Today is October XXXI. Sorry. I should convert that from the Roman system: today is October 31. Today is Reformation Day. On October 31, 1517, a monk and scholar named Martin Luther published a series of debate points known as “the 95 Theses”. The issue was the sale of “indulgences”. These “indulgences” first appeared in the early middle ages and were tied to acts of penance—acts designed to show one’s remorse for sin. By the time Luther wrote his “95 Theses” indulgences were tied to monetary gifts given to the church. That is, one could receive forgiveness for sins by purchasing indulgences! Luther sought to correct this obvious error, which led to his excommunication from Rome.
Luther was a Western Christian. This means, in part, he was in communion with the church in Rome. This means he had formal recognition from Rome. Luther’s aim was to reform the church, to correct its errors. The sale of indulgences was an obvious distortion of the gospel. He was not trying to start a new movement or to begin what came to be known as the Protestant Reformation. He was trying to correct errors that had crept into the church.
His concerns were hardly limited to the sale of indulgences. He argued that no individual should have authority over the interpretation of Scripture. This means the pope, while having a prominent role, was not the arbiter of Christian doctrine and theology. Most important to Luther was his recognition that salvation has always been by faith. Justification, the declaration by God that one is righteous and in Christ, comes as the result of faith alone. Luther sought to correct these errors but in January, 1521, the pope excommunicated Luther, claiming he was a heretic and therefore condemned.
Seeing no alternative, Luther continued doing what he had done: preaching and teaching and serving Christ. Prior to Luther there had been numerous “protoProtestants” who saw the errors in the Western Church and sought to bring reform. Claudius of Turin in the ninth century rejected the church’s teaching that icons could be—and must be—venerated. Also in the ninth century Ratramnus denied the bread and the cup became the literal body and blood of the Lord, which his teacher and mentor had been claiming. In the fourteenth century the followers of John Wycliffe denied transubstantiation and denied the necessity of confession to a priest. They rejected praying to the saints and venerating icons. Martin Luther was hardly the only reformer, but he was the one God used to begin a movement Luther never intended to start.
Men like John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, John Knox, and Philip Melancthon sought to return to the Scriptures as the only infallible source of faith and practice. This was not a rejection of church history. John Calvin, for example, was known for citing church fathers in his debates. Rather than innovating and teaching new doctrine, they sought to remove the errors that had crept into the church and reclaim the faith of the fathers. To that end Protestants hold to what are known as “the Five Solas”: Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), Solus Christus (Christ Alone), Sola Fide (Faith Alone), Sola Gratia (Grace Alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (the Glory of God Alone). Further, Protestants hold to only two sacraments: communion and baptism.
Protestantism is more catholic than the other main branches of Christ’s church. Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the lesser known traditions Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East, all claim to be the one true church. They deny any of the other branches of the singular tree that is the church of Jesus Christ to be true churches. The effect of this is salvation by ecclesial association. The early Protestant Reformers acknowledged that true churches exist in these other traditions. They denied the church is one singular institution (that is, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, etc.). For example, though he was very outspoken against the papacy, John Calvin wrote:
When we categorically deny to the papists the title of the church, we do not for this reason impugn the existence of churches among them.
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 4.2.12
Protestants, because they understand salvation to be through faith alone in Christ alone by God’s grace alone, they recognize that true Christians exist within all five of the major branches of the church. Rather than claiming to be the one true church, Protestants seek to reform the church. Protestants can do this because we recognize that only Scripture is infallible. Because tradition is not infallible, it cannot be the final authority in a church’s life. Tradition does have authority, but that authority is not, and cannot be final. The cry of “Scripture alone” is not “Scripture only”. However, when tradition conflicts with Scripture, it is tradition that must be reformed. Only Protestantism recognizes this.
Because Protestants confess salvation is by faith alone and not by church association, Protestantism is truly catholic. That is, we acknowledge true Christians exist within all the traditions of Christianity and we welcome our brothers and sisters in Christ. Those other four branches have, in many ways, denied there are true Christians outside their institutional boundaries.
This is why Reformation Day matters. It is not so much about what Martin Luther did or what John Calvin did. It is much more about what God in Christ through his Spirit began to do and in fact has always done. God has always been at work in his church, correcting and shaping and molding it into the image of Christ. It should come as no surprise that when leadership in Christ’s church steadfastly refuses to correct error God raises up those with the courage to challenge the error.
In so many ways Reformation Day marks a commitment to the gospel of Jesus. We are not saved by the church institution to which we belong. We are not saved by a connection to a bishop or series of bishops. We are not saved by adherence to a long tradition—no matter how long the tradition has existed. We are not saved by a particular liturgy. We are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ himself. One day each one of us will stand before him and be judged and when we do, the only argument, the only plea we will have for God’s mercy and grace is this: he promised he would never cast out anyone who comes to him in faith.
While this sounds like an obvious statement, it was revolutionary in the Western Church in the early days of the Reformation. Men and women had no assurance of their salvation. Many had faith in Christ but this did not settle their spirits for they were being taught that such assurance was not available. Only through penance and confession and participation in the sacraments could one even hope to be saved. The gospel is good news! The gospel is the assurance that Christ is faithful to his word. As we’ve been seeing in the book of Judges God remains true to his word, even when no one else will.
Reformation Day is the reminder that God in Christ through his Spirit is merciful and gracious. He will save every man, woman, and child who comes to him in faith. He will do this without fail, for the only currency God accepts is faith. No other “money” moves him. No activity we can engage in, no amount of contrition we can feel, no amount of money we can give, no service or good works we can render will move him. God is moved to save through faith alone in Christ alone based on Scripture alone by his grace alone for his glory alone.
As you stuff yourself with candy into a diabetic coma from all the sugar, remember to thank God—in between Reese’s Peanut Butter cups—for those who faithfully followed him and his truth during the Reformation, and for those who continue to do so. Happy Reformation Day, New City!