Beginnings of the Reformation
On October 31, 1517, a German monk issued a series of 95 statements identifying concerns he had about common practices of the Roman Catholic church. The monk’s name was Martin Luther. And the name of the movement he ignited came to be known as the Protestant Reformation.
At the heart of the Reformation was a renewed interest to submit to the truth God had revealed in Scripture. And Luther wasn’t the only one who saw the need for change. In Switzerland, a priest named Ulrich Zwingli set aside the traditional Roman Catholic liturgical calendar and began preaching through passages of Scripture. For the first time in centuries, people were hearing God’s Word in their native language, explained with words they could understand.
A Call to Return to Biblical Christianity
Luther, Zwingli, and others who joined the Reform movement began to recognize that Roman Catholic traditions and statements from church leaders sometimes undermined or contradicted the clear teachings of Scripture. And so they were determined to take a stance to defend God’s Word. They loved the Church, and they wanted to call the Roman Catholic church back to the historic faith laid down in the Holy Bible.
Notice, then – the goal of the Reformers wasn’t to create a new Christian system called “Protestantism.” The goal of the Reformers wasn’t to overthrow the establishment and create a new religious order. Instead, the original intent of the Reformers was that they would stay within the Roman Catholic Church, and work within the church, to contend for the historical, biblical, apostolic faith.
The Beginning of Lutheran, Reformed, and Presbyterian Churches
Unfortunately, the Roman Catholic church denied the ultimate trajectory of the Reformation. Some Reform-minded clergy were able to stay within the church for a time, but Luther and many others were expelled. Now outside of Roman Catholicism, the Reformers continued to advance the historical Christian faith by organizing new churches. These Protestant churches affirmed that God’s Word is the final and highest authority for God’s people, and they insisted on a true understanding of the Christian gospel: salvation is in Christ alone, through faith alone, by God’s grace alone, to the glory of God alone.
Over time these churches spread throughout Europe and around the world. Lutheran churches, Scottish and English Presbyterian churches, and continental Reformed churches eventually made their way to North America. These and other protestant bodies have had a major influence on American history. Many church bodies in the United States continue to stand in line with the Christian faith recovered during the Reformation, including the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). The impact of the Reformation continues today.
Reformation Today
Yet as we look back on the Reformation of the historical church, it’s a helpful for us to reflect thoughtfully. We need to be earnest in every age that the church is formed (and at times reformed) according to the Word of God. It’s not right for our churches to be organized according to secular business models, or for our worship to be determined by consumer preferences, or for our doctrine to be influenced by cultural ideologies. In every era, we must be careful that God’s voice is the voice we heed as he speaks to us by His Sacred Scriptures.
And at the heart of God’s Word, we find the timeless good news of Christianity. Though humanity has found 99 million ways to insult and offend God – though we have made ourselves enemies against Him and his goodness – he has acted in mercy to save us. How? Through faith alone, in Christ alone – not by our works, but by God’s grace alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). May the Christian church, the people of God, forever be resolved to delight in the glory of God’s kindness, and in the preciousness of God himself.
