Why the Reformation is Definitely Not Over
By Mark Gilbert, Certainty for Eternity.
On 31 October this year, Pope Francis (Jorge Bergoglio) will take part in an ecumenical service with the World Federation of Lutheran Churches to commence a year of celebrations to commemorate 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the castle church at Wittenberg.
When commenting about this event, Pope Francis said this to reporters:
“And today Lutherans and Catholics, Protestants, all of us agree on the doctrine of justification.”
Based on this and other comments, it seems increasingly likely at this event that he will declare the Reformation to be over. Which prompts us to ask the question …
Is the Reformation really over?
Never!
“There was never any thing by the wit of man so well devised, or so surely established, which (in continuance of time) hath not been corrupted”
So said Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in the preface to his 1549 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. The church is always reforming because the church is made up of sinful people who continue to need to be reformed by the word of God.
The capital “R” Reformation describes a period of time that began in 1517 when Martin Luther, a Augustinian monk who taught the Bible in a German University in Wittenberg, struggled with the question – “How could someone be sure they were righteous before God?”
In Luther’s day the Church taught, “Do what lies within you”. In other words, the church taught that righteousness was attained by co-operating with God’s grace by developing godly habits, self-denial and participating in the Sacraments.
Luther recalls:
“I tortured myself with prayers, fasting, vigils, and freezing: the frost alone might have killed me” (LW 24:24)
and
“I almost fasted myself to death for again and again I went for three days without taking a drop of water or a morsel of food. I was very serious about it.” (LW 54:339-40)
However, despite applying these teachings vigorously he found no assurance. He describes this state as his “monstrous uncertainty” (LW 26:386)
Leading up to 1517, Luther was preparing to teach the New Testament. He was preparing classes on the Books of Romans, Hebrews, Galatians and the Psalms. By doing this he discovered that he needed to place his trust in the objective promises of God, declared in the Scriptures, not in his own religious performance.
“it [the objective promises of God] snatches us away from ourselves and places us outside ourselves, so that we do not depend on our own strength, conscience, experience, person or works but depend on that which is outside ourselves, that is on the promise and truth of God, which cannot deceive.” (LW 26:386-7)
Faith, or trust, in God’s promises rather than in his own performance freed Luther from his “monstrous uncertainty” and gave him certainty for eternity.
When Pope Francis makes statements like the following:
“And today, Lutherans and Catholics, Protestants, all of us agree on the doctrine of justification. On this point, which is very important, he [Martin Luther] did not err.”
We need to understand what he means by “justification” which is something quite different to what it meant to Martin Luther. For the Pope, “justification” actually includes receiving initial justification at Baptism plus the process of sanctification throughout life. In other words, Catholics teach that a person is righteous before God on the basis of what God does plus what they do to become more holy (see Catechism of the Catholic Church articles 1995, 2010). In the end it still leaves Catholics with a “monstrous uncertainty” because they still need to look to themselves to know if they are good enough for God and they are never completely sure…
Personally, having grown up in the Catholic Church, when I started reading the Bible with my Protestant friends at University I realised that God saves people who don’t deserve it, without their help. That means on a good day or on a bad day I still know with certainty where I stand with God because being right with God depends completely on something objective – outside myself – on the sacrificial death of Jesus alone. I was never taught this in the Catholic Church despite 1000+ religious classes at school and going to Mass every week for 20 years. However, when I realised I could be certain where I stood with God, I was able to live my life completely for Him with confidence. This has been the most important and life changing news I have ever learnt!
Despite these statements of agreement between Catholics and a small number of Protestants, which really just obscure these important differences, sadly, the issues raised at the Reformation are far from resolved.
Why not ask your Catholic friend if they are certain they are going to heaven, and if they’re not, why not share with them the solution that Martin Luther discovered and I hope you have too?
Hebrews 10:14 “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
When it comes to the question of where we stand before God we can have certainty for eternity instead of a monstrous uncertainty!
Mark Gilbert
See also: Is the Pope a Catholic? Understanding the Catholic Church.
