God's Word creates what he commands In Justification by the Word, Jack D. Kilcrease reintroduces Martin Luther's key doctrine. Though a linchpin of the Reformation, Luther's view of justification is often misunderstood. For Luther, justification is an expression of God's creative Word. To understand Luther on justification, one must grasp his doctrine of the Word. The same God who declared "let there be light"—and it was so—also declares "your sins are forgiven." Justification is an objective reality. It is achieved in Christ's resurrection and received through an encounter with the risen Christ in Word and sacrament. Justification turns us outward, away from our own unsteady feelings and limited understanding, to look to Christ. And the church must preach justification, lest we so easily forfeit the joy of the gospel. Justification by the Word inspires readers to reencounter the radical doctrine of justification by faith alone.

A handbook of religious information, with special reference to the history, doctrine, work and usages of the Lutheran Church.

A journal for the history of Lutheranism in America.

Martin Luther invented the Reformation slogan sola fide--by faith alone--which Philipp Melanchthon and John Calvin brandished and defended. Most Protestants since their time have swallowed it whole. But is evangelical obedience--the good works that follow faith and are produced by grace--excluded from the basis for justification or otherwise? Asserting that "there is no more serious question bearing upon the destiny of human beings than how sinners can be justified before a Holy God," Paul Rainbow examines current and traditional treatments of faith, works, and justification, marshals a biblical case majoring on the New Testament teaching of Paul and James, and offers a series of systematic, historical, and pastoral reflections.

Theologia et Apologia gathers together eighteen essays, written by a wide range of scholars, on Reformation theology and its defense. Orthodox theology, grounded in the Scriptures, calls humanity to believe. This same theology must also be presented and defended to a world that has often not attended to its vital message. Collectively, these essays teach and defend the biblical theology articulated during the Reformation and still today. They address topics including the inspiration, canon, and interpretation of Scripture, Reformation era developments, classic and modern apologetics, and other topics. This helpful book, honoring Rod Rosenbladt, a notable theologian and apologist, is a welcome addition to the library of any thinking Christian.

This study describes a theological debate which took place in 1586 between the Lutheran Jacob Andreae and the Calvinist Theodore Beza. The author reveals that the true motive of the conference was to unite Protestant forces in Europe against Rome and its papal allies.

This study offers a radical reinterpretation of the sixteenth-century Christological debates between Lutheran and Reformed theologians on the ascription of divine and human predicates to the person of the incarnate Son of God (the communicatio idiomatum). It does so by close attention to the arguments deployed by the protagonists in the discussion, and to the theologians' metaphysical and semantic assumptions, explicit and implicit. It traces the central contours of the Christological debates, from the discussion between Luther and Zwingli in the 1520s to the Colloquy of Montbéliard in 1586. Richard Cross shows that Luther's Christology is thoroughly Medieval, and that innovations usually associated with Luther-in particular, that Christ's human nature comes to share in divine attributes-should be ascribed instead to his younger contemporary Johannes Brenz. The discussion is highly sensitive to the differences between the various Luther groups-followers of Brenz, and the different factions aligned in varying ways with Melanchthon-and to the differences between all of these and the Reformed theologians. By locating the Christological discussions in their immediate Medieval background, Cross also provides a comprehensive account of the continuities and discontinuities between the two eras. In these ways, it is shown that the standard interpretations of the Reformation debates on the matter are almost wholly mistaken.

The word koinonia has gained prominence in recent ecumenical discussions. In this original and substantial work Lorelei Fuchs proposes the theological idea of koinonia, commonly translated as "communion" or "fellowship," as the key to moving fractured churches toward a future unity. Fuchs challenges churches to move beyond mere dialogue and to apply ecumenical insights at the local level. She begins by relating the exegetical meaning of koinonia to its ecumenical meaning, tracing the place of koinonia both within the churches and between the churches. She then examines the concept of koinonia in the extensive and fruitful dialogues that have taken place between Lutherans, Anglicans, and Roman Catholics, finally articulating a "symbolic competence for communionality" that provides a rich and workable way forward for church unity at all levels. Encompassing the latest in ecumenical thought, Koinonia and the Quest for an Ecumenical Ecclesiology provides a broad, thoughtful framework for realizing Christ's prayer "that all may be one . . . so that the world may believe."

Theodore Beza (1519–1605) was a talented humanist, Protestant theologian, political agitator, and prominent minister of the reformed church in Geneva during the second-half of the 16th century. During his long career, Beza exercised strategic leadership in his efforts to preserve reformed Christianity in Geneva and his native France, as well as to defend the theological legacy of John Calvin throughout Europe. Beza's diverse literary corpus of more than seventy works demonstrates that he was well-versed in classical literature, skilled in biblical exegesis, and adroit in theological controversy. More than an ivory-tower theologian, Beza maintained contact with the leading political and religious figures of his day, including Henry IV of France and Elizabeth I of England, as well as John Calvin, Heinrich Bullinger, and Philipp Melanchthon. He also participated in some of the most important colloquies and controversies of his generation, such as the Colloquy of Poissy (1561), the National Synod of La Rochelle (1571), and the Colloquy of Montbéliard (1586). This roll call of eminent people and important events indicates the central role that Beza played in the explosive political and religious controversies that roiled Western Europe during this troubled century. This edited volume explores neglected aspects of the history, theology, and literary contribution of Beza. The thirteen contributors to this volume are an accomplished group of scholars who specialize in the religious and social history of early modern Protestantism. Theodore Beza at 500 celebrates the 500th anniversary of the reformer's birth by providing an original, insightful, and multifaceted study of one of the most important leaders of reformed Protestantism after John Calvin.