'Why the Reformation Still Matters' by Michael Reeves and Tim Chester has been on my (virtual) bookshelf for a long time now. Months, in fact. I started it last August with the goal of reviewing it around Reformation Day 2016.
That obviously did not happen.
But I want to make something clear: it's not because it was bad. Not in the slightest. It was because life got busy and I forgot it and it languished.
The thing is, though, when I picked it back up again a few weeks ago, I flew through it. It's a rich book, thick with theology and church history, yet it is beautifully readable. It feels like a Reformation class taught at popular level by two fun, down-to-earth, and slightly goofy professors. The kind of class that makes you say, "They made it come alive for me. They made me understand it, and they made me love it!"
'Why the Reformation Still Matters' unpacks why the principles of the Reformation still matter today. Why is knowing what the Reformers taught so important? What exactly did they teach in the first place? Can't Protestants and Roman Catholics just get along and unite?
It's these questions that Michael Reeves and Tim Chester answer.
The book is divided into ten chapters, each explaining a Protestant doctrine that was shaped by the Reformers: from justification to grace to union with Christ to the church to everyday life. And over the course of the book, Reeves and Chester argue persuasively and biblically that the Reformation very, very much still matters.
This is why:
"At its heart the Reformation was a dispute about how we know God and how we can be right with him. At stake was our eternal future, a choice between heaven and hell. And it still is. That our modern world finds the Reformation alien says as much about us as it does about the Reformers. It exposes our preoccupation with this material world and this momentary life.
"If there is a world beyond this world and a life beyond this life, then it does not seem to matter very much to us—out of sight, out of mind. It is a bizarre position to take when so much is at stake. For the Reformers there was no need more pressing than assurance in the face of divine judgment, and there was no act more loving than to proclaim a message of grace that granted eternal life to those who responded with faith.
"The Reformation still matters because eternal life still matters."
(18)
Thus, Protestants should know what the Reformers taught. Hence, 'Why the Reformation Still Matters.'
But what's so beautiful about this book is that Reeves and Chester don't just teach the history and theology and leave you with dry facts. They connect it to real life. Yes, the Reformation still matters in evangelicalism at large but it also matters for you.
Every Christian individual should be led to worship and joy because of what the Reformers fought for. Because of the compelling way Reeves and Chester draw practical application out of this, one of my favorite chapters was "Union with Christ."
I'd love to give this book to every Protestant. If you wonder what the big deal was with the Reformation, this book is for you. If you wonder why Catholics and Protestants can't worship together, this book is for you. If you want a warm and engaging overview of Reformation theology, this book is for you. If you want to worship and dwell on the sweet truths of God, this book is for you.
If you're a Christian, this book is for you.
Buy 'Why the Reformation Still Matters' here
*I received a free copy of this book through Crossway's Beyond the Page review system and was not required to give a positive review.
Photo courtesy of Tim Chester.