An Introduction to The Reformation

****************** Start Timer ******************

Introduction:

-As Pastor Scott mentioned this morning...

…tomorrow is an informally sacred holiday for us Protestant Christians

I’m not, of course, referring to Halloween...

(That’s definitely NOT sacred :) )

…but to what we affectionately call:

Reformation Day.

The reason we celebrate it on the same day as Halloween...

…is not to try to:

redeem a pagan holiday...

or even to try to “Christianize it” ...

…but we do so, because it was on this day...

…that an event occured that:

created the fissure...

that broke the dam...

...that was holding back the truth of God’s word...

...from God’s people!

We’ll talk about the historical particulars more in a moment...

But first, let’s entreat the Lord’s blessing.

Pray

It wasn’t just a coincidence that the Reformation was ignited...

…on the day that we call Halloween.

We often overlook this correlation...

…but our firebrand friend...

(who was at the time a German Monk & Religious professor)

…intentionally chose this day to nail his 95 Theses...

…to the castle church door in Wittenburg, Germany.

This commentary explains why that was:

All Saints Day:

A feast celebrated in the Western Church on the first of November to commemorate Christian martyrs and all those who have led conspicuously holy lives. . .

It is also known as All Hallows, and so the popular celebration of Halloween (traditionally spelled Hallowe’en) began as a celebration of All Hallows Eve.

On the day after the feast, All Souls Day, the Catholic Church prays for all departed souls, but particularly those undergoing purgation - Dictionary of Christianity in America

Here’s why that matters...

And how it came to raise the ire of Martin Luther.

In 1517, a Dominican itinerant named John Tetzel began to sell indulgences near Wittenberg with the offer of the forgiveness of sins.

This crass practice had been inaugurated during the Crusades to raise money for the church.

Commoners could purchase from the church a letter that allegedly freed a dead loved one from purgatory.

Tetzel’s famous line was, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”

This horrible abuse enraged Luther. He determined that there must be a public debate on the matter.

On October 31, 1517, he nailed a list of Ninety-five Theses regarding indulgences to the front door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg — Pillars of Grace

So on the eve of this “holy day” that both:

celebrates the dead...

sought to work them out of Purgatory...

…Luther attempts to engage in public discourse...

…about the unbiblical nature of:

The “sacrament of penance”

The selling/granting of indulgences.

Here are a few of his theses statements:

1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” [Matt. 4:17], He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.

2. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.

21. Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by the papal indulgences.

27. They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.

32. Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.

36. Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.

62. The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God. - Luther’s Works, Volume 31

Luther had intended these theses...

…to be the catalyst for local, scholarly debate.

But as divine Providence would have it...

…a copy fell into the hands of a man...

…who was in the possession of one of the newly invented:

Gutenberg printing presses!

With this new technology behind it...

…Luther’s theses “went viral”

What came about as an unintended consequence of this event...

…was a wide-scale, much needed reformation of Western Christianity.

Steve Lawson explains:

In time, the message of the Reformers became encapsulated in five slogans known as the solas of the Reformation:

sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”), solus Christus (“Christ alone”), sola gratia (“grace alone”), sola fide (“faith alone”), and soli Deo gloria (“the glory of God alone”).

The first of these, sola Scriptura, was the defining benchmark of the movement. - Steve Lawson

You see, The Reformation was essentially...

…a “back-to-the-Bible” movement.

This “Sola” is the one that gave birth to the rest.

Sola Scriptura

When it comes to religious authority...

…you basically have 3 options

1.) The Authority of Scripture as Ultimate

Sola Scriptura

2.) The Interpretive Authority of that Scripture by the church

De facto Sola Ecclessia

3.) The authority of human reason.

James Montgomery Boice explains the Reformed position:

“The Bible alone is our ultimate authority—not the pope, not the church, not the traditions of the church or church councils, still less personal intimations or subjective feelings, but Scripture only.” — JMB

This was the whole crux of the Reformation.

Who/what had the ultimate and primary religious authority.

At the Diet of Worms...

…as Luther was on trial for heresy...

…and being commanded to recant or else...

…he gave this reply...

…that would come to illustrate the very heart of the Reformation that would follow:

“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God.

I cannot and I will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand, may God help me, Amen.” — Luther

-Now, my Catholic friend will say here,

“On what authority...

…did Luther make this claim?”

In other words…

…are Luther and the other magisterial Reformers...

…not doing the same thing you’re accusing us of?

Arbitrarily asserting dogma!

Well, brethren, that’s a great question.

And it brings to mind a cardinal Christian truth:

That Scripture is self-attesting.

For “Sola Scriptura” to be true...

…then the primacy of Scripture...

…must be a dogma that comes from the Scripture itself.

What does it say?

Well, the go-to text is of course:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:20–21 (ESV)

20 ...no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.

21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Is this merely inspiration?

No, Remember acts 17.

Acts 17:10–11 (ESV)

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.

