Reformation Sunday 2004

Article 44 of 37 from the Ponder This - 2004 series

October 2004 - REFORMATION SUNDAY 2004 by Ray Pritchard You could hardly imagine a less auspicious way to begin a revolution. A young monk named Martin Luther nailed a sheet of paper to the doors of the local church. Luther had no idea he was igniting a movement that would change the world. He merely intended his “95 Theses”� to lead to a public discussion about abuses in the Catholic Church. Posting such a document was an accepted way to do that. Today you might post on an Internet discussion board or make an entry on a weblog. In the providence of God, those “95 Theses”� shook the Catholic Church to the core, led to Luther's excommunication, and that started the Protestant Reformation. Today we celebrate Luther's act of defiant courage. We stand with Luther in his insistence that the Word of God stands in judgment over the traditions of the church, and where Scripture and tradition are in evident conflict, tradition must give way to Holy Scripture. Lutheran theologian Michael Sydow says that the Reformation was about three core issues: 1) Justification by Faith Alone. Luther called this the central teaching of the Bible. The church stands or falls depending on its faithfulness to this truth. What exactly does this doctrine mean? It means that God declares the believing sinner righteous solely on the basis of the death of Jesus Christ. The sinner is saved by faith alone, not by any good works that we may do. 2) The Priesthood of the Believer. Before the Reformation, church members depended on the priest for the sacraments that ensured their entrance into heaven. Luther argued from I Peter 2:9 that all believers are priests and can go directly to God without having to go through a human priest or pastor. Christians can read the Bible for themselves and discover what it says without going to the church for its interpretation. 3) The Translation of the Bible into German. We can hardly understand how monumental this was. Before the Reformation, the Bible was printed only in Latin, and thus available only to those with advanced training. Luther's German translation made the Bible available to the common man. This meant that the masses no longer had to depend on the priests to tell them what God's Word said. They could read it for themselves. Do you have a Bible in English? Thank you, Martin Luther. Do you read your Bible on your own? Thank you, Martin Luther. Do you come to God in Jesus' name, without asking permission of the church? Thank you, Martin Luther. Do you trust in Jesus Christ by faith alone as your Lord and Savior? Thank you, Martin Luther. Certainly there were many others before and after Luther who made these things possible, but Luther towers above them all. He shines as the brightest star in the constellation of the Protestant Reformation. Following Luther there was John Calvin who is remembered as the theologian of the Reformation. If Luther was Paul, then Calvin was Apollos. God used them both to bring about a spiritual awakening to his church. Why is this called Reformation Sunday? Because exactly 487 years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his sheet of paper to the church door, thus igniting a flame that still burns today. Calvary Memorial Church is a Protestant church. We boldly proclaim the Good News that we are justified by faith alone wholly apart from any good works we may do. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Thank you, Martin Luther, for leading the church back to the gospel.