On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral, setting off the chain reaction we now know as the Reformation. It’s something that our church body joyfully celebrates every year. And yet, every year I am always asked why we celebrate it and if it’s still relevant to us today. And even though you didn’t ask me those questions, I’m still going to give you my answers…
First off, I like to remind us that the Reformation wasn’t just a political or social movement, even though those things did impact the growth and influence of it, but it was solely grounded on the Holy Scripture’s proclamation that salvation was won through Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and nothing else. The Reformation is all about the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, and what that means for us. This is why it’s still relevant for us today, because the world is still in dire need to hear this Good News of forgiveness, love, redemption, and salvation! So, to help us see why the Reformation still matters, let’s take a look at a few of the famous Solas of the Reformation: Faith Alone, Grace Alone, and Christ Alone.
“By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). We need to constantly be reminded that we cannot add anything to our salvation because Jesus Christ has done it all for us! If this truth gets lost, the rest of our faith crumbles and falls apart. There’s nothing we can do in order to be saved. Jesus has already done all the work for us!
This can often be a difficult concept to grasp because we’re so used to having to work for the things we want, and we’re definitely used to judging people based upon what they did or didn’t do. But how refreshing it is to know that we are not justified by our works but purely because it’s a free gift given based on what Jesus alone has done. His work and faithfulness, not ours!
Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The Reformation is still vitally important because it’s all about Jesus and the fact that God put aside His heavenly glory and became a man in order to suffer and die for us. And not only did He die in our place for our forgiveness, but He rose victoriously from the grave showing all of creation that it worked! And it’s because of this we rejoice in knowing Jesus not as an example of a way, but as THE WAY! In a pluralistic world that says take your pick in whatever god you like, we are reminded that there is not only One God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), but that there is only one way to Him: Jesus Christ.
The Reformation still matters because it drives our attention back to God’s unchanging Word in the midst of an ever-changing world. It helps us become focused on God’s mission through the Church and the activity of God’s Kingdom within our daily lives. And we return to celebrate this yearly so that we don’t lose sight of that truth.
We still celebrate the Reformation because it hasn’t stopped. We are still easily distracted by the world and feel like we need to “update” our doctrine and practices to meet the ever-changing philosophies and opinions of people. But thanks be to God we are directed back to the truth of Scripture and are reminded who we are and why we do what we do. So may we never cease to learn, proclaim, defend, and pass along this faith to our generation and the next. Soli Deo Gloria. “To God alone be the glory!”
In His Service,
Pastor Noble