Why The Reformation Distinguished Law And Gospel

“Are you getting in the Word?”

“You gotta get in the Word.”

Christians hear phrases like this constantly. They sound deeply spiritual and unquestionably biblical. But when you stop and think about them, they are often so broad and undefined that they become practically meaningless. What exactly does that mean?

In the Reformation tradition, Scripture is not merely a religious book we study. Scripture is how God Himself speaks to His people. And when God speaks in Scripture, He speaks in two fundamentally different ways: law and gospel. These two words of God do radically different things. Read more»

John Fonville | ““Get in the Word”?
Recovering the Reformation Distinction Between Law and Gospel” | May 13, 2026


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    Post authored by:

  • John Fonville
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    John Fonville, originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, is an ordained presbyter in the Anglican Church in North America, serving in the Diocese of the Rocky Mountains. He is the founder of Paramount Church, the Director of The Center for Reformation Anglicanism, and an author with Moody Publishing. John graduated from Gardner-Webb University (BA), earned his MDiv at The Master’s Seminary, and his DMin at Ligonier Academy. He and his wife, Kathryn, have six children.

    More by John Fonville ›

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