venial sins, as regards [...]

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The 95 Theses by Martin Luther (69-74)

Theses 69 to 74:
69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of the apostolic pardons with all reverence.
70. But still more are they bound to apply their eyes and ears to the task of making sure that they do not preach the figments of their own imagination instead of the pope’s commission.
71. If [...]

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The Heart of Reformed Christianity

Since the inception of our church-plant, I’ve been giving a special Reformation message every year on the last Lord’s Day of October. Our first year, I gave an address called “Martin Luther, A Mighty Reformer.” Our second year, “The Influences of John Calvin on Today’s Churches.” However, this year I decided to devote the whole [...]

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The 95 Theses by Martin Luther (62-68)

Theses 62 to 68:
62. The true measure fo the Church is the sacrosanct Gospel of the glory and grace of God.
63. But this is deservedly most hated, since it makes the first last.
64. Whereas the treasure of indulgences is deservedly most popular, since it makes the last first.
65. Thus the Gospel treasures are nets, with [...]

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The 95 Theses by Martin Luther (56-61)

Theses 56 to 61:
56. The treasures of the church, whence the pope gives indulgences, are neither sufficiently designated nor known among the people of Christ.
57. It is at least clear that they are not temporal treasures, for they are not scattered abroad but only collected by these numerous sellers of indulgences.
58. Nor are they the [...]

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