Why the Reformation was great, and I’m not ashamed to say it

TO Kate Foskeyauthor of the comments Monday, October 28, 2024

If endless sequels teach us anything, it’s that the longer something goes on, the more likely it is to become a pale imitation of its former glory. The passage of time almost always tends to decline, especially when there is a reluctance to admit that things are starting to go off the rails.

This is why Martin Luther is such an important figure in church history. Not because he was the first to stand up and say that something was wrong in the Church, and not because he understood everything correctly. But because his position attracted the attention of a world that had long observed the degradation of the Church and either did not want or could not say anything.

It was obvious to many that the time before Luther’s position was a period when the Church had made many wrong moves and needed to repent. Several men before him achieved outstanding success, notably John Wycliffe and Jan Hus in the 14th and 15th centuries respectively. But for reasons known only to God, Luther had a special ability to ignite the fire of the Reformation, which influenced the entire Christian world.

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Luther’s position was correct, important and necessary. It took courage. He was a flawed man and I don’t agree with some of the things he said and did, but his fight was good and worth celebrating.

What ignited Luther’s fire?

To understand Luther, we need to understand the times in which he lived. His main problem in relations with the Church was the sale of indulgences, which he considered nothing more than spiritual extortion. Often when people read the 95 Theses, they are surprised that there is no treatise on later Reformed doctrines such as justification by faith alone or the sufficiency of Scripture. Instead, they are arguments against the sale of indulgences.

Pope Leo X authorized the sale of indulgences to raise funds for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The church hired people to sell these indulgences and collect money. The most famous among them was Johann Tetzel, a powerful speaker with tempting advertising offers. His famous phrase, “When the coin in the chest jingles, the soul from purgatory flows” is a paraphrase of his message, and many believed it.

What is relaxation?

According to Indulgentiarum Doctrineindulgence is defined as:

“… forgiveness before God of temporary punishment for sins, the guilt of which has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian, rightly disposed, receives under certain certain conditions through the help of the Church, when she, as a minister of redemption, distributes and with authority applies the treasury of satisfactions won by Christ and the saints “

In Catholic teaching, indulgences deal not with the guilt of a sin that has already been forgiven, but with a penalty that has not yet been paid. Thus, an indulgence does not forgive sin, but removes the temporary punishment that would otherwise be experienced in purgatory. In Roman Catholic theology, purgatory is the place where souls go after death to atone for sins committed while alive before they can go to Heaven. Therefore, indulgences shorten the time spent in purgatory, but do not provide forgiveness.

You might think that indulgences are a relic of the Middle Ages, but they remain an active part of Catholic teaching. According to Catholic Answers, “Indulgences are part of the infallible teaching of the Church. This means that no Catholic has the right not to believe in them. The Council of Trent declared that it “condemns with anathema those who say that indulgences are useless or that the Church has no authority to grant them.” As recently as 2013, Pope Francis offered indulgences to Catholics who followed his Twitter account. although now that Elon Musk is at the helm, he may be less enthusiastic about the platform.

Luther’s 95 Arguments

Luther viewed the sale of indulgences as the ultimate injustice to God’s people, so he composed 95 arguments condemning false teaching. Among them were the following:

27: “They preach only human doctrines, which say that as soon as money jingles in the piggy bank, the soul flies out of purgatory.”

28: “Undoubtedly, when money jingles in a money chest, greed and stinginess may increase; but when the Church intercedes, the result is only in the hands of God.”

32: “Those who believe that they can be assured of their salvation because they have letters of indulgence will be damned forever along with their teachers.”

36: “Any truly repentant Christian has the right to full forgiveness of punishment and guilt, even without letters of indulgence.”

86: “Why does the pope, whose wealth now exceeds that of the richest Crassus, not build the Basilica of St. Peter with his own money, and not with the money of poor believers?”

Answer

As expected, Luther’s arguments were not warmly received by church authorities. In 1520, a papal bull (what might be called a “decree”) was issued demanding Luther’s abdication. In it, the pope compared Luther to a “wild boar” invading God’s vineyard. Luther was given 120 days to comply.

Then in 1521 an imperial assembly (the Diet) was convened at Worms to deal with Luther. Luther began his journey to Worms on April 2, 1521. Upon arrival, he was ordered to renounce his teachings. In his first appearance, he asked for time to think. During his second speech, Luther made a statement that has since become one of the most famous defenses of truth in Christian history:

“Unless I am convinced by the evidence of the Holy Scriptures or by clear reason—for I trust neither the pope nor the council, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves—I am bound by the Holy Scriptures which I have quoted, since my conscience is captive to the Word of God . I cannot and will not renounce anything, because acting against my conscience is unsafe and wrong. So I can’t do otherwise.

The next day, 19-year-old Emperor Charles V declared Luther a notorious heretic and approved his conviction, effectively condemning him to death and ordering his writings to be burned. However, Luther was rescued by his friend Friedrich, who staged a kidnapping and hid him in Wartburg Castle, where Luther spent a year translating the Bible into German.

Luther’s teachings spread and had a profound influence in Germany and Europe. In 1525, in another act of defiance, Luther married Katharina von Bora, a former nun. Together they opened their home to students who came to learn about Luther’s reforms.

Why celebrate?

Some today argue that the Reformation brought division and strife into the Church and therefore should not be celebrated. Prominent Roman Catholic commentator Matt Walsh once tweeted: “The Church is split into a million pieces. Christians disagree on almost every issue. Even if you don’t like the Catholic Church, it seems strange for any Christian to joyfully celebrate Reformation Day. You celebrate disunity. and brokenness like a divorce party.”

But we don’t celebrate disunity—we celebrate restoration. Restoring the truth and exposing errors. This is the whole point of the Reformation. The Roman Catholic Church fell into error in many areas, and indulgences were only one of them. The Reformers saw themselves not as divisive figures, but as people seeking to restore to God’s people what had been taken from them: the simple gospel message of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, and for God’s glory alone. These five battle cries (“Five Solas”) represent the cause of the reformers and deserve to be celebrated.

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Originally published on “The honest truth of the media.”