The Reformation
The Rev. Lou Tiscione, Pastor, Weatherford Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Our tendency is to call hidden things new when they are found. The church is not immune to this tendency. Perhaps the best example of this phenomenon is the church’s recovery of the gospel. For centuries, the hierarchy of the Roman Church managed to hide the gospel. Things like sacerdotalism and indulgences obscured the truth of the gospel of God in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. This may sound harsh at first reading, but permit me to set the stage for this important discovery of that which was hidden. (Sacerdotalism is the belief that Roman Catholic priests are mediators between God and man. An indulgence is the purchase of reduction of part or all of the time a person is required to spend in purgatory for the punishment that is due for sins.)
History records the faithfulness of an Augustinian monk who re-discovered this hidden pearl of great price. He changed the church, causing her to either receive the truth or reject it. This monk, Martin Luther, nailed 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. His purpose was not initially based in his rediscovery of the gospel but of his concern of monetary abuses via the system of indulgences. Luther’s vehement protest focused on a cleric dispatched by papal authority to Germany to raise money for building St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The cleric’s name was Johann Tetzel. His message was summarized by the saying, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings the soul from Purgatory springs.”
Luther was outraged by this connection of salvation to giving money. As Luther studied the Bible to teach it, particularly the Psalms and Romans, the doctrine of justification by faith alone became clear to him. At his discovery of this foundational doctrine revealed from Genesis through the New Testament, Luther sought to debate the leaders of the church with the intent of reforming the church’s doctrine to be in accordance with the Bible.
God caused Luther to see that the gospel revealed the perfect righteousness of Christ which God imputes to a sinner. Luther discovered the truth that God credits the perfect righteousness of Christ to those whom He elects. He does so only by faith alone (Romans 1:17; 3:28). The Latin term is Sola Fides. Luther reportedly said that when he understood the doctrine of Sola Fides it was as if the gates of paradise opened and he walked through.
There is much more. Four more biblical doctrines were recovered from the Scriptures. They are Sola Gratia, by grace alone; Solus Christus, by Christ alone; Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone and Soli Deo Gloria, to God alone be glory. The Five Solas reflect God’s plan of redemption. They had been taught by the church until the Middle Ages. The Reformers recovered these doctrines hidden by the Roman Church and taught them as the “faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
The second Sola, Sola Gratia, means by grace alone. The Bible teaches that salvation is by God’s grace alone. All men are sinners, born dead in sin. We have inherited the sin nature of Adam. Genesis 6:5 and Romans 3:10-18 are two passages that teach man’s total bondage to sin. Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus makes this fact clear. Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Even the genuine faith professed is a gift of God’s grace. Salvation from start to finish is solely by God’s grace.
The Protestant Reformers did not come up with new or novel ideas. They did not offer an alternative perspective on salvation but declared and taught the plain truth of God’s word. The Reformation was a providential blessing from God through which the church recovered the truth which the magisterial church had hidden.
Yet there was a main issue that concerned the great Reformers. It was authority. The Latin phrases Solus Christus and Sola Scriptura which mean, respectively, by Christ Alone and by Scripture Alone, emphasize the rightful source of authority. The Reformers asked the Scriptures, “Who has supreme authority the church or God?” Of course, we would all say that God has supreme authority. The Bible reveals that God is absolutely sovereign. The Bible also reveals that Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). But the Reformers saw that the Church was usurping authority that belonged to God, effectively teaching a different gospel which is no other gospel (Cf. Galatians 1:6-9)!
To state the issue of authority clearly, Christ is the King and Head of His Church. He exercises His Kingship and Lordship through His word, the Bible. The Bible is the ultimate authority of all life and salvation.
Of course there are many authorities over us. God established the church, civil government, and the family. All derive their authority from God’s word. His word, the Bible, is the ultimate authority, and Christ is the Supreme King and Ruler. Men possess a granted authority.
The four Solas described above reveal God’s means of redemption. Men are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone as God has revealed it by Scripture alone. The fifth Sola describes God’s purpose for redemption. Soli Deo Gloria, to God alone be glory. God’s own glory is His purpose. Everything is ordained by God for His glory. Isaiah 42:8 says, “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” And Romans 11:36 says, “for from Him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Life is not about us; it is all for God. Soli Deo Gloria!
