We Need Another Reformation

Much ado has been made over the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, me included. I welcome the attention because refocusing on the history and theology of the Reformation will bear lasting fruit. Why? Well, there is so much we could say about the Reformation, but at its core, it was a recovery of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as taught in Scripture. So a re-emphasis on the authority of Scripture and the power of the gospel can only be a good thing. We desperately need this in the church today. We need another Reformation.

We don’t need signs and wonders, and new revelations as the Charismatics insist. We don’t need health and wealth as the prosperity gospel promises. We don’t need to believe in ourselves and follow our dreams as the gospel of Disney would have us believe. No, what we need is to return to the basics: Word and sacrament, true Christian fellowship, and a laser like focus on the person and work of Christ.

With all the worldliness that has crept into the church, the prevalence of these false gospels, the general lack of discernment, and the woeful ignorance of Biblical hermeneutics, the church is in dire need of reform. It needs massive, gospel-centered, Christ-exalting, human-humbling, God-honoring reform.

Reforming Our Churches

But how can we achieve this? Ultimately, we cannot reform the church on our own, only God, in His providence can do that. Yet we can follow His revealed will. We can read, study, and preach the Scriptures faithfully. Much of the fruit of the Protestant Reformation was caused by a desire to go (ad fontes) back to the sources. When the Reformers began reading the Bible in its original languages, they found truths that had been hidden, not only by the Latin Vulgate, but by the entire Roman Catholic system. The result was an explosion of gospel-centered preaching that exalted Christ and His Word. The Reformers taught that Christian belief and practice does not come from church tradition or the Pope, but from Scripture alone. When the truth of God’s Word was elevated over the traditions of men, reformation came to the church.

Reformed Resurgence

I thank God for the resurgence of Reformed theology over the last decade or so because it has emphasized, among other things, a renewed awareness of God’s absolute sovereignty over all things. When God is magnified and honored as the supreme potentate, man is rightly humbled and the church thrives. Too much of today’s so-called Christianity is focused on man; man’s achievements, man’s autonomous free will, man’s happiness, etc. God has been relegated to an observer trying to make good out of the choices we make, instead of ordaining and governing the course of human history to fulfill His purposes. Or worse, God has been perverted into a cosmic genie who is there to make all our dreams come true. “As long as you have enough faith, or pray with the right intensity or frequency, God will bless you. He’s just waiting on you. He wants to save and restore and accomplish His will, but He just can’t do it without your help.”

This is not what the Bible teaches. This is not the sovereign God of Scripture who works all things after the council of His will (Eph. 1:11); who frustrates the plans of the people (Ps. 33:10); who rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he wills (Dan. 4:32); who makes peace and creates calamity (Isa. 45:7); who does whatever He pleases on earth and in heaven (Ps. 115:3, 135:6); who can do all things and cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2); who said, “apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5); for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen! (Rom. 11:36)

This is our God! None can stay His hand or say to Him, “What have you done?” (Dan. 4:35). He is all-powerful, unimaginably wise, and He is sovereign over everything; over kings and presidents, good and evil, world history, football games, sparrows, the hairs of our heads, salvation, the human will, everything! This truth of God’s absolute sovereignty over all things must be proclaimed if we want to see reformation.

Reforming Our Message

In Mark 1:15, the initial message Jesus preached was: repent and believe the gospel. We need to get back to this simple message. Too much of the so-called preaching today is about making people feel good. “God wants you to be successful. He wants bless you. He wants to make all your dreams come true. You need to dream bigger; aim higher; follow your heart. You can have your best life now!” This is not the gospel. It’s man-centered, not Christ-centered. Where is the message about denying yourself and taking up your cross, and following Jesus (Luke 9:23)? Of course God wants to bless His people, but He wants to bless us in Christ. There are no true blessings outside of Him. This is not our best life now! No, we are exiles in this world awaiting our heavenly home where we will see Jesus face to face. The Christian life is filled with trials and tribulations (John 16:33; James 1:2-4), and God brings them into our lives to uncover our sin and conform us to His image.

Preaching about sin is also lacking from our message. People don’t want to hear that they are sinful, that makes them feel bad. They only want to hear about the love of God, but not His wrath. Yet God is a God of both mercy and justice. One of the fundamental aspects of the gospel is that Jesus died to bear the wrath of the Father against sin. If we don’t begin to grasp God’s infinite holiness and our utter wretchedness by comparison, we won’t understand this. Without God’s just punishment against sin, we have an empty gospel.

Finally, we need to proclaim that God is sovereign over salvation. If you are a Christian and believe God is sovereign over everything, then that must include salvation. Since God is sovereign over all things then He is sovereign over who will be saved. You can’t claim God is sovereign over everything except salvation, otherwise He isn’t really sovereign. You can’t have it both ways. This is vitally important because it highlight’s God’s freedom to glorify Himself as He sees fit by saving an elect people to display His great mercy (Eph. 1:5-6). If God merely helps us with salvation, or if He does 99% and we do 1% by cooperating with Him, then He will not be fully glorified. No, unless we realize that we are completely helpless apart from God’s free grace, we will continue to believe that we contribute something to our salvation.

The Bible is absolutely clear that salvation is of the Lord. It is not of the will of the flesh or of the will man, but of God (John 1:12-13). It doesn’t depend on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy (Rom. 9:16). Therefore, He has mercy on whomever He wills, and hardens whomever He wills (Rom. 9:18). Throughout Scripture, God is the one who chooses His people (Deut. 7:6; Eph. 1:3-5; Rom. 8:29-30). We must reclaim this truth of God’s kingly freedom over salvation so that Creator and creature are seen in their proper perspective and God alone receives all the glory!