11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

The Apostles (who did have Revelatory authority)...

…commending the practice of Sola Scriptura!

1 Corinthians 4:1–2 (ESV)

1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

1 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV)

6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.

The antidote to sectarian division...

…it the primacy of the Word of God.

We have a clear...

Refutation of Sola Ecclessia...

Affirmation of Sola Scriptura, in...

Mark 7:5–13 (ESV)

5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!

10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’

11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban” ’ (that is, given to God)—

12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,

13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

So, wherein does the ULTIMATE authority lie?

-Now, as I said before...

…Sola Scriptura is what gave birth to the other “solas”

A Return to the Word of God always brings doctrinal reformation!

Solus Christus

Our own confession explains this one well.

8:9 This office of mediator between God and humanity is appropriate for Christ alone, who is the prophet, priest and king of the church of God.

This office may not be transferred from Him to anyone else, either in whole or in part. - 2LBCF 1689

This EXCLUDES:

The Pope as a “vicar of Christ”

A New Covenant priesthood!

We have only one!

The sacrifice of the Mass.

The intercession of:

Mary

The Saints.

Is this biblical?

1 Timothy 2:5 (ESV)

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

John 14:6 (ESV)

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:12 (ESV)

12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Romans 8:34 (ESV)

34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Hebrews 7:24–25 (ESV)

24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Ephesians 2:13–14 (ESV)

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

14 For he himself is our peace...

Ephesians 2:18 (ESV)

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

On and On we could go!

The next two Solas address the means...

…through which this work of mediation is realized in the life of the individual.

Sola Gratia

Rome does not teach that one is saved by works apart from the grace of God. She, in fact, teaches that one is saved by the grace of God.

To what, then, did Rome object in the Reformers' teaching? Where does the line of difference between Rome and the Reformation lie? It lies in a single word—sola ("alone").

The Reformers maintained that the sinner is saved by the grace of God, His unmerited favor, alone.

This doctrine means that nothing the sinner does commends him to the grace of God, and that the sinner does not cooperate with God in order to merit his salvation.

Salvation, from beginning to end, is the sovereign gift of God to the unworthy and undeserving. — Guy Waters

Our Confession says it this way:

8:8 To all those for whom Christ has obtained eternal redemption, He certainly and effectually applies and imparts it...

...All these things are by free and absolute grace, apart from any condition for obtaining it that is foreseen in them. — 2LBCF 1689

More importantly, the Scripture puts it this way:

Ephesians 2:4–9 (ESV)

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works...

Romans 3:23–24 (ESV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 11:5–6 (ESV)

5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

2 Timothy 1:9 (ESV)

9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

And again… On and On we could go!

Sola Fide

J.I. Packer said this:

So, where Rome had taught a piecemeal salvation, to be gained by stages through working a sacramental treadmill,

the Reformers now proclaimed a unitary salvation, to be received in its entirety here and now by self-abandoning faith in God’s promise — Packer

Our Confession says this:

Those God effectually calls He also freely justifies. He does this, not by infusing righteousness into them but by pardoning their sins and accounting and accepting them as righteous.

He does this for Christ’s sake alone and not for anything produced in them or done by them.

He does not impute faith itself, the act of believing, or any other gospel obedience to them as their righteousness.

Instead, He imputes Christ’s active obedience to the whole law and passive obedience in His death as their whole and only righteousness by faith.

This faith is not self-generated; it is the gift of God.

11:2 Faith that receives and rests on Christ and His righteousness is the only instrument of justification. - 2LBCF 1689

Galatians 2:16 (ESV)

16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works...

Romans 4:4–5 (ESV)

4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.

5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

Romans 5:1–2 (ESV)

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 3:25–27 (ESV)

25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Romans 10:9–11 (ESV)

9 ...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

And on and on we could go, again!

-Now, the final “sola” has to do with ultimate purpose.

Soli Deo Gloria

Keith Mathison said this:

“[Soli Deo Gloria] is both the beginning and the end of the other four [Solas].

The Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures to the glory of God alone.

Christ humbled Himself to the point of death and was raised and exalted to the right hand of the Father to the glory of God alone.

Grace and mercy are offered to rebellious sinners to the glory of God alone.

Justification is by faith alone to the glory of God alone. Soli Deo Gloria, therefore, is central.”— Keith Mathison

What Does the Scripture say?

Psalm 115:1 (ESV)

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory...

Isaiah 48:11 (ESV)

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

Ezekiel 36:22–23 (ESV)

22 . . . It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.

23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

1 Corinthians 1:28–31 (ESV)

28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Romans 11:36 (ESV)

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

This is the whole thrust of the Reformation:

Let God be exalted

Let Man be abased.

This is our heritage, brethren.

Let’s pray that we:

would be good stewards of it

Would embody the idea of “semper reformanda” (always reforming)...

...As our consiences are held captive to the Word of God!

Pray