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
The evangelical predicament: What will a faithful vote look like in November?
In his latest issue of The Briefing, Albert Mohler looks at the uncertainties of the modern world – and comments on the predicament facing American evangelical Christians in the coming US election.
Hope because Hell has not yet come
“This past Sunday at our church we started a new sermon series on the book of Lamentations. The title of this series is “Hell of a subject” because Lamentations teaches us about the wrath or “fierce anger” (1:12) of God, of which an eternal hell is the ultimate expression.
We don’t often hear about the wrath or fierce anger of God, let alone about an eternal hell. Most people would say something like, “My God would never do that!” Rather than worshipping and serving the God of the Bible, most people worship and serve the God of their own making, who, not-surprisingly, has all the same opinions as themselves. Lamentations will help us. Lamentations gives us a small foretaste of the wrath of God…”
– At the REACH South Africa (formerly CESA) website, Andre Visagie shares strong observations from Lamentations.
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.
Amazing Love? A review article from Church Society
From Church Society in the UK:
‘Amazing Love: Theology for Understanding Discipleship, Sexuality and Mission’ is a new book, edited by Andrew Davison, which seeks to promote a change to the Church of England’s doctrine of marriage.
In an extended two-part review, Dr Peter Sanlon, Vicar of St Mark’s Church, Tunbridge Wells, analyses the claims of the book –
“This aim of this book can be given in the authors’ own words: ‘This short book explains why we think it’s good for Christians to embrace their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, and to celebrate their relationships … We think that the Church should be willing – delighted even – to hallow and strengthen such commitments.’…”
“This volume has the appearance of being a digest of thoughtful and considered academic research. However that is just the surface reality – a carefully curated image. Academic publisher, long sub-title, titled academics listed as authors. It looks like academic work; but upon closer examination the mirage fades.…
It is stated on numerous occasions in the book that the aim of the authors is the embrace and acceptance of homosexual relationships by the Church of England. In reality the book has a much larger goal. The goal is nothing less than a wholesale revision of the Christian Faith into a different religion.”
Prophetic from the Centre
Crossways has released a free mini-book in PDF, .mobi and epub formats.
It’s adapted from Don Carson’s address to the first Gospel Coalition conference, in 2007.
The topic: Prophetic from the Centre – The Gospel of Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 15:1–19. Good to pass on to congregations!
Two new posts at Law and Religion Australia
Neil Foster, at Law and Religion Australia, has updated his blog with two new posts:
Religious Freedom victory in Nova Scotia
and
Religious Vilification claim in Victoria rejected.
Informative reading for an understanding of what’s happening in the realm of religious freedom.
Related: The inaugural Freedom for Faith Conference, Friday 12th August.
What should we think about Pope Francis?
“Pope Francis in one of the most liked leaders in today’s world. …
An increasing number of Evangelicals say: ‘I like this pope, he talks about Jesus a lot…’
True, Francis knows the language that Evangelicals use (e.g. ‘conversion’, ‘mission’, ‘personal relationship with Jesus’) and is able to articulate it in a winsome way. …
The basic rules of interpretation, however, tell us that using the same words does not necessarily mean saying the same things. …
Evangelicals have to do their homework in order to go beyond the surface of mere phonetics in order to grasp the profoundly different theological vision underpinning Francis’ language. They may find it surprising how far Francis is from the standard evangelical understanding of the biblical Gospel. …”
– At Vatican Files (Evangelical theological perspectives on Roman Catholicism), Leonardo De Chirico and Greg Pritchard write about the current Pope.
‘The best of’ Ask Pastor John
Andy Naselli has listening to all of the more than 900 episodes of “Ask Pastor John”, with John Piper, and offers links to a dozen which stand out for him.
D. A. Carson — Reflections on 40 years of theological education
This week on Jason Allen’s Preaching and Preachers podcast, Professor D.A. Carson shares his story, and reflects on 40 years of theological education.
Very encouraging. Runs for 29 minutes.
(The Know Your Roots video series, mentioned in the interview and recorded in 1991, can be seen here.)
The End of Gender?
“In the year 2000 I started giving talks on gender issues, based on research I had been doing in feminism. At the time I would speak of the ‘the end’ of feminism, meaning, the logical conclusion of feminist thinking. …
So, I predicted, the end of feminism – its logical outcome – was not likely to be lesbianism, which after all still asserts that there is a difference between men and women, and that women are to be preferred. Rather, the end of feminism was likely to be the disappearance of gender altogether.
But I did not expect to be proved so right, so soon.”
Plenty of good and thought-provoking reading.
You could start with Kirsty Birkett’s article, “The End of Gender?” on page 6.
Our Father knows best
“Tucked away in the catalogue of sins resulting from humankind’s rejection of God, are the words, ‘they disobey their parents’ (Romans 1:30)…”
– David Cook, Presbyterian Moderator-General, reflects on the importance of families in God’s economy.
‘Cover-up — can’t stop truth coming out’
“The story of Cheltenham Girls High School is a textbook example of the subterfuge involved in the controversial Safe Schools Coalition and how far education authorities and governments will go to preserve and conceal a program that subverts parents rights and values. …
It all began last week with our story of how teachers at the all-girls school in north-west Sydney were asked in a staff meeting to stop referring to students as “girls”, ladies” and “women”, but to use “gender-neutral” language instead.”
– At The Daily Telegraph, columnist Miranda Devine looks at one particular school, and also publishes a recent list of schools involved in the ‘Safe Schools’ programme.
Moore College events coming up
The team at Moore College have posted a summary of events coming up in August.
Preaching 2 Timothy: Preaching Matters
In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Andy Gemmill helps preachers and Bible teachers think through how to tack 2 Timothy.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…