Giving Thanks for the Reformation

Halloween gets a lot of attention, but don’t forget about Reformation Day.  On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous “95 Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, to declare his faith and to plead for reform within a wayward Roman Catholic church that had degenerated even to the point of promising spiritual favors in return for money (i.e., the sale of indulgences).

The Reformation was all about returning to Scripture and redis­cover­ing the beautiful gift of justification by faith alone.  All merit-based ideas of salvation had to be rejected: we’re saved by grace, not works.

To get a good grasp on what the Reformation was all about, let me recommend a number of helpful resources:

• Michael Reeves, Freedom Movement (free PDF):  the Reformation was about the rediscovery of joy in Christ.  And listen to Reeves address the big issues at the Crossway Podcast.
• Desiring God published a terrific series on “Catholicism for the Masses” in 2017, noting key similarities and differences between Catholicism and Reformation-based Protestant beliefs.
• Chris Castaldo, a former Catholic, now an Evangelical pastor and scholar, is someone to we should listen to.  Check out his book, Holy Ground (see also his articles at The Gospel Coalition).
• Gregg Allison is also a leading scholar/teacher from whom we can learn a lot.  He responds to the question, “Is the Reformation Over,” and probes into Protestant-Catholic similarities and differences.
• The Gospel Coalition offers a free, in-depth online course on “The Five Solas”—dig in, read, listen, learn.
• Reformanda Initiative is a team of Evangelicals leaders who con­tend, “We are convinced, in line with the historic Protestant view, that Roman Catholicism is a severely flawed system in need of a radical biblical reformation in its basic theology and practice.”  Take time to explore the resources they offer and to consider the strong claim that they’re making.
• And you can listen to sermons I preached on “Jesus—Friend of Sinners” (from Sept. 17 to Dec. 10, 2017) delving into the New Testament foundations of the Reformation via our Goshen website.

I thank the Lord for leading the Reformers to recover the Gospel!