"Faith Alone in Christ Alone"

Posts from 2017

Advent 2017 – Part 2 – “The Benedictus”

The second of the songs of Luke’s gospel comes from the mouth of Zechariah the priest on the occasion of the circumcision of his son, John. For much of church history this song has been referred to as the “Benedictus”  because of its first words in the Latin translation of Scripture (Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, “Blessed be…

2017 Advent Series

Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. – Psalm 96:2 Throughout much of church history, Christians have marked out the four Sundays leading up to Christmas Eve as a time period known as “advent,” a term is derived from the Latin word which means “coming” or “arrival.” During these…

Standing on the Word of God – Part 7

“The Doctrines of the Reformation – Grace Alone” 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 As the reformers considered the teachings of Scripture regarding justification, they observed that sinful men and women were…

Standing on the Word of God – Part 6

“The Doctrines of the Reformation – Faith Alone” 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.  Romans 3:21-22a From the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) we saw that God’s Word is the rule of faith for the believer.…

Standing on the Word of God- Part 5

“The Doctrines of the Reformation – Christ Alone” For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit… – 1 Pet. 3:18 As we saw last week, the Scriptures alone are the rule of faith for believers, being necessary for us to understand our need…

Standing on the Word of God – Part 4

“The Doctrines of the Reformation – Scripture Alone”  For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. – Romans 15:4 Having considered some of the historical developments which contributed to the coming of the Reformation we want to take the rest…

Standing on the Word of God – Part 3

“The Necessity of Reform: The Church’s Crisis of Holiness” 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in…

Standing on the Word of God – Part 2

“The Necessity of Reform: The Church’s Crisis of Authority”  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”    – Romans 1:16-17 We began our series…