Book Review: Long Before Luther by Nathan Busenitz

With the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation came the release of the excellent treatise on reformation Soteriology as expressed by its forerunners. The book covers three specific areas of Reformation doctrine in its survey of theologians dating back to the time of the New Testament: forensic justification, justification distinguished from sanctification, and the imputed righteousness of Christ. If none of that made sense, don’t worry! The author explains what all of those terms are.

The reasoning behind this book is that many claim that the Reformation understanding of justification by faith alone (sola fide) was a new invention by Reformers, and that we should go back to the “mother church” of Catholicism. By the end of the book I was rather encouraged that what I believe as a Protestant Christian is Biblical and also taught is some form by the early Church fathers.

I would recommend this book for any Christian seeking to understand Reformation doctrine and how far back it reaches. It may be slow reading for those who aren’t used to reading books that cover theology, but for the more advanced reader of theology, it’s pretty easy to get through.

I received this book for free from the publisher through the Moody Publishers blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions and thoughts I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255