If you’d like to learn more about sharing this great message of certainty for eternity with Catholics, you may be interested in the conference: Understanding Roman Catholicism in the 21st Century and developing effective evangelistic strategies
Saturday 20th August, 10:00am – 1:00pm
Cost: Free
Moore College, 19 King Street, Newtown NSW 2042
From Here to Eternity: Giving thanks for Arthur Stace, 49 years on
Today, 30th July 2016, is the 49th anniversary of the home-calling of Arthur Stace.
Remembered today as ‘Mr. Eternity’, Arthur Stace committed his life to asking the men and women of Sydney to consider where they will spend eternity. His ‘one word sermon’ was written in yellow crayon on the streets of Sydney for three decades – until ill health prevented him.
Stace was also a keen evangelist, and was seen on Saturday nights preaching from the Open Air Campaigners van parked on the corner of George and Bathurst Streets in Sydney.
He was no eccentric, and there is no secret about his motives. He wanted men and women to place their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The 50th anniversary of Stace’s death, 30th July 2017, falls on a Sunday.
This is an excellent opportunity for churches to remind the people of Sydney of his call to consider where they will spend eternity. (It is most appropriate for older Sydney-siders who remember actually seeing his work!)
The next year gives Sydney churches time to consider how they might use this anniversary for the eternal good of the people of our great city.
Top photo courtesy Ramon Williams. Read more about Mr. Eternity here.
Is the Reformation over?
“Is the Reformation over? Have the issues that divided Protestants and Catholics been sufficiently resolved that we can now pursue a return to unity? At the very end of his book Rescuing the Gospel, an account of the Protestant Reformation, Erwin Lutzer offers a compelling answer…”
– From Erwin Lutzer’s book, Tim Challies draws out why unity can only come at the expense of the gospel.
Moore’s treasures unveiled
“A campaign has begun to preserve a major collection of Australian Christian history at the library of Moore College, including two of the first books ever printed by press, the first book distributed in Australia, an ancient Hebrew parchment, a first edition of the King James Bible and rare photos of the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The historic, and eclectic, group of ‘treasures’ is to be housed and exhibited in the college’s new library, due for completion in 2017, and the college is raising funds to display and preserve the irreplaceable collection.
‘Some of Australia’s priceless national heritage is found in the Moore College library – not surprising, since the college is one of the oldest tertiary educational institutions in the country and it became the repository of special books and artefacts from the earliest days,’ said Moore’s former principal Dr Peter Jensen, who is backing the effort to conserve the treasures.
One of the most historic items of Australiana is ‘Address to the Inhabitants of the Colonies’ by the chaplain of the First Fleet, the Rev Richard Johnson. It was printed in England in 1794 with editing by the slave trader-turned evangelist John Newton. Johnson used it in his work in Sydney, making it the first book conceived and distributed in Australia…”
– Read the full story by Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Richard Johnson’s ‘Address to the Inhabitants of the Colonies Established in New South Wales and Norfolk Island’ (with some editorial input from John Newton) was republished in PDF format for the ACL website several years ago. It is a wonderfully direct gospel tract.
Photo credit: Moore College.
Priests or Presbyters?
“The ambiguity of priest/presbyter might seem like linguistic pedantry. The poor English word ‘priest’ has to do overtime, since it translates two separate New Testament words…”
– At Church Society, Robert Evans – about to be ordained Priest (or is it Presbyter?) – outlines what the Ordinal means by ‘priest’.
Pressies gear up for Reformation 500
What better way to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Ninety-five theses?
The Presbyterians take a lead.
Terrific.
Dawson Trotman remembered with thanksgiving — 60 years on
At The Gospel Coalition, Justin Taylor has a profile of Navigators founder Dawson Trotman.
Trotman drowned at a Christian camp on July 18th 1956.
Celebrating The Reformation in 2017 at Moore College
Moore College has some dates for your diary –
18th March. This event, held at Moore College, will be a morning of hearing Peter Jensen, Peter Adam and Simon Manchester each present a paper on a significant character from the reformation and what we can learn from them today.
26th-27 May. This afternoon and following morning event, held at Moore College, will reflect on the reformation doctrine of justification by faith alone and how the biblical doctrine bears upon many of the contemporary debates surrounding this subject. Speakers include, Mike Ovey (Principle of Oak Hill College, London), Peter Orr and Andrew Leslie.
4-11 August. The Annual Moore College Lectures will be given by Carl Trueman, a world renowned Reformation scholar.
