The
Church and the Reformation Heritage
Introduction
Do
you believe that the Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice? Do you
believe that salvation is by grace alone and through faith alone? Have you been
blessed by the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word from a church
pulpit where God’s Word is central to the Sunday Worship services and to all
that the church does? Does your church have a balanced power centre for church
administration, rather than one person controlling all the matters of the
church? Does your church understand the importance of creeds and confessions
and educate believers according to the sound biblical doctrines? Is your church
committed to holy living according to God’s Holy Word? Then, in one way or
another, you and your church are indebted to the 16th century
Protestant Reformation; you are heirs of the Reformation and of the work of the
reformers. We are the sons and daughters of the Reformation; the reformers are
our spiritual fathers; the Reformation is our heritage.
Prior
to the Reformation, the Church was in a different strait. For almost a period
of one thousand years, from AD 500 to 1500, commonly known as the Medieval
Period of the history of the Church, the Church went through a difficult
period. The first 500 years of this period is known as the dark period due to
the suppression of the truth of God over the traditions of the apostate church
(the established church of those days) as the papacy dominated the social,
political, and religious system. The established church of those days departed
from the very foundation on which the Church was established by the Lord Jesus
Christ, Himself being the Chief Corner Stone (Ephesians 2:20-22; 1 Timothy 3:15).
The truth of God was ignored and the church relied on ignorance and
superstition. The Word of God was kept away from the common people; it was kept
as the monopoly of the clergy. As a result, the clergy conveniently distorted
the Word for their own personal advantages. People were indoctrinated with the
notion that they could only go to heaven through the church. The church priest
had enormous power at his disposal as he was viewed as the people’s ‘passport’
to heaven. People had to come to him for the confession of their sins. People
had to please him by any means. Money also played a crucial role in the
relationship between the people and church. They had to pay large amount to the
church for spiritual favors. The sale of Indulgences by Johann Tetzel was one
of the many examples for this. Indulgence was a prominent Catholic practice, by
which any devoted Catholic parishioner could pay money to the church in
exchange for the forgiveness of sins and entry into heaven. There was also
compromise in the Christian living. Ungodly and carnal living characterized the
lives of both the clergy and the laity.
We
thank God for the heritage of the Reformation. The Reformation was the means of
God to purify and re-form His church. It was required of God to liberate the
true Church from the dominance and influence of the apostate church that the Church
of God would be renewed. It was on October 31, 1517, that the Roman Catholic
monk, Martin Luther, questioning the power and efficacy of Indulgences, nailed
the 95 theses on the door of the All Saints’ Church, Wittenberg, Saxony,
sparking the flame of the Reformation movement. This movement, by the
providential guidance of the Lord, became an instrument in God’s hand to
re-form the Church, making the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ again the
message of the church. God, through this movement, raised men in different
parts of the world, empowered them with extraordinary courage and ability in
order to question and challenge the unholy authorities and systems that
dominated the matters of the Church for a long period. Through their relentless
effort that the Church of God could be liberated.
The
Reformation was the greatest religious movement for Christ since the Early Church
as it was a revival of Christian theology and sound biblical practices. In the
words of Philip Schaff, a Church historian, “The
Reformation of the sixteenth century is, next to the introduction of
Christianity, the greatest event in history. It marks the end of the Middle
Ages and the beginning of modern times. Starting from religion, it gave,
directly or indirectly, a mighty impulse to every forward movement, and made
Protestantism the chief propelling force in the history of modern civilization”
(Philip Schaff, History of the
Christian Church). “There are two leading aspects
in which the Reformation, viewed as a whole, may be regarded; the one more
external and negative, and the other more intrinsic and positive. In the first
aspect it was a great revolt against the see of Rome, and against the authority
of the church and of churchmen in religious matters, combined with an assertion
of the exclusive authority of the Bible, and of the right of all men to examine
and interpret it for themselves. In the second and more important and positive
aspect, the Reformation was the proclamation and inculcation, upon the alleged
authority of Scripture, of certain views in regard to the substance of
Christianity or the way of salvation, and in regard to the organization and ordinances
of the Christian church” (William Cunningham, The
Reformers and the Theology of the Reformation).
This
year, the year 2017, is the 500th anniversary of the great
Reformation movement. It is by the providence of God that we are able to live
through this time. It is a privilege for us and therefore we need to do our
part as well in re-echoing the call of the reformers. Therefore, in
commemoration of the 500th anniversary, as we publish the second special edition of the Reformation Now, we want to recollect
the blessed Reformation heritage we have inherited through the faith and labor
of the reformers.
The
Bible
The
first and most basic aspect of the Reformation heritage is the Bible. By the
means of the Reformation, God restored the Bible to the Church. The
established, apostate, church of those days took the Bible away from the common
man. The people were forbidden to have the Bible in their hands and read it.
