What is Reformed Theology & Why Does it Matter?

In episode 17, I will give an overview of the history and theology of the Protestant Reformation, and why it matters today.First, I will briefly introduce the history of the Protestant Reformation, which began on October 31st 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.* Then, I will discuss the theological foundation of the Reformation, which is known as the “5 Solas.”Next, I will define “Reformed Theology.” Sometimes Calvinism (aka “the doctrines of grace”) is equated with Reformed Theology, but you can be a Calvinist and still not be Reformed. To be Reformed is to hold to one of the historic Reformed confessions of faith, such as: The Three Forms of Unity (The Belgic Confession, The Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism), the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Savoy Declaration, or the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.Then, I will look at three distinctives of Reformed Theology which set it apart from other systems of theology, and which are recognized to some extent in all of the historic Reformed confessions. Those three distinctives are: The 5 points of Calvinism, Covenant Theology (both Presbyterian & 1689 Federalism), and the threefold division of the Law of God.Finally, we will see that Reformed theology is very practical for all of life—producing faith, joy, obedience, holiness, and genuine worship. It gives us a robust and comprehensive system of theology which helps keep us from innumerable errors, heresies, and the schemes of the devil. More than anything else, in an age of lies and deceit, we need to be deeply rooted and grounded in the truth of Scripture. We need to apply all of Scripture to all of life.May God use this to strengthen you and build you up in the most holy faith. To God alone be the glory!__________* At the 3:20 mark where the screen fades to black: Originally, I had put together a video segment giving a brief 3 minute history of the Protestant Reformation with clips from the 1953 Martin Luther movie, synced up with audio narration from R.C. Sproul. Unfortunately, about 20 seconds of those video clips were copyrighted. So, I edited that short segment out, but I don’t think it will take anything away from the overall content of this podcast. Thanks YouTube. {rolls eyes}