Do I believe what Rome is teaching and what is clearly set out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church,

or will I believe what Scripture teaches?

For example, Rome still teaches that justification includes the inward renewal of the believer,

whereas Scripture clearly teaches that that inward renewal is a

consequence of justification, not the cause of justification. We've got two completely

different systems here.

Welcome to the Crossway podcast, a show where we sit down with authors each week for thoughtful

interviews about the Bible,

theology, church history, and the Christian life. I'm Matt Tully, and today I'm talking with Michael Reeves. Michael serves as president and professor of theology at Union School Theology in Oxford,

England, a local church minister, and director of the European Theologians Network. He's also

the author of a number of books, including Why the Reformation Still Matters,

which he co-authored with Tim Chester.

Today, Michael and I discuss what the Protestant Reformation was really all about,

and whether or not it's still relevant today.

He reflects on the relationship between Protestants and Roman Catholics, explains what Martin Luther was really trying to accomplish when he posted his 95 feces, and responds to the idea that the Reformation is responsible for widespread disunity among Christians today. Let's get started.

Well, Michael Reeves, thank you so much for joining us on the Crossway podcast today.

Great to be with you, Matt. So I kind of want to get your input on something that happened just a

couple years ago that I think will help to illustrate questions that a lot of modern Christians

have. So back on October 26th in 2017, just four days before the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther,

posting his 95 feces on that church door, Pope Francis held what I think could be described as

an ecumenical meeting with leaders from the Church of Scotland,

which is a Protestant denomination, as I'm sure you're aware.

...