{"id":39818,"date":"2017-10-23T07:00:57","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T14:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/?p=39818"},"modified":"2019-04-15T12:10:57","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T19:10:57","slug":"the-message-of-the-reformers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/the-message-of-the-reformers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Message of the Reformers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Did you know that John Calvin made a point to write very little about himself\u2014which is one reason why we don\u2019t know much about his personal life? He isn’t the only one. The reformers didn’t write too many captivating memoirs, despite their brave and dangerous lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why didn’t the reformers write about themselves, and what were they writing instead?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason the reformers wrote so little about themselves was that they were not focused on themselves<\/strong>; they were focused on the message. We may best remember Luther for nailing up his theses or Tyndale praying \u201cLord! Open the King of England\u2019s eyes.\u201d But I believe the reformers would be deeply saddened if we remembered only<\/em> their brave actions and not their important message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, for those of us who are celebrating the anniversary of the Reformation, we should make it our aim to pick up something the reformers penned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READING THEIR MESSAGE<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Of course, it\u2019s slightly impossible to read everything<\/em> the reformers penned. Even picking up Calvin\u2019s Institutes alone is a daunting task. Plus, without being familiar with their writing styles and historical context, their writings can be difficult to understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, the second generation of reformers was aware of this issue. They summarized reformation teachings into bite-sized pieces. Their intent was not to replace the works of the reformers, but to give people like us, who may never go to seminary, a place to get started. These summaries are contained in the confessions and catechisms of the reformed churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

START READING NOW FOR FREE<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

At Olive Tree, our goal is similar to that of the second generation of reformers. We want to make it easier to access the Scriptures and biblical teachings. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve released The Westminster Confession of Faith with the Shorter and Larger Catechisms<\/em><\/a> for free. These resources line-up closely with the teachings of men like John Calvin and John Knox, expressing the most important parts of their message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wondering where to start?<\/strong> <\/em>The authors recommend first reading through and becoming familiar with the Shorter Catechism. Then, read the Larger Catechism, which builds on the shorter. Lastly, study the Westminster Confession of Faith. When combined, these three relatively short documents provide an excellent summary of reformed teaching on faith, life, and worship. We hope that you’ll enjoy these free resources and grow in your understanding of church history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LEARN MORE<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We’ve released more than a few free resources recently, so we thought it would be a good idea to remind you all. Here are the other releases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luther’s 95 Theses<\/a>
The Psalms of David in Metre<\/a>
London Baptist Confession of Faith & Catechism<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know that John Calvin made a point to write very little about himself\u2014which is one reason why we don\u2019t know much about his personal life? He isn’t the only one. The reformers didn’t write too many captivating memoirs, despite their brave and dangerous lives. Why didn’t the reformers write about themselves, and what<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":42929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5342],"tags":[6041,6042],"class_list":{"0":"post-39818","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-historical","8":"tag-luthers-95-theses","9":"tag-the-psalms-of-david-in-metre"},"yoast_head":"\nThe Message of the Reformers - Olive Tree Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What was the message of the reformers? 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