Does The Protestant Reformation Still Matter?
Romans 3:19-28 “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
God’s Righteousness Through Faith
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a ]propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to establish at present His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Boasting Excluded
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”
After 500 years, does the Reformation still matter? Most evangelical Americans recognize the significant impact that Martin Luther’s writings had on the Christian Church. This month, on October 17th, we will celebrate his profound influence that eventually spread throughout the entire world. The vast majority of Evangelical believers say, “Yea! The Reformation Still Matters.”
His profound intellect and unwavering courage dusted off the dead tradition of a self-inflated, self-serving church. They reinstated the shining glory of the simple but profound gospel that was suffocating beneath faulty doctrine that made the church richer and the poor poorer.
The Reformation still matters because only the preaching of the gospel delivers the good news the world desperately needs to hear. The Reformation still matters because only hearing the truth can open your spiritually blinded eyes. The Reformation still matters because only the truth can set you free. You cannot believe what you cannot hear (Romans 10:14).
The Reformation was about recognizing our sinfulness and understanding what God did to save us from it. The simple gospel was now buried under a mountain of religious rules. Instead, the gospel was no longer simple but focused on what you must do to earn your salvation, rather than what Christ did to earn it for you. It was these many falsehoods that made Luther’s teeth grind.
One such teaching was that Christians had to spend time in a place called “Purgatory.” This occurs after someone has died but before they can enter heaven. Purgatory was where God purged the sins a person still carried after death. Such teaching implied that the price Jesus paid on the cross was not sufficient. This is a grave offense to the Gospel, to Christ’s all-sufficient sacrifice. It falsely suggested that something more needed to be added to His perfect death.
The next reason is almost beyond imagination. The main reason for it, as I studied Church History, was to raise millions of dollars to fill the Church’s depleted treasury and fund the building of the Vatican. If a sinner bought something called an “indulgence,” it gave them brownie points—more merit to stand before God on the Day of Judgment. As Luther quipped, if the Pope had the authority to shorten someone’s time in purgatory, why would he do it for free?
Again, this practice implied that Jesus’ perfect life, suffering, and death were not enough to pay for all of our sins.
However, the writer of Hebrews said, “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s son, cleanses us from ALL sin” (I John 1:7).
By nature, we are slaves to sin, death, and the power of the devil. We can’t do anything to free ourselves for eternity. That’s why Jesus took on human flesh. That’s why Jesus was born, lived, and died as He did it because we couldn’t save ourselves.
That’s why there was a Reformation. That’s why we still have Reformation Day. That’s why the Reformation still matters. It matters because confessing the truth still matters!
But we still have critics with us. They spread their lies that strip away the “All Sufficiency of Christ Alone.” The Liberal, secular mindset would have us believe that “All roads lead to heaven,” and it is sincerity that counts. Some even go so far as to say that Christians and Muslims pray to the same God. You wonder why they still want to kill us and drive Israel into the sea.
Yes, the reformation still matters because truth still matters, and truth still matters because only truth exposes lies. Only truth can remove the spiritual darkness of lies. Only truth can set someone free from the curse of sin, the fear of death, and the power of the devil. The person who doesn’t know the truth doesn’t know freedom, peace, hope, joy, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.
When you go to your doctor, you expect to hear the truth about your health. Only when you are willing to listen to the truth will you be ready to accept what the doctor says. I may not like hearing that I have high blood pressure and that my cholesterol is too high. I may not like hearing that I have poor eyesight and need glasses, but hearing the truth forces me to do something about my problem. Even if I don’t like it, hearing the truth matters. It could mean the difference between life and death. To improve my life, to save my life, I need to hear the truth about my physical health.
Hearing the truth matters even more when it concerns my spiritual health. That’s why Jesus warns His Church to “beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15). That’s why the Apostle Paul told the Church to “beware of those who cause dissensions and create obstacles contrary to [Apostolic] doctrine” (Romans 16:17). I don’t like it when Scripture says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). I don’t like being called a sinner. I’d rather hear how marvelous I am. I don’t like hearing that I deserve hell for my sins, but hearing the truth matters.
After 500 years, the Reformation still matters because truth always matters.
Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
Dr. Robert Bryant