26th August. This event, held at St Andrew’s Cathedral, will be a morning hearing Gerald Bray, Glenn Davies, Kanishka Raffel and will include a service conducted from the 1552 Book of Common Prayer.
13-14 September. The School of Theology will be a conference assembling Reformation scholars from around Australia who will present papers on Reformation theology, significant reformers as well as the reception of the Reformation in the five hundred years since.
Worship and Edification in The Book of Common Prayer
“How do we decide what to do with our services? Go trad? Or kick out all liturgy and call it a ‘youth service’? And whatever you do, you know some people won’t be happy. If we were to list all the things that churches can argue over, ‘worship’ would consistently come right at the top.
A wise older minister once observed that even the most united church has the ability to rip itself apart over the choice of hymn book in the pews. This can’t be right, but what is the answer?
David Peterson’s article takes us on a brief overview of a biblical answer to the two questions sitting right at the heart of these arguments—what is worship? And why do we gather as a church?…”
– At the Church Society’s blog, Ben Thompson highlights a 2012 article by David Peterson (pictured) in Churchman: “Worship and Edification in the Book of Common Prayer.” (PDF file)
“Amidst the confusion of contemporary practices and the diversity of opinions about why we gather, it is instructive to return to the simple models we have in The Book of Common Prayer and consider its profound teaching, both stated and implied, concerning worship and edification.
In the three hundred and fifty years since the 1662 revision, it has taken many of us less than thirty years to ‘lose the plot’ as Anglicans in the way we ‘do church.’…”
Reflecting on Fifty Years of Expository Preaching in Australia (1965–2015)
“I was a new convert when I attended the CMS Victoria Summer School at Belgrave Heights in January 1965, when John Stott gave those studies in 2 Corinthians. It was the first time I had heard expository Bible preaching.
My response was, ‘That is how to preach the Bible, and that is what I want to do!’
I knew that such preaching would grow churches, and when I went to London in 1972 and visited All Soul’s Langham Place and St Helen’s Bishopsgate, I saw that it worked!”
– At The Gospel Coalition Australia, Peter Adam remembers the impact of expository Bible preaching, as exemplified by John Stott. (Photo: St. Helen’s Bishopsgate.)
Happy 200th birthday to J C Ryle
Today is J.C. Ryle’s 200th birthday.
Church Society is celebrating with the launch of a book.
Shakespeare’s Bible?
On the eve of the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare (died 23 April 1616, at the age of 52), Bible Society Australia has released this video of a Bible they believe was his.
Dr. John Harris explains, at this link.
SMBC celebrates Centenary
Sydney Missionary and Bible College at Croydon is this weekend celebrating its Centenary, beginning with a Thanksgiving Service on Friday night April 15 2016.
Principal Stuart Coulton introduced past Principal, and now Presbyterian Moderator General, David Cook. Preaching from Hebrews 1:1-4, David exhorted his hearers to hold fast to the Bible, the revealed word of God, and to be constantly vigilant against drifting from the truth.
The Centenary celebrations will continue on Saturday April 16 with an Open Day.
A highlight of the day will be the launch of the College’s centenary history, Out of Darkness, by Academic Vice Principal Anthony Brammall (pictured).
The book is available from the College.
Journal of Australian Church History – new issue
“Students in their fourth year of the Bachelor of Divinity degree at Moore Theological College have the opportunity to research and write a 5 000 word essay in Church History on some aspect of evangelicalism in Australia or Britain (post-1600). The excellent quality of some of these essays has encouraged the Church History Department to seek a way to share the fruits of the research and writing of these students with a broader audience.”
– Check out Volume 3, currently highlighted on the Moore College website.
What the Anglican Homilies say about Justification by Faith Alone
“How old is the doctrine of justification by faith alone? Was it just invented at the Reformation? Was it the brainchild of Martin Luther or John Calvin?
Well, the Church of England’s official view on that subject is that justification by faith alone is an ancient doctrine — taught by the Bible itself and found in the best theologians of the early church in both East and West. So despite what some today might say, it is not a mere ‘distortion due to the heated atmosphere of the time.’…”
– At Church Society’s blog, Lee Gatiss goes on to provide a comforting extract from the Homily of Salvation.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…