The Bible was not in the common language of the people either. The church
infested the minds and hearts of the people with all her traditions and papal
decrees that were exalted above the authority of the Bible. The authority and
the necessity of the Scripture was very much in question. Therefore, firstly,
the reformers, like Martin Luther and John Calvin, agreed on the absolute
authority of the Word of God. It means that other than God’s Word, the
sixty-six books of the Old and the New Testaments, there is no other authority
for doctrine or for life, for faith or for practice. As God’s Word is the
inspired, infallible, inerrant, revelation of God, for every area of a
Christian’s life, and for the life of the church, the Bible is the only
authority, not the pope, or the traditions of the church, or any other things
coming along the way. Secondly, the reformers taught the sufficiency of the
Scripture. This means God’s Word is sufficient for all matters pertaining to
Christian’s life on earth. He does not require any other revelation. Any
tradition of the church or papal decree must be subjected to the supreme
authority of the Word of God. Thirdly, the reformers upheld the necessity of
the Word of God by which emphasizing that, since God has revealed Himself in
the Word, without the Scripture and apart from the Scripture, the truth
concerning God and His salvation plan for the lost humanity can neither be
known nor maintained. And fourthly, the reformers maintained the truth
concerning the clarity or perspicuity of the Scripture. “This principle implies
that the text of the Bible is clearly understandable as far as the truth of
God’s revelation is concerned, so that any child of God, any believer, can read
and understand the Bible in its clear and unequivocal meaning” (Homer C
Hoeksema). The Apostle Paul explains this understanding of the Scripture in 2
Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all
good works.” (For a detail understanding of this, read John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion,
I:VII-IX.)
The
Reformed Doctrines
Another
central aspect of the Reformation heritage is the truth of justification by
grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2). This is the central message of the
Bible which the apostate church those days suppressed with her teaching of
faith plus work is-equal-to salvation. Luther, as he studied the Scripture,
especially the books of Romans and Galatians, stumbled at the erroneous
teaching of the church. He expounded Romans and Galatians along with other
portions of the Bible to confront the errors of the church. He taught that
salvation is by grace through faith alone, and can never earn it by the merits
of men. It is entirely based on the work of God in Jesus Christ, received by
men through faith alone. God, not man, must receive the glory for salvation.
The
Five Solas of Reformation highlight
the doctrinal stand of the reformers, namely, (1) Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), (2) Sola Gratia (Grace Alone), (3) Sola
Fide (Faith Alone), (4) Solus
Christus (Christ Alone), and (5) Soli
Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone). To this, the followers of John Calvin
later added the Five Points of Calvinism, known as the TULIP, namely, (1) Total
Depravity (man by nature is totally incapable of doing any good that would
merit him salvation), (2) Unconditional Election (a person comes to believe in
God because God, in eternity past, out of His absolute sovereignty, chose some
to believe in Him), (3) Limited Atonement (the effect of Christ’s death on the
Cross, though sufficient for all people, is efficient only to the elect of
God), (4) Irresistible Grace (when God, according to His sovereign election,
effectually calls a sinner to bestow upon him the gracious salvation, that
person can never resist God’s gracious offer of salvation) and (5) Perseverance
of Saints (God preserves His elect person as he responds to His salvation offer,
and persevere till the end, enduring temptation, fight the battle of faith, and
obtain the final victory in the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ). There was
nothing new in this explanation of the doctrines of grace and salvation by the
reformers as this was already expounded by the Apostles in their Epistles in
the New Testament, especially in the Epistles of Romans and Ephesians.
The
Preaching and Worship
Preaching
is the public reading and declaration of God’s Word and it has been the
practice of the faithful Church of God when people gathered together for the
worship of God. It was practiced by the prophets and priests in the Old
Testament (read Ezra 7-10) and it was a norm in the ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ (read the Gospels), and later the Apostles followed the same pattern in
the ministry of the Church (read the Book of Acts). The Law, the Word of God,
was the prominent factor in the gathering of the people in the Temple system of
the Old Testament, and the Synagogues of the New Testament. The Apostle Paul
presents the logic behind the necessity of the proclamation of the gospel, “For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall
they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of
good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord,
who hath believed our report? So then
faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:13-17).
However,
the dominant church of the Medieval Period neglected the Word of God as they
gave prominence to the traditions of the church rather than the truth of God.
Instead of preaching, the priests gave importance to the sacraments. The Mass
was considered as the chief means of grace, not the preaching of the Word. The
preaching was given the back seat. It was the reformers who restored the
practice of preaching to its rightful place. As they emphasized the authority
of the Scripture, and made the Word of God available to the people in their own
local tongue, expository and doctrinal preaching became common in the church
services.
The
Regulatory Principles of Worship was introduced in the church and with that the
worship services were regularized according to God’s prescriptions for
corporate worship. Worship once again became God-centered, and not
man-centered.
The
congregational hymn singing was another important contribution of the
reformers. Prior to the Reformation, for over a 1000 years, the common people
were prohibited from singing in the church. Only the clergy and professional
singers were allowed to do this. The Moravians of Central Europe were credited
with producing the first hymnal in 1501. Later, Luther and his followers
continued the trend of composing new hymns and tunes, followed by the Wesley
brothers of the Methodists and many others.
