Bryan Chapell, senior pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church Detailed and comprehensive the Reformation Study Bible is substantive enough for the mature Christian and at the same accessible for the new convert. This will set a new standard of excellence for many years to come. I am grateful for this new edition of the Reformation Study Bible which includes, among other helpful appendices, the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689. The study notes are written by humble, trustworthy theologians who approach Scripture reverently and with the desire to help make its meaning clear. Justification is a once-for-all, nonrepeatable act of God. It is distinct, therefore, from progressive sanctification, which is an ongoing work of God’s grace. Once God accepts a sinner on the basis of the imputed righteousness of Christ, that person can never lose his right standing before God.

The Reformation Study Bible (previously published as the New Geneva Study Bible) is a study Bible published by Ligonier Ministries. The Reformation Study Bible "aims to carry on the legacy of the Geneva Bible in shining forth the light of biblical Christianity, which was recovered in the Reformation." [1] As of late 2021, all editions of the Reformation Study Bible feature the Bible text of the English Standard Version (ESV). Faith is the alone instrument of justification because “faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel” (WSC 36). While God requires that sinners believe in Christ for their justification, the exercise of faith is a gift of God’s grace to the elect. Faith alone justifies, even though it is accompanied by other graces (e.g., love, affections, repentance, etc). Faith unites a sinner to Christ, thus enabling God to impute (i.e., credit or account) Christ’s righteousness to the believer. Some people dismiss the Reformation as a peculiar chapter of history with little relevance to contemporary life, but nothing could be further from the truth. In this eight-part teaching series, Dr. Michael Reeves explains that the Reformation still matters because the gospel still matters. This series surveys the beliefs of Roman Catholics and Protestants, revealing that these two traditions hold very different views on salvation—one relies on our performance, while the other rests on Jesus’ righteousness alone. For Kids Here is where we encounter a challenge: not everything in the Bible is equally clear in meaning. As the apostle Peter spoke of the apostle Paul’s writings, “…there are some things in them that are hard to understand ” (2 Peter 3:15-16; ESV; emphasis my own). Likewise, Westminster Confession of Faith 1.7 states the following,In this volume for children, Simonetta Carr tells the compelling story of Martin Luther, the monk who wrote ninety-five questions hoping to start a discussion about sin and repentance. The book traces Luther’s quest for peace with God, his lifelong heroic stand for God’s truth, his family life, and his numerous accomplishments. The Reformer’s greatest accomplishment, Carr writes, was “his uncompromising emphasis on the free promise of the gospel.” Michael Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Gathering wise theologians from the reformed perspective, Reformation Trust has given a great gift to the church: a highly readable, yet deeply rich study bible—accessible to both professional and lay men and women There has been no shortage of English Bibles since the Geneva Bible. Neither has there been a shortage of study Bibles since the Geneva Bible. By way of an informal nonscientific study, I counted the study Bibles listed in Christian Book Distributors Bibles catalog for spring/ summer 2015. Not counting children’s Bibles, the number topped one hundred, among them a facsimile edition of the 1560 Geneva Bible. All of these study Bibles except the Geneva Bible date from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Reformation Women: Sixteenth-Century Figures Who Shaped Christianity’s Rebirth by Rebecca VanDoodewaard

Justification is one of the central benefits of redemption that God applies to believers on the basis of Jesus’ sinless life, atoning death, and resurrection from the dead. In justification, ungodly and guilty men and women are counted righteous before God (Rom. 4:5). This means that God forgives their sins and accepts them as righteous in His sight on the basis of the saving work of Jesus alone (Rom. 4:6–8). Scripture is clear that individuals are justified by faith alone in Christ alone (Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:9). The Westminster Shorter Catechism provides the most succinct definition of the doctrine of justification, when it states, “Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone” (Q&A 33). The Student Edition includes answers to questions on key subjects of the Christian faith and practical lessons from each book of the Bible, prepared especially for students and young adults. Read a sample or browse available cover styles. Power your study with the thoroughly revised and updated 2015 edition of the Reformation Study Bible—one of today’s most respected resources for personal Bible study. The Reformation Study Bible emphasizes the need for God’s grace to lead us out of darkness and into the light of Scripture, now aiding readers with 44% more commentary than the original edition—20,000 new, revised, or expanded study notes and 1.1 million total words of commentary.Study Bibles have a special place in my heart. As a church-going but unbelieving teenager, I did not understand the Bible and had no interest in reading it. But when I became a believer at the end of college, I really wanted to know what the Bible meant. Studying the Bible was transformational, but my new-found excitement about reading it was regularly dampened by the difficulty of certain passages. Providentially, a friend was wise enough to hand me a study Bible and that really changed my Bible reading. Concise, helpful notes by trustworthy scholars explained the Bible in a way that renewed my enjoyment of reading it. Ligonier Ministries has produced a time-tested study Bible that is now available as a Student Edition . When requested to review the Reformation Study Bible Student Edition , I was excited to see what unique contributions a student edition would make to the study Bible I already loved. The value of a study Bible One of the seven on the cover was The New Geneva Study Bible, first published in 1995 under the editorship of R.C. Sproul. It was renamed the Reformation Study Bible in 1998. Unlike the NIV Study Bible, this study Bible did not seek to represent the broad consensus of evangelicalism; rather, it represented, for the first time since 1560, a study Bible from the Reformed tradition.

