The reformation:

The reformation:

October 31, 2017 marked the 500th anniversary of the day when a German monk, Martin Luther, nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Yesterday Protestants worldwide celebrated the Reformation. But the reformation was so much more than a document written by a flawed monk and nailed to a door, and it's beginning was over 100 years prior to that event.

Thanks to Revive Our Hearts, a Ministry of Life Action Ministries, I have spent the last week reviewing the reformation. They took a an honest look at the men and women of the reformation (not a glossy white washed one).

Today I want to record a few "take away"s, following my review of The Reformation.

(1) How easy it is for us humans to add to what God is said, and change it. This is a human trait and it was a trait before the fall. Eve was deceived because she didn't quite remember (nor fully understand) what God had said about the tree of life. And even after Jesus Christ life, death, and resurrection, after The Way became The Church ... hundreds of years later the church was for the most part a perverted political power organization. (I am not suggesting full and complete removal of the Church from all political movements or changes, because I believe in the people having a voice in, especially in democratic republics. So to exclude the Church is to exclude a significant portion of people.) But by the time of the Middle Ages there was so much subjugation and abuses within the church. The good news that the Righteousness of God could be received by God by faith was completely covered up by greed and traditions. My perspective is that this is a natural outcome of unchecked good intentions with deviation (even small ones) from what has already spoken and inspired (the Bible).

(2) Once again I am reminded that God uses messy people. Not that we are to use grace as an excuse for sin, but neither should we use our sin as an excuse to refuse to be used by God.

(3) The reformation for the devout Christ Follower was about (a) returning to the Authority of The Word of God (the Bible), (b) Salvation by Grace Alone thought Christ Jesus life, death, resurrection alone, (c) that grace isn't earned (d) the Holy priesthood of all Christ Followers who have come to redeeming faith in Jesus Christ (meaning that every Christian that has by faith received the gift of life via the gift of Christ's righteousness imparted to us through faith, has the right of access to the Word of God, Prayer, and communion with God via the gift of the Holy Spirit (e) the importance of bravely following the teaching of the Apostles (of the Bible, God's inspired Word) over the teaching of men. Many non-lunatic anabaptists were martyred because they baptized people after coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ. They died with grace and confidence at the hand of the church and government. (Many other details can be discussed but this is supposed to be my summary "take away"s.) We (I) need to be bold. To boldly defend the Word of God, no matter what it costs us. (f) For the most part the Christian's of the reformation which started 100 years before Martin Luther's Thesis's, their desire was to see the church reformed, changed, made Holy again not through self serving self righteousness but to honor God's Word, to following Jesus Christ first and foremost, to bring about correction and redemption to church leadership, so that the masses might also receive Christ for God's glory.

(4) Much went wrong (at least from my current limited human perspective) with the reformation. (a) It had a quick and huge impact after Martin Luther nailed his thesis mostly because of political and national discontent. The church had become almost solely a political entity so to rebel against the church for many had to do with nationalistic and other political gains. (b) Several Christian doctrines swung to other extremes. The radical lunatics fringe of the Anabaptist. Luther's politics mixed with his religion made for some awful conclusions. Just to name two. Plus, how the swing away from the church leadership oversight (which is not biblical by the way), left open a gapping door for other false doctrines that still exist in protestant denominations today, and undermined the unity of The Church.

(5) It is important to not white wash history, but neither should we fully demonize the people. We need to know our history and try to understand it from their perspective. Much good was gained for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Bible, in spite of all that went wrong, and in spite of the messiness of the people involved. When we get to Heaven, we will fellowship and worship with these, then imperfect people, who just like us are saved not according to their own righteousness but by the grace and mercy of God, because they believed it the Righteousness of Jesus Christ was credited to them, as as it is available to us to today, to received from God, by faith in Him. We don't have to like everything they did; we can even cringe and condemn some of their teachings; but we don't get to use a broad judgement condemning the whole of their living and teaching. We can learn from it. We can be warned by it. Surely for many of us there are likely areas where we are grievously in error and don't even know it. I am reminded of the people listed in Hebrews 11, most (not all) also had areas of terrible sinful deviations from God's will, way, and Law (even away from the New Covenant Law of Love), and yet there they are listed under inspiration of the Holy Spirit as righteous people of saving, sanctifying faith. To fully condemn the people of the reformation is to elevate our own false prideful self righteousness. Let's honor them but not in such a way that we elevate them too much. They boldly blazed a path for reformation, for the gospel, and they did it at a very high personal price.

My biggest take away is to gratefully strive for humble boldness and deeper faith to follow God, to apply God's Word with power and ever increasing faith, to keep myself accountable, and declare and live out the truths of God, from His Word, to count the cost of being a follower of Christ and consider its high cost all a loss for the surpassing greatness of knowing Him, of being found in Him by faith at any given moment, to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me, and to perhaps as the Apostle Paul said take hold of the power of the resurrection even while still in the flesh.

I am thankful for the Word of God, for its availability to me. I am thankful for the men and women who boldly sacrificed so that one day the Bible could be available to everyone. I am thankful for the reminder of a dark time in history, and how God used flawed people to restore light. I am encouraged to pray not just for revival in our land and world but also for reformation and the fulfillment of Jesus prayer that we would be one, in harmony and unity (not allowing sinful teaching but each and all of us united in His Righteousness for His Glory).