Happy Reformation Day!
I spend a lot of time in evangelical circles, and it’s a surprise to me that Reformation Day (or any kind of celebration of the Reformation) is hardly in conversation around October 31st. This is probably to our loss, as in the Reformation we find a movement of renewal within God’s church. The Reformation recovered the pinnacle doctrine of our faith: salvation, not by works but by simple faith in Jesus Christ. The Reformation also recovered where the final authority lies in the Church for faith and practice: not in the Church herself but in the Holy Scriptures, the word of God to us. These are huge!
Without the theological and pastoral concern of Luther for parishioners seeking salvation through the purchase indulgences that drove him to nail his 95 Theses on All Saints Church in Wittenberg, perhaps this central truth of our faith would remain clouded by the Devil to bind the hearts and consciences of sinners needing a saviour.
We are indebted to our forerunners in the faith such as Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, John Calvin and others. So much of how we understand our faith, how we speak of our faith and what we believe about our faith comes from the work of God in them. The Reformation not only changed the Church, it changed the world and its effects are felt to this day. And for that we must be immensely grateful. Happy Reformation Day.
Below is one of the greatest hymns we have to date, written by the Reformer, Martin Luther.
“And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.”
And… here’s a great playmobil story of Luther and the Reformation.