ALWAYS REFORMING
The Reformation began on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg Germany.[1] The blows of that hammer reverberated throughout the rest of history and should still be felt today. The state of the church is what led Luther to publish his grievances. When he would read the scriptures, he saw that the church, and therefore Christian practices, didn’t align with what he was reading.
Five solas or “alones” came out of the Reformation. They summarize the heartbeat behind Luther’s theses and the reformation that needed to take place within the church and each individual.
Sola Scriptura means by scripture alone. The Bible is the ultimate authority over faith and practice.[2] In his 95 theses, Luther argued against the authority of the Pope, whose word was on equal footing with scripture, as were traditions of the church. The church had lost sight of scripture because they couldn’t read it in their own language. The priests would read from the Latin Vulgate, and the church had to rely on their teachings. This led to rampant biblical illiteracy. Flowing from the Reformation came the Bible being translated into the language of common man.
Praise God that we can read the Bible in our own language! Lord, forgive us for neglecting your Word when many paid such a steep price for us to be able to have it. Forgive us for caring more about traditions than adherence to your Word.
When Luther was on trial at the Diet of Worms and told to recant, hear his words:
“I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience.”[3]
Sola Gratia means by grace alone. It is only by the grace of God that we are saved.[4] The buying and selling of indulgences was a common practice in the Catholic Church. Many of Luther’s 95 theses dealt with this very topic. The church was offering forgiveness of sins and loved ones’ removal from purgatory through the giving of money. This is a direct affront to the grace of God. Salvation cannot be bought.
Luther said,
“One is not righteous who does much, but the one who, without work, believes much in Christ. The law says, 'Do this,' and it is never done. Grace says, 'Believe in this,' and everything is already done.”[5]
Sola Fide means by faith alone. The grace of God is received solely through faith in the finished work of Jesus.[6] “For Luther, this was a watershed issue in his walk with Jesus — he struggled deeply with his own sinfulness and feelings of being a complete wretch. He found comfort in the fact that salvation is through faith alone because he sincerely believed that faith was all he had. He couldn’t offer anything else.”[7]
Regarding faith, Luther said,
“We are justified — declared to be right with God — through faith alone.”[8]
Solus Christus means through Christ alone. The only means of salvation is through Jesus.[9] Jesus lived the perfect life we are incapable of living and died the sacrificial death as a substitute in our place. He rose from the dead, victorious over our sin, securing our pardon from the just condemnation we deserve. What glorious truth!
Luther stated,
“What I am telling you is that it is easier for us humans to believe and trust in everything else than in the name of Christ, who alone is all in all, and more difficult for us for us to rely on him in whom and through whom we possess all things.”[10]
Soli Deo Gloria means glory to God alone. All glory, honor, and praise belongs to God alone.[11] It belongs to no man or no thing. God receives all glory because of who He is (His character alone is enough to praise Him alone for all eternity) and what He has done (He has created all things and redeemed, of all people, me).
Speaking of the Christian who has been saved by God’s grace and given the peace of God, Luther says,
“Therefore he cannot be quiet or idle but is forever struggling and striving with all his powers, as one living only to spread God’s honor and praise farther among mankind, to cause others also to receive this spirit of grace and through it also to help him pray.”[12]
Semper Reformanda is a Latin term that means “always reforming.”[13] Though the Reformation came about through the likes of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, and other Reformers, it continues through you and me. Semper Reformanda is a battle cry for the church to continuously reform itself in accordance with the Word of God.[14]
We need to not just celebrate the Reformation, but we need a spirit of continual reformation within our own lives and churches.
Would you search your heart and take inventory of your life? What are you communicating is of most importance? What areas of your life/church need greater conformity to the Word of God?
[1] https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/what-is-reformation-day?
[3] Martin Luther, as quoted in Documents from the History of Lutheranism 1517-1750, ed. Eric Lund (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002), 32.
[5] Martin Luther (2012). “Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings”, p.56, Fortress Press
[7] https://visualtheology.church/blog/the-five-solas/#6
[8] To God Alone, Brandon D. Smith, pg. 16.
[10] volume five of Baker Publishing’s 7-volume set of Luther’s sermons (page 79).
[12] Martin Luther, as cited by Ewald Plass, What Luther Says, vol 2. Concordia Publishing House, 1955, page 959.
[13] https://www.gotquestions.org/semper-reformanda.html#:~:text=Answer,reformada%20means%20%E2%80%9Calways%20reforming.%E2%80%9D
[14] https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/reformed-always-reforming
