Creation A Sacrament? (Horton)

The apostle Peter said that Christians have been born again by the word of God, which is the preaching of the gospel (1 Pet. 1:23, 25). The Holy Spirit gives life to dead hearts through the preaching of good news: Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. The Spirit uses the words, sounds, speaking, and hearing the …

Media Gratiae (Means of Grace)

In Reformed theology we talk about the ordinary means of grace.  How would we define "means of grace?"  Richard Muller answers this well: media gratia: means of grace; i.e., Word and sacraments as the means by which the grace of God is operative in the church.  The term is used by both Lutheran and Reformed …

The Reformation Rejection of Transubstantiation

  In the context of the 16th century Protestant Reformation the Roman Catholic Church taught (and still teaches) that the Lord’s Supper is a divine sacrifice in which Jesus is offered in a bloodless manner.  Rome teaches that Christ is “truly, really, and substantially contained in the propitious sacrament of the holy Eucharist under the …

The Anathemas of Rome

  In the 1540’s and beyond, when the Protestant Reformation had spread and taken hold in various places in Europe, the Roman Catholic Church met for a series of meetings called Council of Trent.  At these meetings they wrote many canons and decrees that specifically addressed the theology of the Reformation (among other things).  In …

The Frequency of the Holy Supper

One main objection I hear against frequent celebration of the Lord's Supper is this: "If we have the Lord's Supper too much it won't be special any more."  This would be a valid objection if the Lord's Supper was like Christmas or any old birthday.  If the Supper is simply something that the church does to remember Jesus' death, it would …