Questions on Modern Reformation

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scottmaciver

Puritan Board Sophomore
Hi all, just a few questions, which I was thinking about, in relation to modern reformation. I'd be interested to hear your answers.

1 - Who would you say is the greatest reformer of our era, and why?

2 - Also, which areas of the church are in greatest need of reform today?
 
Hi all, just a few questions, which I was thinking about, in relation to modern reformation. I'd be interested to hear your answers.

1 - Who would you say is the greatest reformer of our era, and why?

2 - Also, which areas of the church are in greatest need of reform today?
1) not a big name because they are all scared of men. It would be the local pastors who are continually preaching and teaching the Word with zeal and without fear of man. The guys who truly are seeking to reform away from the “hard” traditions that man has added to worship.

2) Lord’s supper, preaching, prayer, and the heart of the worshipper as well as the minister - boldness and zeal being not ashamed of the Gospel
 
1) not a big name because they are all scared of men. It would be the local pastors who are continually preaching and teaching the Word with zeal and without fear of man. The guys who truly are seeking to reform away from the “hard” traditions that man has added to worship.

2) Lord’s supper, preaching, prayer, and the heart of the worshipper as well as the minister - boldness and zeal being not ashamed of the Gospel
Wow. The bolded claim is quite a bold claim. And strikes me as quite an unfair (and potentially slanderous) statement. Care to qualify or explain?
 
Wow. The bolded claim is quite a bold claim. And strikes me as quite an unfair (and potentially slanderous) statement. Care to qualify or explain?
Did I state someone’s name for it to be slanderous? And if the shoe fits, it fits. And as the statement is broad, it is broad for a reason. Does it fit every single big name? No, not all but broadly most. And from experience, in the trenches, when speaking with such men and you ask them why they don’t reform in the areas they have concerns with - “well, I’d be fired”, etc. There’s more of a concern for self, $, filled with fear of men instead of the fear of God.

These men can sure preach on Calvinism and reformed doctrines, but when it comes to nitty gritty reform, they back off. So then I might be able to call them reformed, but reformers - not so much. And that’s the original question. “Who is the greatest reformer?”
 
I agree that the great reformers of our age are the pastors that minister week in and week out even to the tiniest congregations. The church rises and falls with this work. You could apply the same thought to those who faithfully teach the next generation of pastors.
 
Greatest reformer of our era: someone like Joel Beeke comes to mind - faithful ministry, published extensively, PRTS, promotes the old paths such as the Puritans. Likewise, as others mentioned, the local ministers faithfully preaching the whole Word of God.

Greatest need of reform today: (general gist: the church in general is more worldly in thought and action in living out the Christian life than we are biblical in submitting every sphere of - and all of - life to the Lordship of Christ):
  • cleansing the church of worldliness and conformity to culture (i.e. feminism, CRT, modesty/propriety in dress, participating in sinful worldly affairs);
  • preaching holiness and the third use of the law (many enjoy reformed theology as head knowledge but miss this aspect);
  • churches that pay lip service to the RPW but in practice are far from it (even our Reformed churches are looking more Anglican and Lutheran);
  • modern textual criticism and hermeneutics undermining scripture by putting man in a position of authority as opposed to submission.
 
I didn't think anyone else here knew of Henry Mahan. I have listened to a ton of his sermons. I listened to them for years when commuting back and forth to work and school. I have been blessed immensely by his preaching, which is some of the most powerful I've ever heard.
 
I didn't think anyone else here knew of Henry Mahan. I have listened to a ton of his sermons. I listened to them for years when commuting back and forth to work and school. I have been blessed immensely by his preaching, which is some of the most powerful I've ever heard.

Agreed. He was one of those local pastors who kept the Reformed Fire burning through the latter half of the 20th century.
 
Hi all, just a few questions, which I was thinking about, in relation to modern reformation. I'd be interested to hear your answers.

1 - Who would you say is the greatest reformer of our era, and why?

2 - Also, which areas of the church are in greatest need of reform today?
1 - As I look around, I see a decent number of solid Reformed preachers, writers etc across various denominations and am thankful for them, but I am not sure I could name many reformers as such? Taking that to mean people who are leading changes in their local churches to bring them closer to the scriptural pattern, but maybe I am misunderstanding.

2 - (a) The ordinances (esp preaching and sacraments) (so that ministers and people engage intelligently and heartily)
(b) 'catechising' or generally raising standards of understanding about and love for the basic truths of Christianity (Trinity, person of Christ, the accomplishment and application of redemption...)
(c) equipping believers to live out loving, meek, patient, upright lives of joy and hope (ie it's not enough to just have personal assurance of salvation, what impact does that have on the rest of my life and relationships, and being able to look above and beyond the mess in and around us to our glorious hope beyond the grave)
 
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