What Every Christian Should Know about the Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a movement of reform that began in 1517. One of the most important people in the movement was Martin Luther. On October 31,1517 in Wittenberg, Germany, Luther published a work entitled 95 Theses, which he nailed to the door of a Catholic Church in Wittenberg. This work was controversial because until this time, the teaching of the Catholic Church was sacrosanct, and the 95 Theses challenged some of the doctrinal positions of the Catholic Church.

Among the main practices that were challenged were the selling of indulgences. Luther argued against these practices and saw them for what they were, which was an abuse of the people by the clergy. Luther denounced the idea of selling a certificate which would reduce a person’s time in purgatory in his 95 Theses, as it was not only foreign to Scripture but was used for the financial benefit of the Catholic Church. 

What Was the Purpose of the Protestant Reformation?

Luther penned the 95 Theses which led to the Protestant Reformation primarily focused on the teachings of redemption and grace. He was confronting the corrupt practices and teachings of the Catholic Church at the time and his goal was to refocus people back on two main ideas:

• The Bible as the central authority for all Christians, not the Catholic Church
• Salvation that could not be earned by any amount of works but only by faith in Jesus Christ 

Prior to this reformation, the Roman Catholic Church sat at the seat of power of people’s lives in the West. People believed the only way to heaven and salvation was through the Roman Catholic Church, and with this type of authority in the lives of people, they used it to their advantage. The church taught that the way to heaven was through good works and receiving the sacraments. Without doing these, the doors of heaven were closed to you.

With that kind of pressure, you can see how this would affect the way people lived and why the church’s words would have so much power and control in their life. When Luther penned the 95 Theses, he was confronting these teachings, which led to the birth of the Protestant Reformation.

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Martin Luther was the person who began the Protestant Reformation, but he was not the only important person in this movement of reform. What Luther’s work did was open the door for other people to challenge the practice and teachings of the Catholic Church.

Among them were John Calvin from France, who criticized the Papacy and rejected the idea of the Papal Authority. He also did not believe in the veneration of Mary and saw that as idolatry.

Another important reformer was Ulrich Zwingli, from Switzerland. Zwingli also rejected the idea of the pope being the leader of the church. He rejected the idea that any human works would be necessary for salvation because it came through faith alone. He attempted to point people back to the Scriptures as the basis for faith, and move people from relying on Catholic tradition, which he deemed unnecessary. 

What Was the Result of the Protestant Reformation?

Out of the Protestant Reformation came the emergence of Protestantism, which now represents one of the three major branches of Christianity. The other two are Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. However even within Protestantism, there are distinct divisions, because the reform sparked further reform. That’s why you have Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Baptist, and more, which all identify as Protestants.

Out of this reform, the Catholic Church had its own reform, and one thing that came from that was the ending of the sale of indulgences.

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1 - The Protestant Reformation broke the stranglehold of false teaching and corruption the Roman Catholic Church had over the people at that time. 

2 - The Protestant Reformation brought the focus back to salvation by grace and not by works. They had distorted the salvation Jesus purchased for us and made it burdensome by basing it on works. The Protestant Reformation helped restore salvation back to what it was supposed to be.

3 - The Protestant Reformation returned the Bible to its place of authority in the life of Christians. One way this was further emphasized was through Bible translation, which now made the Bible available to everyone.   

4 - The Protestant Reformation made church available to everyone. Prior to this, they conducted the church mass in Latin, which did not help the people who were listening to the services because they did not understand the language. They translated services into the languages of the local people as an outcome of the reformation, allowing them to engage more with the services.

5 - The Protestant Reformation helped propel the need for literacy. With an emphasis on people reading the Bible, it helped inspire the need for literacy so people could read the Bible for themselves.

Related articles
5 Things You’re Probably Misunderstanding about the 95 Theses
What Are the Differences Between Catholic and Protestant?

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If you know me by now, I don’t just like to give information, because I believe in practical application of truth in our lives. As I was preparing this article, I see some of the same danger signs that led to the Protestant Reformation. These signs make me wonder if it is time for another reformation. Here are three specific areas that we are falling behind on.

1. Biblical Authority  

It is one thing if people in the world question Biblical authority. It is quite another when people in the church do the same thing. More and more Christians are moving away from the idea of the Bible as God’s word and the ultimate authority in their life. There is a shift by some towards syncretism, which blends multiple ideas to come up with their belief. 

2. Biblical Literacy

There is a problem with Biblical literacy in the church. It’s not because people can’t read and it’s not because Bibles are not available. It’s because people don’t take time to open them, and it shows. Ligonier Ministries did a survey of the state of theology in America and the results were disastrous. Here are a few examples.

• 56% believe that “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”
• 70% “strongly agree” that “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God” 
• 38% see Jesus as “a great teacher, but he was not God.”
• 60% say “The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.” 
• 27% think “The Holy Spirit can tell me to do something which is forbidden in the Bible” 

As you can see, this is a problem that we can only solve by reforming our way back to Biblical literacy.

3. Idolatry

John Calvin condemned idolatry, yet we are living in an age where idolatry still exists. We idolize pastors, worship leaders, teachers, speakers, and we sometimes put their words on par with God’s words. Some people go so far as to not do anything unless their pastor gives them approval for it. This sounds a lot like the power the church had back in the 1500’s. 

In a different vein, we do everything we can to get people into the church building, but do nothing to teach them how to live outside of it. The people idolize the leader and the leader idolizes the numbers. It all equates to one big mess. Full buildings (churches) but empty vessels (people) is not progressing. It is a sign there is a need for reformation.

What Now?

If we are going to learn anything from the Protestant Reformation, let it be this. We need to preach salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ. We must uphold the authority of Scripture, but equally encourage people to read and study their Bibles (what a novel idea). Finally, let’s place a greater emphasis on the personal relationship God desires to develop with us. Let’s do what Jesus commissioned us to do by going and making disciples. This is the type of reform the church needs and the type of reform that God is looking to do.

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