The
Church Polity
The
church polity means the church administrative system to govern the spiritual
and physical matters of the church. During the Medieval Period of the history
of the Church, the offices and discipline of the church was corrupted by the
influence of the dominant Roman Catholic Church. The Papal church system
(church ruled by the Pope) was monarchical (ruled by one man) and hierarchical
(a ranked or graded system like bishops and archbishops). Papal system embraced
a larger “universal” church, made up smaller member churches, and the Pope
functioning as its head. The Pope wielded so much power and was regarded as the
highest authority, even above the authority of the Word of God. He was regarded
infallible. As Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on October 31, 1517, on the
door of the Wittenberg church, in one of the statements, he challenged the Pope
as the Head of the Church. By this, he rejected the Papal authority and the
Papal system of the church government.
Against
the monarchical system of church government Luther, according to the Scripture,
taught the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9), and Christ the Head of
the Church (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18). From this, the importance of the
common believers in the church became more evident and got momentum. All
believers are righteous in Christ and live in relationship with Him. They are
partakers of the threefold office of Christ, namely, prophet, priest, and king.
As they congregate together as congregation, Christ, being the Head of the
Church, rules over them. He rules by the means of the office of all believers,
but specifically through the means of elected Elders in the church. Christ gave
the task of the preaching of the Word to the Elders as Ephesians 4:11-13 says,
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and
some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Along with
preaching, is the responsibility of the church discipline, which also with the
congregation, but exercised by the elected Elders (Matthew 18:15-17). Here lies
the heart of the Reformed Church Polity. It is important to understand that
according to the Reformed Church Polity, unlike the Papal system, it does not serve
the purpose and plans of just one man, but for the benefit and betterment of
the congregation that the people of God may receive Christ’s gift of faith,
righteousness, and holiness. The Pastors or the Elders work for the edification
of the congregation, for the perfecting of the saints of God.
Generally,
the Reformed churches follow the Presbyterian (comes from the Greek word presbuteros means “elder”) system of
church polity. It was John Calvin who popularized the Presbyterian system of
church administration. As the word itself conveys, the Presbyterian system of
church government emphasizes the rulership of elders. The system also
emphasizes the plurality of elders or the board of elders where more than one
elder is involved in the administration of a local congregation.
The
Creeds and Confessions
During
the dark period of the church there was a starvation for the correct
understanding of the truth of God as it was not expounded by the clergy to the
common man. The reformers addressed this problem as the very foundation for the
Reformation was the Word of God. The Creeds and Confessions are the fundamental
doctrinal beliefs and practices, according to the Word of God, succinctly
stated with adequate biblical supports so that the church would know the truth
it stands for. A A Hodge explains the usefulness of the Creeds and Confessions,
“(1) To mark, preserve
and disseminate the attainments made in the knowledge of Christian truth by any
branch of the church in any grand crisis of its development. (2) To
discriminate the truth from the glosses of false teachers, and accurately to
define it in its integrity and due proportions. (3) To act as the bond of
ecclesiastical fellowship among those so nearly agreed as to be able to labor
together in harmony. (4) To be used as instruments in the great work of popular
instruction.”
The most generally known and received
Reformed Confessions are the following: (1) The Thirty-nine Articles of the
Church of England (1551), (2) The Heidelberg Catechism (1562), (3) The Second
Helvetic Confession (1564), (4) The Canons of the Synod of Dort (1619), and (5)
The Confessions and Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly (1647).
Conclusion
Space
does not permit me to go on and expound the importance the reformers gave for
holy living, establishing Christian schools, seminaries, and missions centers,
and their commitment toward the defense of faith. Reformers were committed to
all these. The Puritanical movement of the Reformation era is known for their
God-fearing commitment, wanting to honor God through every area of their lives.
On the importance of Christian schools, Luther once said, “When schools prosper
the church remains righteous and her doctrine pure . . . Young pupils and
students are the seed and source of the church . . . For the sakes of the
church we must have and maintain Christian schools. They may not appear
attractive, but they are useful and necessary.” Finally, the reformers were the
defenders of the faith as they heeded the call to “earnestly contend for the faith
which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). They stood for the truth of
God, willing to pay a price for the truth, even willing to sacrifice their own
comforts and lives.
This
is the blessed and priced heritage we have as the sons and daughters of the
Reformation. Today, we must stand up for this heritage, and be committed
ourselves for it. Saddening to mention that today the Protestant churches have
forgotten their roots. They have thrown away the history. The need of the hour
for the twenty-first century Christian Church is to get back into the Word of
God. The Word need to be faithfully preached and taught from our pulpits; the
centrality of worship must be the Word of God. Every preacher must prepare his
sermons well and preach expository, doctrinal, sermons with full of
applications, as the reformers did. True, lasting, revival in the churches and
in our lives (that is, fearing God and keeping His commandments) will begin
only when the truth of God is emphasized as the way the reformers showed us. True
transformation of the heart and true love for God will only happen when the
Word is correctly understood and appropriately practiced. May we listen to
these words of the Apostle Paul, who, having mentioned the truthfulness and
profitability of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17), calls on the young preacher
Timothy, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap
to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their
ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all
things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of
thy ministry” (2 Timothy 4:2-5). May the Lord help us that this would be
realized through our ministry and lives!
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