How the Reformation Can Warn - and Teach - the Modern Church
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If I am being honest, when this time of year rolls around, I hear more and think more about Halloween than the Reformation. However, Reformation Day is one of the most significant days in the Christian faith. Martin Luther made a decision to stand up for the truth of Scripture and go against false teachings in the church. Today, we are going to go through facts about the Reformation and discover how this should influence our lives as modern-day believers.
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Luther knew the Word, and when someone tried to teach and lead others contrary to the truth, he revealed what God said about the matter. We too are called to hold our leadership to the integrity of Scripture. Yes, there is grace that no pastor or leader is perfect, however we are given the responsibility to share truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). It is always important to believe the best in people, but when we see someone in faith pointing people in a direction that is opposite of the truth and love of Christ, we need to raise the red flag. We likely won’t use 95 theses, but we like Luther can speak up or write in about our concerns.
None of us are above hypocrisy. We can pray that prayer of David in Psalm 139:23-24 which says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” It is very easy to read a convicting Scripture verse or hear an amazing message but apply it to another person instead of our own lives. We need to be careful that we are not just living lives that appear holy, but that we have hearts after Christ. This means daily surrender and humility to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and His leading.
Our culture today is still corrupted by sin. We see people misusing the Bible in so many ways. There are some who deny the entirety of the Holy Word of God. There are others who diminish the value to the Old Testament. There are some who only share that Jesus loves you and give a message of prosperity that is not guaranteed in the life of a disciple of Jesus. There are others who use one Bible verse out of context to provide a message that they desire to present. There are some who use Scripture to lessen the value of people who are made in the image of God. So many challenges face us today when it comes to accurate interpretation and sermons from the Bible. Having a clear understanding of the Bible is not the job of the pastor, but the responsibility of each believer. When the Roman Catholic church relied on Leo X to read the Bible for them, they were led down a path of false teaching. May we always uphold Scripture with integrity individually and educate ourselves, not relying on others.
We can learn so many things from Martin Luther. He stood up against a false teaching of salvation. His boldness enabled many people to understand true salvation in Christ. The Lord used him to start a movement of Biblical accuracy and living out a genuine repentant faith while knowing that salvation comes from Jesus’ grace alone, not our own works. We are called as believers to still uphold these truths and share the love of Christ today to our generation.
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