Refortnation
&evival
A Quarterly Journal for Church Leadership
Volume 1, No.1· Winter 1992
Information Table of Contents
Reformation & Revival Journal
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Editor's Introduction 9
issues and single issues are $5.00 each.
Correspondence concerning articles, editorial policy, Dr. John H. Armstrong
books for review, suggested manuscripts, and subscrip- Three Principles of Protestantism 13
tions should be addressed to the editor. Comments are
welcome. Dr. James E. McGoldrick
The convicdon of the staff and editors of the Reforma- Reformation: A Pivotal Issue 29
tion & Revival Journal is that awakening, of the kind seen in
the First Great Awakening in this country, wedded to the Tom Wells
doctrinal concerns of the historic Protestant Reformation Martin Luther-God's Man 39
as expressed in the terms, sola scriptura, sola gratia and
sola fide is needed in our generation.
Erroll Hulse
A Man for All Ministries 53
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise marked, are Dr. James I. Packer
taken from the HOLYBIBLE; NEWINTERNATIONAL VERSION.
Where are the Reformers? 75
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zonderuan Bible Publishers. Geoffrey Thomas
The Starving of the Church 81
Jim Elliff
Reforming the Pastoral Care of the Church 89
Thomas N. Smith
Bibliography 105
Book Reviews 107
Editor's Introduction
John H. Annstrong
On the 31st day of October, in the year 1517, around 12:00
noon, a relatively unknown Augustinian monk nailed upon
the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, Ninety-Five The-
ses. These theses, meant to stimulate debate and discus-
sion concerning abuses in church practice, were not par-
ticularly revolutionary. The issues that would later be
discussed, and concern the life of the church right down to
the present time, were not even on the table yetl But this
first move lit the candle that would not go out. Of his theses,
Luther later stated, "I allowed them to stand, that by them II
it may appear howweakI was, and in what a fluctuating state
of mind, when I began this business. I was then a monk and
a mad papist, and so submersed in the dogmas of the Pope
that I would have really murdered any person who denied
obedience to the Pope."
In our day another great apostasy has taken place. A
great departure from the gospel has plagued churches
across almost every line. What is needed?
The answer now, as then, is a great recovery of the truth,
a vital reformation joined with a genuine outpouring of
God's Spirit upon the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, i.e.
revival! God brings about reformation when His people
return to the Word of God as their sole source of doctrine
and practice. Revival attends the prayer and cry of a church,
pleading for showers from heaven to fall again, as in better
times. It is the sovereign work of God, given most often at
the darkest times in the life of the church and society at
large. The result is a renewed and powerful church and
multitudes of converts born in a season. In a very real sense,
one cannot separate these twin concerns. Men like Richard
Baxter, who is looked at in some detail in this issue, saw
these truths as virtually synonymous. Reformation under-
taken without the power of the Spirit can lead to cold formal
efforts at' recovery, while revival without reformation
can produce new forms of doctrinal confusion and
Editor's Introduction Editor's Introduction
theological extremism. the name. We must heed the word from Jehovah which says,
Today we are confused about both of these truths. We "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak
associate reformation with a mere change in creed, or an according to this word, they have no light of dawn." (Isaiah
adjustment in some moral area, both of which may be badly 8:20)
needed. We associate revival with an entirely different The church in America is characterized by frenzy and
movement, known since the middle of the last century as confusion. Great denominations of the past have given in
"revivalism." This term "revivalism" refers more to human almost entirely to liberalism, which is, in reality, not Chris-
efforts at evangelism and church renewal than the sover- tian at all. Those who resisted liberalism in earlier days of
eignly granted heaven-rending phenomenon of revival. Of- this century are in a virtual methodological panic-at-
ten in the Old Testament we see the people of God under-
take, in prayer and renewal of covenantal loyalty to God,
tempting in every way possible to draw and keep the
crowds of people they desire to win to Christ. Much of this
m
wide-scale reformation. We also see the "fire" fall as they kind of Christianity looks strikingly more like the practice of
wait before Jehovah and plead, "Will you not revive us the church in an age when relics and indulgences were
again, that your people may rejoice in you?" (psalm 85:6) destroying the true piety of clergy and laity alike.
