Reformation Sunday- Sunday School Lesson

Introduction

This coming Tuesday is a day that marks great excitement. And no, I am not talking about Halloween. October 31st is better known to Protestant Christians as Reformation Day. For on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the door of the University of Wittenberg. In this moment a very public Reformation had begun.

While Luther wasn’t the first to try and reform within the Catholic church, his became one of the first to catch hold of many. One that did go before Luther, that I would do well to point us to was John Wycliffe. Some of you might be familiar with Wycliffe Bible Translators, this is because John Wycliffe was the first to translate the Bible into modern man’s language since the Bible was written in Modern Hebrew and Koine (Common) Greek. Wycliffe translated the Latin Vulgate into English so that it could be read among the common man. Wycliffe would die before this was finished. But Wycliffe saw the vision of having the word of God in common man’s language before both Luther and William Tyndale. Tyndale being the first to translate the Bible from the original languages to English.

But imagine not having your Bible before you in your own language. In fact, to help us grasp this, I need a volunteer to come up front with me. _________ can you read this passage for me from _________? .....Why not?..... O, it’s not in common man’s language, today is it? You got a feel of what the people felt in the days of Luther. All they could go by to hear from the word of God was what the Priests taught them.

What lead to the reformation?

The danger here was that the final authority wasn’t the Scriptures, it was tradition, it was the authority of the Pope. None of these set Martin Luther aflame more than the practice of indulgences. It was this very matter that his 95 Thesis attacked. Tonight, in the movie, we will see some of Luther’s humor rejecting these, come out in a scene of his teaching. The idea of this purgatory was an “in between place where the not so perfect and the not so wicked could be purged of their guilt before entering heaven,” to quote F. Donald Logan in a book of his about the church in the middle ages. He went on to state that this belief was as central to the Christian belief as the ucharist, the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, and other central beliefs. Pope Innocent IV, in a letter of 1254 is also recorded by Logan in saying, “The souls who died having repented but not having fulfilled their penance or who die with only venial but not mortal sins on their souls are purged and can be helped by the suffrages of the church.” These indulgences were therefore paid to the Pope to cut down on the time in purgatory.

Brothers and sisters, the idea of purgatory, indulgences, and relics are nowhere found in Scripture. Luther became aware of this while he was studying the Scriptures after being sent to Wittenberg. It wasn’t this burning desire though to examine the Scriptures that got Luther in trouble, it was the idea of Scripture alone. It was going against the Pope and his authority on scripture that got Luther in trouble. And from this, flows the idea of sola scriptura, and as a result of that, the other 4 solas. You see, the reformation wasn’t simply rebellion against the Catholic Church. Luther tried to reform from within. Some of you who have joined and taken the membership class, you might remember the church history portion in it. To add to that point, the goal of the reformation wasn’t splitting the church. It was a last resort when it became apparent the Catholic Church wouldn’t reform according to the Word of God. They were too locked into tradition and corruption of relics and indulgences to build the funds of the Catholic rulers. Therefore, we stand proudly as Protestants. Not because we protested and split the church, but because we protested and recovered the gospel.

Scripture base: Galatians 1:6-10

In examining this point with me, I would like to invite you to open up your Bibles to Galatians 1:6-10. You can find the book of Galatians 9 books into the New Testament, following Romans and 1&2 Corinthians. Here we see Paul addressing the church of Galatia, the only church that Paul doesn’t give a thanksgiving for. Keep in mind, he even thanked the Lord for the church of Corinth in his letters to them. And Corinth had some bad theology, bad church practices. But, there is no such thanksgiving for Galatia. Therefore, hear the word of the Lord from Galatians 1:6-10….

The reformation was a recovering of the gospel

The Apostle Paul here is astonished that the church of Galatia would turn away from the gospel. He even uses language as if saying are you fools thinking there is some other good news out there? There isn’t! Then goes on to say that anyone who preaches another gospel should be accursed. Brothers and sisters in Christ, prior to the Reformation, there was a loss of the Biblical Gospel. The loss of the gospel was found in the relics, the tradition, man’s works being part of salvation. That is no good news. The Reformation is the recovering of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And this recovering of the Biblical gospel is best summed up in the 5 solas. That is, scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone.

Sola #1- SOLA SCRIPTURA- Scripture Alone

While on trial at the Diet of Worms for his writings and teachings, Luther responded, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason-for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves—I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one’s conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen.”

To quote the great Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones, “Reformation doesn’t mean scrapping the role of the Bible and putting up your own ideas and theories. It means the exact opposite. It means returning to the Bible…every reformation has been a return to the new testament…that is the only hope tonight, and in this present age.”

As Luther and the other reformers have recognized, the Scriptures are our final authority. To have a right view of God and the church, we must hold fast to this truth.

As we will hear in the sermon this morning, it is the word of God that is to be preached, it is the word of God that is profitable for use. Even in the Galatians 1:6-10, we are warned that anyone preaching a different gospel than what we see in scripture is to be accursed. As the Psalmist in Psalm 119:9 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.” May we guard ourselves according the Word of God.

One brief application of this sola, as I entrust Randall will elaborate more in our sermon this morning. Christian, the final authority over you is not political leaders, it is not culture trends, it is not even the leaders of this church. Our final authority is the given and final word of God found in the Holy Scriptures!

