The Reformation is a story. Not of its own, it belongs to the larger story of Christ’s church. It is a story that is still unfolding.

This is not to say that the Reformation is simply a label synonymous with church history. It is not. Properly it identifies a specific set of events that constituted the largest revival in the history of Christ’s church. It is a story of tremendous import and impact.

The Reformation is a story of rediscovery. Many and various protests had been proclaimed against moral corruptions and clerical abuses in the church for centuries. But that is not what this story is about. Multiple campaigns for moral makeover and religious renovation were advocated and sometimes conformity imposed, but this was not the heart of the Reformation. No, it was driven by something much more beautiful. The ugly corruptions that any honest observer could see were but symptoms of a deeper sickness in Christ’s nominal church. Rather than a concerted effort to clean the outside of the cup, the Reformation rediscovered the glory and the grace of the gospel, centered in Christ crucified and risen. Morals and practices in the exterior would be renovated in the interior by the gospel’s manifold transformation.

The Reformation is a story of rediscovering the gospel, which begins with the individual heart. Nevertheless, it is not an individualistic story. It engages Christ’s church at her foundation and as a whole. It aims at no less than her self-understanding: who she is, what she is here for, and how she is to steward her role and responsibilities in the world.

This is a story of change effected by the light of God's gospel that continues to ripple throughout the world.

The grand and vital reality of the Reformation has everything to do with the gospel. See how God not only brought about a rediscovery of the gospel in the Reformation, but how through it He gave us safeguards to help preserve it.

GOSPEL

A Survey of the Story

You can walk through a brief survey of this story or jump right to your particular area of interest using the buttons below. There is also an option below the survey to read the story in greater depth.

• What is the Protestant Reformation?
  What
• When did the Reformation occur?
  When
• Where did the major events of the Reformation take place?
  Where
• Why did the Reformation occur?
  Why
• Who were the major leaders in the Reformation?
  Who
• How did the Reformation take place?
  How

Read through the Story

Read through the development of the Reformation, starting with its background and uniqueness.

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