by Kevin /
We are thrilled to announce the release of Charles E. Fry’s book, A World Upside Down: Four Essays on the Life and Theology of Martin Luther, with a Foreword from Jerry Bridges. Luther discovered truths in the Bible that not only changed the world—they can change us, too. What’s more, despite nearly 500 years since the publication of Luther’s 95 Theses, the church is still desperately in need of what he discovered in Scripture.
In this book, Chuck Fry briefly portrays Luther’s life and faith through four chapters. In fact, as Fry shows us, the beginning and end of all of Luther’s theology was simple faith in Christ.
1) The first chapter walks us through many of the high points of Luther’s remarkable life, focusing mainly on the development of his theology. Luther’s faith in Christ and the finished work of the cross gave him great assurance before God, yet placed him permanently at war with the world.
2) Chapter two articulates Luther’s understanding of the gospel—what faith in Christ is, the need we all have for the Savior, and the Christian’s humble dependence on the good news of God’s unchanging grace.
3) The third chapter explores Luther’s teaching that the gospel gives all glory to God: God’s wisdom revealed in the gospel message humbles man’s pride and wisdom, and produces good works in the believer’s life, all of this exalting God alone.
4) The final chapter celebrates Luther’s view that the forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ is central to the life of the church. This section summarizes the book, applying Luther’s theology to us in the 21st century and pointing out how much the church at large still needs to grasp and apply Luther’s teachings.
So, who is Chuck Fry? You may know him as organizer and host of the Majesty of God conference held each April. He is on staff with The Navigators in Huntington, West Virginia, and has been in discipleship ministry since 1989.[tweet “500 years after his 95 Theses, we still need Martin Luther.”]
In his Foreword, Jerry Bridges writes that Fry does “an excellent job of summarizing and clarifying for us Luther’s understanding of the gospel….this book will encourage you to live by the gospel every day.” And Bill Walsh, Director of International Outreach at The Gospel Coalition, writes, “The strong, clear articulation of law and gospel in chapter two is by itself worth the price of the book.”
We encourage you to check it out.