SOLA #2, SOLA GRATIA- Grace alone

The “Roman Catholic church viewed it as God will not deny grace to those who do what they can,” to quote an article by Stephen Wellum, a professor from Southern Seminary. For the Catholic Church, salvation was a matter of infant baptism and keeping the sacraments. Greg Allison in his book, The Unfinished Reformation talks about the sacrament of penance, and having to confess sin to the Priest. He goes on to state, “If this Catholic believer successfully reaches the end of her life in a state of grace (that is, she is not guilty of mortal sin), she will ultimately be saved. However, it is likely the case that she must first spend a period of time in “purgatory”, an experience of suffering that involves punishment. Purgatory, as the term suggests, is an experience that “purges” or purifies the soul, conforming her to the holiness of God”

Brothers and sisters, can you imagine sitting on edge and wondering if you were dying in a state of grace? For that in and of itself is no grace at all. Wellum in his article rightly goes on to add, “The Reformers rightly rejected Rome’s view of grace as unbiblical. It not only underestimated the nature of human sin but it undercut the truth that God alone must save us from beginning to end. Salvation is not a cooperative effort between God and us.”

Flip with me to Ephesians 2:1-10… Here the word of the LORD….

As we see from the authority of Scripture, we were dead in our sins and trespasses. That Greek word for dead means dead… Can a dead man bring himself to life? Can we really aide God in that work? By no means. That is where the Catholic Church and many others have missed the deep effects of sin. Sin left us helpless, salvation is left as a pure act of God, by grace alone are we saved. We have no part in it! If we did, as verse 9 states, we would have room to boast.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the importance of grace alone was crucial during the Reformation. And it should be of continued importance for us! We must continue to grow and see that sin has left us utterly helpless apart from God’s grace alone in saving us from our sins. We must continue to see we play no part in our salvation. Praise God for his precious gift of grace!

SOLA #3, SOLA FIDE- By Faith Alone

Staying with Ephesians 2:1-10 we now examine the 3rd Sola- By Faith Alone. Luther is quoted as saying, “If faith is not without all, even the smallest works, it does not justify; indeed it is not even faith.” In Ephesians 2:8-10, we see that it is by grace we are saved through faith. This Sola Fide, by faith alone flows right from by grace alone. The Roman Catholic Church saw justification as forgiveness, sanctification, and regeneration. Therefore, justification was seen to be a lifelong process, with no guarantee of salvation for the faithful. The fret over God’s wrath against unrighteousness haunted Luther. Notice the scene tonight where he wrestles with God in this. However, as Luther contemplated Romans 1:17, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”” Luther began to see something different. For Luther wrote, “I began to understand that “the justice of God” meant that justice by which the just man lives through God’s gift, namely by faith. This is what it means: the justice of God is revealed by the gospel, a passive justice with which the merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written: “He who through faith is just shall live.” Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.”

Therefore, in recapturing the gospel, by faith alone is essential to the Biblical gospel. One is justified by the gift of faith alone from grace alone. Brothers and sisters, as Christians, we can stand firm that we rest in the righteousness of Christ, not our own works. This precious doctrine of by faith alone should give great comfort and rest to our weary souls. The Reformers pointing us to by faith alone is essential to understanding the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. May we stand then with confidence in Christ. For as Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” For as that great hymn Arise, My Soul, Arise rings out, “Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears; the bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears: Before the throne my Surety stands, Before the throne my Surety stands, My name is written on his hands.” By faith alone, means looking to the one in which we have confidence, that his righteousness is made ours! With that, let us turn to that surety, in Christ alone!

SOLA #4, SOLUS CHRISTUS- in Christ Alone

That modern hymn we love to sing here at Calvary Baptist, “In Christ alone, my hope is found.” In this 4th Sola, we see in Christ Alone. As we have already seen by Grace alone and by Faith alone, the Catholic Church taught that faith alone is not the sole ground for justification. It is Christ’s work, plus our works in partaking the sacraments of the Catholic Church. And brothers and sisters, as we have already seen, that is not the case! But, to continue helping us see the essentialness of in Christ alone, turn back one chapter if you are still in Ephesians 2, and let’s look at Ephesians 1:3-14….

It is in Christ alone that we are blessed. The blessings promised to the Christian are not if we perform the sacraments of the Catholic Church. The blessings are grounded in who we are in Christ Jesus. And it is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone that we are saved! Brothers and sisters, we can rest that Christ’s work was sufficient for salvation, we can rest that his righteousness is sufficient for salvation. And by our union with Christ Jesus, we are made righteous, and we are made new in him!

Prior to the Reformation, the idea of Christ alone for salvation had been lost. The Reformation is a recovering of this beautiful truth, that in Christ alone we are saved!

SOLA #5- SOLI DEO GLORIA- To the glory of God alone

The 5 solas are best summed up here in the 5th Sola, to the glory of God alone. Creation was for the glory of God, and salvation is for the glory of God. Seeing that Scripture alone is authoritative, salvation is by grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone. All of this points to God’s glory and not ours. For he is creature, we are his creation. Brothers and sisters, any other view than these diminishes the glory of God. No reformer understood this better than Calvin. In Calvin’s Institutes, his first 2 of the 4 volumes, deal with who God is. Calvin’s doctrines rested in starting with God. While you may or not agree with all Calvin taught, the one thing we all must do is start with God and see just how big He really is. Giving him all the glory!

Here We Stand

Quoting Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, “Today’s evangelicals do not stand on trial before the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but we do stand on trial before a world that is increasingly secular, and hostile to biblical Christianity.” Brothers and sisters, we must continue to stand with those that have come before us in holding fast to the Biblical gospel. The Reformation began because of the loss of the gospel. We therefore must continue to hold tight to that same Biblical gospel and guard it. It isn’t enough for church leaders to guard the gospel, it is the duty of every Christian! Look back with me to our starting text of Galatians 1:6-10. Look there at verse 7, not that there is another gospel. There is no other gospel than that of by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone! Let’s stand strong Christians, fighting the good fight of faith and pressing onward. For if we lose this gospel, how are we to reach a dying world, for the gospel is the power of salvation as seen in Romans 1:16. May we also continually reform according to the word of God. May the word inform how we live the Christian life, how we gather as the church, how we proclaim the gospel.