Imagine a time when churchgoers knew very little of what the Bible actually taught. Faithful attenders were merely passive spectators rather than holy participants. Instead of genuine faith and strength of conviction, sentimentalism and superstition ruled the day. The clergy had largely departed from the life-transforming proclamation of truth and turned to peddling a religion with an appearance of godliness but devoid of true power (2 Tim. 3:5). Such was the case in the days of the German monk Martin Luther, whom God was pleased to use as a powerful instrument to bring about what we now refer to as the Reformation.
If you re-read the opening sentences and think about them in 2024 terms, it may strike you that perhaps we are in need of continued reformation today. Martin Luther was concerned about clergy teaching the traditions of men and leading God’s sheep astray. He also saw the need of recovering the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since God calls each generation of His people to tell His works and power to everyone who is to come (Ps. 71:18), I invite you to consider what I believe are some necessary aspects of the Reformation, both in the days of Luther, and in our own.
Above all, the Reformation focused on returning to the truth of the Word of God. Since every word of the Bible is “breathed out by God,” every word is vital to know (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Everything people need to know to honor God, to find salvation, to believe His promises, and to walk in His ways is found in the Bible. This is why reading the Bible every day is such an important commitment in the Christian life. In Luther’s time, most people did not own a Bible, for they were hard to make and extremely expensive. This caused many to be very ignorant of what the Scriptures actually taught. Today, Bibles are everywhere—a great blessing—but are you closely familiar with what the Bible teaches? God’s Word being accessible in your home or on your phone is not the same as it being found in your heart and directing your life. The Psalms ask a very important question that is relevant to us all: “How can a young man cleanse his way?” The answer is as true now as it was when it was written thousands of years ago: “By taking heed according to Your word” (Ps. 119:9).
Doubtless our society faces many problems. One solution I desire to hear more about is the need for powerful preaching. Friends, how you think about preaching is a great test for how much you love God’s Word. An old writer named Thomas Watson once wrote this about preaching:
“Do we receive it into our hearts? Do we fear the loss of the Word preached more than the loss of peace and trade? Do we attend to the Word with reverential devotion? When the Word is preached, the great God is giving us his charge. Do we listen to it as to a matter of life and death? This is a good sign that we love the Word.”
In this light, I would also encourage my fellow preachers: are we all mindful of this great call of preaching? Preaching the Word of God is not a time to talk about building projects, tell jokes, or try to advance our own agendas. Preaching is a display that Jesus Christ is the King of kings, that His Word is truth, and that by the power of His Spirit with the Word, He can save sinners and gather the nations (Ps. 2:8). The Reformation was a reclamation of preaching, and I wholeheartedly believe that the powerful preaching of the Bible is what our society needs most today.
Another important ingredient for reformation in our day is love for God-centered worship. It may surprise you that the Reformation was largely a battle over how people ought to worship God. By the early 1500s, the church had been buried by invented traditions of men who worshiped God with their own ideas, a huge problem in any age. John Calvin, another great reformer alongside Luther, actually argued that knowing how God wants us to worship Him stands just before the importance of knowing how God saves sinners. This may seem odd, but consider this question: Why does God save people? Jesus told the woman of Samaria that God is seeking people to worship Him (John 4:23). This is actually why the Lord saved Israel out of Egypt and why He continues to save sinners today. As 1 Peter 2:9 says, “…that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” It follows that we should pay careful attention to how the Bible teaches us to worship God.
Have you ever considered what God wants us to do in His worship? Since the Bible teaches everything we need to know about God and what He requires of us, then clearly the Bible must be our sole guide for how to worship Him. But what is worship? Worship is giving to God the praise He deserves (Ps. 29:2; Rev. 5:12-14). Worship is also giving to God the praise He desires. When you go to a birthday party, you bring a gift that your friend will want, not what you want. When we worship God, we must start with what He wants, not what we think He wants, nor what first appeals to us.
This begins in the heart, for “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart” (Ps. 51:17). Then it must continue according to His Word, which very clearly calls us to worship Him with reverence (Ps. 89:7), thanks (Ps. 95:2), and holiness (Ps. 29:2). It is important to note that worshiping God is more than singing. While singing is a wonderful part of what we ought to give to God in worship, it is not all that we are called to do. We are especially called to listen to good preaching as an act of worship (Col. 1:28, 1 Tim. 4:13). It is very easy to make emotions and experience our goal in worship. Biblical worship does not exclude those things, but it is not driven by them either. Just as in the Reformation, returning to more God-centered worship is a clear need today.
The last and most important ingredient to continuing reformation combines the previous two. If we learn to love God’s Word and focus more on God in worship, then we will also love to hear and tell others about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Martin Luther knew this when he posted his famous 95 Theses on the door in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517, the event regarded as the official start of the Reformation. In his 62nd thesis, he wrote, “The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.” Luther was simply echoing the Apostle Paul who said the gospel was the “power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Rom. 1:16-17). The gospel is the truth that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became a man to save sinners. He did this by living for them, dying for them on the cross, being buried, and rising again. This is the message that has been preached throughout the world; this is the cause of so many being saved among the nations through faith, including America. Recovering the purity and simplicity of this gospel, the Good News, was and is the heart of reformation.
I invite you to consider what I have said, to test it by the Scriptures to see whether it is true. I also invite you, whether you preach or not, to seek continued reformation in your own church by the Word of God. I also invite you to come remember and celebrate the Reformation at Heritage Presbyterian Church, located at 82 Franklin Springs Street in Royston. We are hosting a Reformation Day Festival on Saturday, November 2 from 11am-2pm. There will be games, prizes, food, music, and other events all focused on remembering and thanking God for the Reformation then and seeking to continue it now. We hope to see you then.