Preacher Joshua Yong

Remembering the Reformation

For most Christians, the 16th Century Reformation is something they hear about once a year. There are some who know a little bit more about the history of the Reformation. For a small minority, they know more about the Reformation through classes, books and videos. Whether or not we are familiar with the Reformation which took place exactly 500 years ago, the Reformation remains a very important event in history that must continue to impact all believers both on a church and personal level.

The 95 Theses

When we think of the Reformation we think of what happened on 31st October 1517. On that day, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses, which condemned the practice of indulgences, on the castle-church door in Wittenberg. This castle-church which was called “All Saints Church” was the chapel annexing the university in Wittenberg. It was believed that around 19,000 relics collected by Frederick III were kept in that church at that time.

31st October was the eve of a Roman Catholic tradition known as “All Saints’ Day” (1st November). On “All Saints’ Day”, the Roman Catholic Church would venerate relics of saints and martyrs. Large crowds would gather to view these relics, blindly and wrongly believing that by venerating these relics, they might find pardon for sins. Eager to seize the attention of the people who would gather, Martin Luther deliberately nailed his 95 Theses on the eve of “All Saints’ Day.”

As was the custom in those days, when a scholar wanted to call for a public debate, he would post the topics to be discussed on the university door. In nailing his 95 Theses, Luther was calling anyone who was willing to discuss the issues raised. On that same day, hand-written copies were sent to the archbishop who was in charge of indulgences.

Within two months, Luther’s Theses which were written in Latin were translated, copied and distributed throughout Europe. This was what the Lord used to spark off the Reformation in Europe.

But who was Martin Luther who dared to stand against the most powerful religious and political organisation of his time?

The Man Himself

Martin Luther was born in 1483 in Eisleben. In 1501, he began his studies in the University of Erfurt and graduated with his Masters’ degree in 1505. Luther was about to continue his study of law, but as his life was spared in a severe thunderstorm, he gave up his academic pursuits to become a monk in an Augustinian monastery in Erfurt.

The Augustinian monks lived a very strict life. They gave themselves solely to prayer and work. Their day began at 2am when they would head from the dormitories to the church to pray. There was a chapter room in the monastery where every day, a chapter of the rules of the order of the Augustinian monks was read to them. The more rules you have, the more rules you will break. Life for these monks had always been, “If I do something wrong, I must be punished.”

Being a monk, Luther thought that he could receive forgiveness of his sins through the confessional. At the confessional, each sin must be confessed. As Luther was a perfectionist, he often spent hours confessing minor sins, for fear that he might forget even one sin. He wrote, “Sometimes my confessor said to me when I repeatedly discussed silly sins with him, ‘You are a fool. Man, God is not angry with you, but you are angry with God.’” Once Luther was so filled with the guilt of his sins that he whipped himself until he nearly died.

So strict was Luther’s observance of these laws that he said of his experience, “I was a good monk, and kept the rule of my order so strictly that I may say that if ever a monk got to heaven by his monkery, it was I. All my brothers in the monastery who knew me will bear me out. If I had kept on any longer, I should have killed myself with vigils, prayers, reading, and other work.”

Despite all these attempts, he found himself still a sinner and was not able to find peace in his conscience. He testified, “Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience.”

In 1511, Luther moved from Erfurt to Wittenberg to be the Professor of Theology in the university there. Around 1513 and 1514, Luther began lecturing on the Psalms at the university of Wittenberg. He had the opportunity to study the Scriptures and in the midst of these studies, came across Romans 1:17 - “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

In this verse, he found assurance for his soul. He wrote, “At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, ‘In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’ There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith...Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me.”

Only the Lord could deliver and free Luther who was so steeped in Roman Catholicism. For all the brilliance and dedication of Luther, he simply could not find peace by his own efforts. However, when he cast himself on
the finished work of Christ, peace came and flooded his soul.

The Reformation

In 1516, in order to finance the building of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Catholic Church commissioned a man named John Tetzel to go around Germany selling indulgences (these were forgiveness tickets that authorized the release of souls from purgatory). He went about singing this jingle as he tried to garner more sales – “as soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” This sale of indulgences angered Luther. He saw it as a distortion of the gospel and a reflection of the corruption within the Church. This led to the nailing of his 95 theses on the castle-church door in Wittenberg.

Having nailed his 95 Theses, Luther was summoned by the Roman Catholic Church to the Diet of Worms in 1521. A diet describes a formal deliberative assembly. It was in such a similar diet that John Hus was charged and found guilty in 1415 and sentenced to death by bruning at the stake. This was the assembly where Luther was called upon to answer for his writings. Standing before such an assembly would have been most intimidating, if not for the courage given to him by God.

On April 17, 1521, as Luther stood before the assembly, a man named Johann von Eck interrogated him. Eck pointed to a collection of books and asked whether they belonged to Luther and if he was ready to retract them. Luther requested for more time before giving an answer. He was given until the next day when the assembly was to convene again. On April 18, when Luther was asked the same questions, he first apologized for the lack of proper court etiquette. Then he replied, “They are all mine,” apologizing for the harsh tone of these writings but not for the substance of what he taught in them.

He then made a bold declaration: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason..., I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.”

This is a wonderful testimony of the steadfastness and boldness in God’s truth. Like Luther, the reformers were men of conviction who stood for what they believed. They did so even at the expense of their own safety and life.

In 1522, on the way back from the diet of Worms, Martin Luther was “kidnapped” by his protector, Frederick the Wise to the Wartburg Castle. There, Luther translated the New Testament from Greek into German in 11 weeks. Luther lived in very urgent times, for he knew not when his last day would be. He strived diligently in God’s Work and knowing the importance of God’s Word in the lives of the believers, he laboured diligently in the translating of the Bible. The Word of God has the power to transform lives. The Word of God, which fuelled the Reformation, is the same powerful Word we have today.

The Companions

God did not just use one man in the work of the Reformation. Just as Daniel had his three friends, so Luther had others who co-laboured with him. In Philip Melanchthon, Luther found a companion, comrade and friend. At the recommendation of Luther’s great uncle, Philip Melanchthon was invited by Luther to teach in the University of Wittenberg in 1518 at the mere age of 21. It was the stand upon the same truth which bound Luther and Melancthon together.

Just as God did not just use one man, He also did not just use men in the work of the Reformation. God led a runaway nun by the name of Katharina von Bora to be Luther’s life companion. Luther married Katharina in 1525 in the church in Wittenberg. It was said that Luther was a poor organiser and was not good at taking care of the finances. Katharina complemented him in this regard. While his wife took care of the family of eight, Luther could just focus on the needs of the Reformation. Luther even called Katharina “The Morning Star of Wittenberg” as her day started at 4am. The reformation of the family was another aspect of the Reformation. Personal reformation is as important as the reformation of the church. Luther saw the need to reform the family. Throughout his ministry, he wrote several tracts on the married life and through his family, Luther set an example of what a godly family should be like.

Conclusion

Mere words will not justify the significance and impact of God’s great work in bringing about this spiritual reawakening in the church in the 16th Century Reformation. However, the story and spirit of the Reformation continues till this day. As we remember the Reformation now in the 21st century, we must engage ourselves in the new battles to be fought today. But we are comforted knowing that, as God was the Helper of the reformers, He will still be our Helper today.

Psalm 46:1-5 – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.”