According to the publisher, the objectives of the Student Edition are to “understand truth” and to “grow in your faith.” Understanding truth is the result of Bible experts providing detailed notes throughout the Scriptures, and growing in faith is the result of applying the “practical insights” and reading the “helpful callouts” to answer your questions. The mountain of study Bibles keeps growing, but not all growth is necessarily a good thing. The intention of a study Bible is to promote Bible study. Study notes and resources that lead us away from ourselves and our own understanding and toward the biblical text are helpful. When we can’t see the text for the notes, study Bibles are not only unhelpful, but they become barriers to our discipleship, leading us down destructive paths. As in all other things, we must be discerning. We must follow only the trustworthy voices. You’ll see a lot of resources listed in that panel. Many of them are part of our Bible Gateway Plus membership service, and they require that you have a Bible Gateway Plus subscription to use. However, The Reformation Study Bible is free and can be used by anyone. 3. Locate The Reformation Study Bible in the Study Bibles section. Albert Mohler, president, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary This new study Bible is an excellent resource for Christians of every age who desire to grow in the knowledge of the Word of God and of God himself. The introductions to the Bible books and commentary on the text itself skillfully combine both learning and reverence for God’s Word, and should thus help reinforce the joy and wisdom the Christian derives from reading the Scriptures. The Reformation Study Bible is carefully crafted to equip Christians for a lifetime of in-depth Bible study as they seek to know God’s truth and live for His glory. This landmark resource, edited by Dr. R.C. Sproul with commentary from seventy-five distinguished theologians, is available in a variety of formats to serve your specific study needs. Knowing the unique features of each edition can help you decide which can best suit you or someone you know.Heinz Dschankilic, Sola Scriptura Ministries International This is a great translation of the Bible whose teaching has been made more accessible by superb study aids, introductions, and explanatory notes. These have been written by people who know God’s Word and who honor it as the Word of our almighty God. Perhaps the nadir of this publishing phenomenon was reached with the publication of Revolve Bible, a magazine-formatted study Bible of sorts for teenage girls. This includes a series of notes under the title “Guys Speak Out on Tons of Important Issues.” Among them we find this Q&A: Q: Do you ever think about getting married? All of the study notes from The Reformation Study Bible are available to read right alongside Scripture at Bible Gateway. The following is a step-by-step guide on how to do that: 1. Look up a Bible passage. The Reformation Study Bible (2015) has been thoroughly revised and carefully crafted under the editorial leadership of R.C. Sproul and the contributions of 75 distinguished theologians and pastors from around the world. Over 1.1 million words of new, expanded, or revised commentary represent 40% more content faithfully presented to emphasize the need for the grace of God to lead out of darkness and into the light of Scripture.

The Condensed Edition contains the best of this commentary in a portable format. It’s our most lightweight edition, suitable for travel, public worship, and life on the go. Read a sample or browse available cover styles. Covering events that occurred more than five hundred years ago, this podcast invites listeners to walk in Martin Luther’s footsteps at the dawn of the Reformation. Hear in Luther’s own words the powerful story of his journey from heresy charges to his famous stand for the authority of God’s Word at the Diet of Worms. Just as Deborah, Esther, and the New Testament Marys helped shape Bible history, so the women of the Reformed church have helped to make its history great. In Reformation Women, Rebecca VanDoodewaard introduces readers to twelve sixteenth-century women who provide an example to Christians today of strong service to Christ and His church. These influential, godly women were devoted to Reformation truth, provided support for their husbands, practiced hospitality, and stewarded their intellectual abilities. This book can help readers better understand church history and how God used women to further the Reformation through their work and influence. PodcastsStarting in 1989, R. C. Sproul assembled a team of contributors to work on a study Bible edition that would follow a distinctively Reformed perspective. [2] In 1995, Thomas Nelson (now HarperCollins) published the New Geneva Study Bible (featuring the Bible text of the New King James Version); the name of the edition was changed to Reformation Study Bible in 1998. Other trends include particularly themed study Bibles such as The Apologetics Study Bible or the NIV Archaeological Study Bible. There are also many “affinity” study Bibles, such as The Firefighter’s Bible, The Marine’s Bible, and so forth. There are gender-specific and age-specific Bibles. Women have their own study Bibles, as do men, as do teens, as do children, and so on. The mountain of seven has grown to that hundred-plus number mentioned earlier. There are study Bibles for nearly every denomination or theological point of view. Roman Catholics have The New Jerusalem Bible. The Orthodox Study Bible, The Lutheran Study Bible, and The Wesley Study Bibleall serve their respective denominations. Pentecostals and Charismatics have the Spirit-Filled Bible, the Life in the Spirit Study Bible, and others.