The Importance of Reformation Today
Elder’s Message Jamie Weist
Can you imagine going to church and never hearing the Gospel? Unfortunately, many “churches” in our communities today centralize their focus on entertainment, motivating stories, and emotional connection. The Reformation began as a widespread theological revolution in Europe against the abuses and authoritarian control of the Roman Catholic Church. Reformers such as Martin Luther in Germany, and Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin in Switzerland, protested unbiblical practices of the Church and encouraged a return to sound biblical doctrine. The triggering event of the Protestant Reformation is considered to be Luther’s posting of his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Church on October 31, 1517.
As a background to the history of Protestantism and the Reformation, it is important to understand the Roman Catholic claim of apostolic succession. This doctrine states that the line of Roman Catholic popes extends through the centuries all the way from the apostle Peter to the current pope. This chain of authority makes the Roman Catholic Church believe they are the only true church and gives the pope preeminence and infallibility over all churches. Roman Catholics place church teaching and tradition on a level equal to the authority of Scripture itself. This is one of the major differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants and was one of the foundational issues leading to the Reformation.
Even prior to Luther’s posting of his Theses, there were small areas of resistance to some of the unbiblical practices of the Roman Catholic Church by men who had stood up for reform and who stood for the true Gospel. Among them were John Wycliffe, an English theologian and Oxford professor who was condemned as a heretic in 1415; Jan Hus, a priest from Bohemia who was burned at the stake in 1415 for his opposition to the Church of Rome; and Girolamo Savonarola, an Italian friar who was hanged and burned in 1498.
The opposition to the false teaching of the Roman Catholic Church came to a head in the sixteenth century when Luther challenged the authority of the pope and, in particular, the selling of indulgences. Rather than listen to the call to reform, the Roman Catholic Church dug in its heels and sought to silence the Reformers. Eventually, new churches emerged from the Reformation, forming five major divisions of Protestantism: Luther’s followers started the Lutheran Church, Calvin’s followers started the Reformed Church, John Knox’s followers started the Presbyterian Church in Scotland (using Calvinistic doctrine), Reformers in England started the Anglican Church, and individual Anabaptist and Baptist churches sprang up all over Europe.
At the heart of the Protestant Reformation were four basic questions which are still relevant today: How do I receive salvation? Who has religious authority? What is the church? What is the core of Christian living? In answering these questions, Protestant Reformers developed what would be known as the “Five Solas”. These five essential points of biblical doctrine clearly separate Protestantism from Roman Catholicism and the Reformers resisted the demands placed on them to recant these doctrines, even to the point of death.
- Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
- Sola Gratia – Salvation by Grace Alone
- Sola Fide – Salvation by Faith Alone
- Solus Christus – In Christ Alone
- Soli Deo Gloria – For the Glory of God Alone
These five important doctrines are just as important today in evaluating a church and its teachings as they were in the sixteenth century. The Reformation gave people a thirst for Bible reading which led to an understanding of the Gospel.
The relevance of the Reformation’s impacts are still important today because the answers to the same questions give us a response to human hopelessness. The Reformation was not principally a negative movement about moving away from the Roman Catholic Church but was a positive movement toward the Gospel. I’m excited to be part of a church here in Courtland, Virginia that is consistently teaching the scriptures, but also continually reforming in obedience to its doctrines. Be courageous, do not be afraid, for the Gospel has lost none of its glory or its power to dispel the darkness of this world.
References: Ligonier Ministries & gotquestions.org
