Part One
October 31 st marks the 500 th anniversary of the beginning of the Protest Reformation. It was on that day in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany.
The document that sparked the Protestant Reformation was initially nailed to the door to announce a gathering to discuss issues related to the power and efficacy of indulgences.
The church in the 16 th century was a far cry from the church that was started by Jesus. Prior to the Reformation, the common churchgoer was at the mercy of those who were considered to be the spiritually elite.
The Five Solas of the Reformation were five statements that emphasized the distinctions between the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church.
The Five Solas of the Reformation 1. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) 2. Sola Gratia (grace alone) 3. Sola Fide (faith alone) 4. Solus Christus (Christ alone) 5. Soli Deo Gloria (to the glory of God alone)
The Reformation was the greatest movement in the history of the world, outside of the very formation of the church itself. At that point in history, the church was mired in spiritual darkness.
The Latin phrase Post Tenebras Lux became to motto of the Reformation. After darkness, light The word Protestant contains the word protest and Reformation contains the word reform.
At its heart, the Protestant Reformation wasn t a movement to break away from the Roman Catholic Church. It was a protest against some of the practices and doctrines of the Church, in an effort to reform it.
If we were to boil the Reformation down to one issue, that issue would be the issue of salvation. When we have faith in Christ, God imputes the righteousness of Christ to us and declares us righteous, not on our own merit but on the merit of Christ.
Roman Catholic doctrine states that individuals get infused with righteousness through the sacraments of the church, starting with infant baptism. According to the Roman Catholic Church, the only way to be refilled with righteousness is through personal merit and the sacraments of the church.
Romans 1:16-17 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.
Luther knew he was unable to live a life that measured up to God s perfect standard of righteousness.
I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners. Secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God. Yet I clung to the dear Paul and had a great yearning to know what he meant (Martin Luther).
I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailer and hangman of my poor soul (Martin Luther).
Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes
Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. In Romans 1:16-17, Paul laid out the theme for his entire letter.
Luther knew, if we were to understand anything about God and salvation, our understanding had to come from the Scriptures, not from the church nor from tradition. The reformers knew they had to get back to the Scriptures, if they were going to understand what God said about salvation.
Paul was talking about a righteousness that God, by His grace, made available to those who would receive it passively, rather than those who would achieve it actively.
Romans 3:10 as it is written, THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Luther realized that it was only through faith that a person could be reconciled to a holy and righteous God.
In the Latin, the word that was used for justification was justificare. Justificare is made up of the word justus, which is justice or righteousness, and the verb facare, which means to make.
The Greek, the word for justification is dikaios (dēʹ-kī-os) or dikaiōsis (dē-kīʹ-ōsēs). Dikaiōsis (dē-kīʹ-ō-sēs) doesn t mean to make righteous but, rather, to regard as righteous, to count as righteous, or to declare righteous.
Paul was talking about the righteousness that God freely gives, by His grace, to those who don t possess a righteousness of their own. The righteousness that we possess is what Luther called an alien righteousness.
There are two kinds of Christian righteousness, just as man s sin is of two kinds. The first is alien righteousness, that is the righteousness of another, instilled from without. This is the righteousness of Christ by which he justifies though faith, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 1:30: you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption (Martin Luther).
When I discovered that, I was born again of the Holy Ghost. And the doors of paradise swung open, and I walked through (Martin Luther).