Modern Reformation

500 years later, the sound of Luther’s hammer pounding on the castle church door in Wittenberg still echoes throughout the ages. The spark that lit the Reformation must be rekindled in each generation. We must carry the torch of the Reformers and continue to boldly proclaim the authority of Scripture and sovereign grace of God in Christ Jesus. We must earnestly pray that the Lord will revive His church and bring about a new reformation.

Why We Should Celebrate the Reformation

October 31^st 2017 marks the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, and I’m going to argue that every non-Catholic should at least take some time to reflect, if not celebrate, this momentous era in church history. Unfortunately, for many evangelicals today the Reformation is some vague event in the past that holds little or no significance. Many have no idea what took place or why, and probably don’t care. “Reformation Day?” they ask. “What are you talking about? Isn’t October 31^st Halloween?”

I understand this question. When I was growing up we didn’t celebrate Reformation Day, in fact, I never heard of it. Yet Reformation Day commemorates not only the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the castle church door in Wittenberg, but the recovery of Biblical truth that had been obscured for centuries by the Roman Catholic Church. Not the least of these truths was the very gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes, at the heart of the Reformation was a recovery of the gospel.

What are we Protesting?

Unfortunately, the term Protestant is losing its meaning today. While there are many in the visible church who would fit nominally into the category of Protestantism, most have no idea what they are protesting. The main reason for this is because they are ignorant of church history as well as the theology driving the Reformation. The Mainline denominations have become theologically liberal and many Protestants have no earthly idea what Rome actually teaches or what they themselves believe, and therefore, they don’t understand the need for division. Yes, that’s right, the need for division. But aren’t we supposed to be one big, happy, ecumenical family? Aren’t we supposed to promote unity? Aren’t we all supposed to get along?

Let me ask a simple question: should Bible-believing Christians be united with Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses? No, of course not! Why? Because Mormons don’t believe that God was eternally God, but rather, they believe that “Heavenly Father” ascended to godhood. He was once a man who used to live on a planet orbiting a star named Kolob. Jehovah’s Witnesses overtly deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and have their own version of Scripture which edits texts concerning Christ’s divinity. This is not orthodox Christianity. They may use our terminology but they are not Christian, in fact, they are cults.

Well, what about the Roman Catholic Church? Reformed Christians, or what I like to call, true Protestants, argue that Rome is not a cult, but it adds many traditions to the Christian faith and distorts the purity of the gospel. Try as you may, but you won’t find the Scriptures teaching seven sacraments, or Purgatory, or indulgences, or the Treasury of Merit, or the propitiatory sacrifice of the mass, or petitioning Mary, or the necessity of the Pope. All of which, by the way, the Roman Church still affirms. Imagine a church that had become so corrupt that it actually burned, strangled, and drowned Christians for speaking out against the authority of the Pope, or for committing the crime of translating the Bible into a language that laypeople could understand. This was the case in the 16^th century. The church was corrupt, both morally and doctrinally; it had lost its way, and the Reformers were bold enough to call for renewal.

Old Time Religion

Despite the accusations of the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformers weren’t teaching new doctrine, they were merely recovering the old Biblical doctrines which had been obscured by the traditions and sacramental system of Rome. Let me give a graphic example by way of contrast. At the Council of Trent, the Roman Catholic Church anathematized anyone who believed in justification by faith alone. They also repudiated the doctrine of imputation; the Biblical teaching that our sins were imputed to Christ on the cross and His righteousness is imputed to us by faith. Again, just to be clear, Rome stated that anyone who believes salvation is by faith alone should be cursed. And they have never recanted this ruling.

On the contrary, we would say that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is absolutely essential to the gospel; without it you don’t have a gospel. The only way sinners can be justified before a holy God is not by any merits of their own, but by the perfect righteousness of Christ alone. So the Roman Catholic Church has anathematized the gospel of Jesus! Their false gospel attempts to add to the perfect work of Christ. And as Paul told the Galatians, if righteousness comes through works, then Christ died for no purpose, (Gal. 2:21). We cannot have unity with a church that teaches a different gospel, (Gal. 1:6-8).

The Significance of the Solas

This is why the Reformers developed the five solas of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), Sola Gratia (Grace Alone), Sola Fide (Faith Alone), Solus Christus (Christ Alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone). The Reformers taught that Scripture alone is the only infallible rule of faith and practice; that we are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, so that all glory goes to God alone! The Pope is not the final authority, the Bible is. Grace is not a substance infused at baptism that must be cooperated with; it is the merciful disposition of a loving God who effectually recuses sinners. Faith is not something we can make shipwreck of if we commit a mortal sin; faith is the gift of God whereby we are counted as righteous, forever. The righteousness of Christ cannot be added to by the merits of the saints, it is absolutely perfect. That is why He cried, “It is finished!” Jesus kept the whole law for us; He intercedes for us, therefore, He is able to save to the uttermost, (Heb. 7:25). How can God be fully glorified if we add anything, no matter how small, to His saving work? That little word alone makes all the difference. These truths insure that God receives all the glory.

The Latin phrase, Post Tenebras Lux was the hallmark of the Reformation. It meant: after darkness, light. So, like the sun rising in all its splendor, dispersing the darkness of Rome’s ecclesiastical gloom, the brilliance of God’s free grace in Christ illuminated the 16^th century with dazzling light. 500 years later, its glistening gospel beams still shine forth as a testament of God’s glorious saving power, and that, is something worth celebrating!