By Pastor Bill Wangelin
Today, we are familiar with a Christianity that focuses on the grace and love of Jesus Christ and on the Bible as the Word of God and the basis for our faith and life. It may surprise you, but that was not always the case throughout church history.
During the Middle Ages, the Christian Church in Europe was so corrupted by a mingling of church and state that the basics of the Christian faith were obscured and neglected. The common people knew nothing of God’s love or the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Most people had never seen a Bible, let alone read one. And major fundraising efforts in the church were conducted by selling the forgiveness of sins through certificates called “indulgences.” Church leaders neglected spiritual duties and pursued worldly wealth and power. All sorts of invented ideas and superstitions were taught by priests and pastors. The church was in major need of recalculating, recalibrating, and reforming.
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther took a stand and pushed back against church authorities in a call to reform the Christian Church. On that date, he posted the 95 theses, or statements for debate, over how the church claimed people could purchase the forgiveness of sins through the purchasing of certificates called “indulgences.” This marked the beginning It’s not about the man; it’s about the message, that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone on account of Christ alone. What was the Reformation? by Pastor Wangelin of a debate that he would champion, that the Christian Church should ultimately be about faith in Christ, and based solely on the Word of God.
As Martin Luther read the Bible, he came to the realization that we cannot purchase the forgiveness of sins, nor can we earn it by any good works. We are saved solely by God’s grace, and solely through faith. With the support of his prince, Martin Luther and his colleagues at the University of Wittenberg began applying these truths to all areas of the church’s faith and life. This is what the Lutheran reformation was all about.
The Reformation Changed the World
There were other efforts at reform prior to Martin Luther. In previous centuries, most of them were limited and ended with someone being burned at the stake. But because Luther’s prince was a powerful figure at the time, and because the newly invented printing press helped Luther’s writings go viral, the Lutheran reformation set off a chain reaction in many countries. Reformations in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, England, and Scandinavia soon followed, and other “protestant” churches such as the Reformed, Anglican/Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and others can trace their roots back to the ideas initiated on the Wittenberg castle church door.
The Lutheran reformation also led to major reforms in government, education, art and music. Martin Luther is both the founder of Lutheran schools and also the public school system. The individualism of the reformation led to American democracy. In this way, the reformation was of global significance, and Martin Luther was named the man of the millennium in 2000.
We know that Martin Luther was no saint, and we lament his sins and shortcomings. But the movement was not about the man, it was about the message, and that was the message of the Gospel – the good
news that we are saved by grace alone, through faith in Christ alone, as declared by Scripture alone. The reformation was all about Jesus! As we celebrate the reformation, we recommit ourselves to the truths of the Gospel, and the authority of Scripture, and God’s desire that all would come to saving faith in Him. To learn more about the Reformation, go to www.lutheranreformation.org.