1. This is an excerpt from “The Alien and the Proper: Luther's Two-Fold Righteousness in Controversy, Ministry, and Citizenship,” edited by Robert Kolb (1517 Publishing, 2023). Now available for purchase.
  2. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  3. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  4. That great truth of creedal Christianity – that God is man in Christ – is not set forth for our speculative enjoyment.
  5. If a key part of the Reformation was placing God’s Word back into the hands of the people in a clear, understandable way, then John of Ragusa can be called a “Prometheus” in his own right.
  6. When the Reformers read the Bible (especially when studied in the original languages), they found a God who was gracious and merciful for the sake of Christ.
  7. Even though All Saints is a day for remembering the dead, it is not a day of mourning.
  8. The good news is that with our God there is always more: more than we deserve, dare, ask, or expect, more than we can see, hear, feel, or think.
  9. Every incendiary move of God’s Spirit is accompanied by a group of penitent people rediscovering the power and preeminence of God’s Word.
  10. The reason that God’s commandments are not burdensome is that Jesus has fulfilled them.