Scroll through most seminary catalogs today and you will spot a disturbing trend: fewer required hours in Greek and Hebrew. Yet five centuries ago, the Reformers considered those very languages the engine that powered the Reformation itself. When the likes of John Calvin and Martin Luther opened their Hebrew and Greek Bibles, they pried the church out of medieval darkness and into the sunlight of sola scriptura. Their example is a convicting reminder that we cannot keep the doctrinal gains of the past while neglecting the tools that produced them. Below is a brief discussion of how Luther and Calvin used the biblical languages—and why pastors, teachers, and seminarians should still make them a priority. Luther’s Sword and Safeguard Luther knew the gospel does not hover in mid-air; it is embedded in words, grammar, and syntax. The biblical languages were, in his mind, the defense of the Gospel itself! In…