It is the conviction of the editors and staff of Reformation But why reformation? Isn't revival enough? I answer
& Revival Journal that our generation of believers, espe- without hesitation, "No!"
cially in North America, needs to pursue the complete Consider the church in its infancy in the Book of Acts.
theological and ethical reformation of the church (and this Revival showers fell frequently, but apostles, elders, and
always begins in the visible, local church). It is our convic- deacons all labored to preserve and protect the life of the
tion, further, that nothing would help us to more readily church. They did this through application of the truth to
finish the final mandate of our Lord than a gen uine God-sent such matters as hospitality, church diSCipline, the right use
revival! "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" of the Lord's Supper, careful selection of elders and dea-
In this first volume of our journal we will address the cons in the local church, consistent moral life in the leaders
matter of reformation. In the second (Le. Vol. I, No.2) we of the church, and a host of similar concerns seen in the
propose to address the subject of revival. Following these epistles of the New Testament.
two we will address biblical ~nd contemporary issues in the Consider the history of the church since the close of the
light of concern for reformation and revival. In the spirit of canon. Again and again, faithful leaders have labored to
the Protestant Reformation we are committed to the prin- recover "the whole counsel of God" in order to be faithful to
ciple, "Reformed, yet always reforming!" Each generation the Lord of the ch urch. In so doing they have often been the
must search the Scriptures afresh, apply the truth to its age, very vanguard of revival and awakening.
and stand faithful to God. We can learn from the greatest No, we must labor for both reformation and revival. We
reformation in church history, which occurred 450 years must be "continually reforming ...". We must turn back with
ago, but we cannot stop there. The Protestant reformers are renewed zeal to the Scriptures. We must study them, preach
not our infallible guides; only the Word of God is final them, and obey them. We must pray that unction will be
authority in any kind of evangelical Christianity worthy of given to those who preach faithfully and that revival will be
Editor's Introduction Three Principles of Protestantism
James E. McGoldrick
granted to our local churches as well as on a world wide The Protestant faith originated in a time of scandal when
scale. Johann Tetzel, a Dominican monk, appeared in Germany
It is with this in view that this publication is launched, in and went from place to place selling certificates of indul-
faith and hope. With this in mind, we consider the Protes- gence. It was in the fall of 1517 that the scandal began. Tetzel
tant Reformation of the 1500's, several important people promised his listeners that they could obtain remission for
and events from that era, and matters that flow out of it right their sins and for the sins of their loved ones who had died
down to our time. We do not believe they had it all right, but and gone to purgatory. Consequently, pious people col-
I we believe they had much right, and that they had the most
important truths right, something that seems dubious to us
lected their savings and rushed to Tetzel to purchase his
documents, for that seemed to be the requirement of Chris-
concerning the church of our time. tian charity-that loved ones might be released from the
torments of purgatory and admitted to heaven itself. In fact,
John H. Armstrong Tetzelled people to believe that they could obtain forgive-
ness merely by dropping their coins in his box and taking
the certificates he offered. In order to popularize the sale,
Tetzel recited ajingle: "So bald der Pfennig im Kasten k1ingt,
die Selle aus dem Fegfeuer springU" ("As soon as the coin in
the coffer rings, the soul out of purgatory springs.") People
seemed to come from everywhere, seeking to liberate loved
ones from the flames of punishment. Purgatory, in the
teaching of the medieval church, was portrayed as a place
of temporal punishment for sin; the length of time a soul
would spend there was determined by the number and
severity of his offences. When one had been purged fully, he
would be released to go to heaven.
Word of Tetzel's activities soon reached Wittenberg Uni-
versity where Dr. Martin Luther, Professor of Theology,
received it with consternation. Rather than react with joy-
ous hope that characterized the people who were purchas-
ing Tetzel's documents, Luther became enraged. He spoke
out vigorously and denounced the entire affair as a scandal
of immense significance and contended that the church
must be saved from the wretched traffic in indulgences.
Luther went to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg,
a document in one hand, a hammer in the other, and
fastened to that door a list of ninety-five protests against the
