Introduction
Every now and then throughout history an event takes place that has a major impact on the world. Looking back from our present day, we tend to squish these events into single instances, even when they take place over years or decades. One such event is the protestant reformation that took place in the early part of the 1500s. Yesterday, October 31, was not only Halloween, it was Reformation Day. This day is known as the day that Martin Luther, a father of the reformation, posted his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. The reformation did not spark that day. In fact, it took quite some time for his theses to spark any controversy. It was not unusual to post notices on the doors of the church since that was the common meeting place of the people. The reformation would eventually take hold in Europe, starting the protestant reformation that we follow in the tradition of today.
Why Reform?
Martin Luther was not the first person to bring up issues with the teachings of the Catholic church. Many had brought charges against the practices of indulgences and teachings that were common in the church, claiming the church’s teachings were not in line with what scripture taught. Marin Luther struggled with his faith, feeling inadequate to work for salvation under the teaching of the church. He also saw the corruption in the selling of indulgences for profit from the other priests. After reading the Greek version of the New Testament, which Erasmus had published in 1516, Luther realized that scripture did not teach about penance, but about a change of heart. The heart of the reformation is in the doctrine of faith alone. We do not need to pay for indulgences, or do penance, to receive God’s grace. It is a gift from God, so that no many may boast (Eph 2:8-9). From this, the other Solas were worked out, which are: Sola Fide (faith alone), Sola Gratia (grace alone), Solus Christus (Christ alone), Sola Scriptura (scripture alone) and Sola Scriptura (scripture alone). Martin Luther did not intend to split the church, but to reform the Catholic church. Over the years the debate continued on until the reformers were booted from the gathering and the protestant reformation continued as those who taught against the teachings of the Catholic church continued to faithfully teach the scriptures.
Conclusion
Thanks to the reformers, we have returned to scripture as our source of God’s word above the traditions of the church. We have to recognize that the reformation is not a picture perfect event, handed down by God. There were good and bad teachings from the reformers, as there have been throughout the history of the church. We remember back to the reformation to remind ourselves continually that God is the one who saves, and we cannot add our works to His. The reformation is an excellent time in history to study and learn from.
For more information, and probably a more engaging teaching on the reformation, I recommend viewing this sermon from Apologia Church given by James White.