Covenant Reformed News – September 2008 • Volume XII, Issue 5
This article defends the Reformed doctrine of justification by faith alone and the sufficiency of Christ as the sole foundation of the church, directly countering Roman Catholic ecclesiology and papal authority. Through exegetical analysis of Matthew 16 and 1 Corinthians 3:11, the author argues that Peter's fallibility and Rome's denial of sola fide demonstrate the incompatibility of papal claims with Scripture.
Christ Will Build His Church (2) Even the person of Peter (never mind the popes of Rome) is totally incapable of being the rock that supports the church. First, a few verses later in Matthew 16, Christ rebuked His disciple, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men” (23). Only moments after his great confession (16), Peter fell into carnal thinking (22). Rome thoroughly savours the things of man, all the...