Turning Back the Darkness: The Biblical Pattern of Reformation

When we talk about reformation, most of us think immediately of the events that took place in sixteenth-century Europe. Though the word reformation does indeed belong within the realm of church history, it is more importantly a biblical concept―a mandate, even―that still needs our attention today.

Richard Phillips examines the vital crossroads and turning points for the people of God in both the Old and New Testaments, demonstrating that in the flow of redemptive history there is a definite pattern of formation, deformation, and reformation. It's a pattern no less evident in our own times, and it gives us a lens through which to view ourselves, our thoughts, and our plans. As Phillips explains the biblical mandate for reformation and sets forth God's principles that shape this call, you will be encouraged and emboldened toward a more confident application of these truths.

Richard D. Phillips (DD, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary) is the senior minister of Second Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina. He chairs the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology and coedits the Reformed Expository Commentary. He is also a chairman of the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, a council member of the Gospel Coalition, and a trustee of Westminster Theological Seminary.

R. C. Sproul (1939–2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization located near Orlando, Florida. He was also founding pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida, first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. His radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. Sproul contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, spoke at conferences, churches, colleges, and seminaries around the world, and wrote more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, and Everyone’s a Theologian. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible.