Today is Reformation Day!

 
 
Today is reformation day! A huge piece of our Christian heritage is celebrated on this day – do you know what happened on this day in 1517?

On October 31, 1517, a priest and monk named Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to his church door beginning the Protestant Reformation. What does that mean to you and me?

Martin Luther was a Monk and Professor. He had studied the Bible thoroughly and had devoted his life to knowing God’s truth. But as he studied he began to see the flaw of the Pope and his teachings specifically over the sale of indulgences.

On Halloween or the eve of All Saints Day Martin Luther posted on the church door the 95 Theses or 95 reasons why we are justified by faith and grace alone and not by works that the church was requiring for forgiveness of sins.

On All Saints Day the church had a large festive occasion where hordes of pilgrims would travel to the church to receive indulgences. What is an indulgence? It’s when you pay money to the priest to have your sins forgiven. So Luther was posting a very long list of why this was wrong – from here a huge firestorm broke out and with the birth of the printing press the list was printed, passed out and the protestant reformation began.

It is good to remember two things today – 1. I am thankful for the men who have gone before us who have fought for the truth of God’s word. 2. We are not saved through any good works but solely on the work of Christ on the cross. We are saved through faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone to the glory of God alone! Rest in this truth.

Walk with the King!

7 Comments

  1. You talked me into it…I'm watching Luther tonight — one of my favorite movies! THANKS for the reminder!!

    Christine Schwaben

  2. Great post! I told my son and husband what today was and my son's face lit up and he said "THAT is what we should celebrate today and say Happy Reformation Day to people rather than what most people are celebrating and saying". That movie is in my Netflix queue but we have yet to see it.

  3. Thanks for the reminder of the hope we have in Jesus and our salvation…Happy Reformation Day to all!!
    ~Andrea

  4. Hi,
    In charity and truth I'd like to help clear a few things up for you and your readers:
    – November 1st is All Souls Day, which is different from All Saints Day.
    – Most of the 95 Theses posted in Wittenburg were arguments against practices that were NEVER taught by the Catholic Church, but were abuses that were taking place in Luther's area.
    – The Catholic Church has always taught that we are saved through grace alone.

    Thank you.
    Here's a link to a great explanation of what indulgences actually are:
    http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm

  5. Jayme –

    I believe that salvation rests solely on the work of God's grace for us and in us. We are justified by grace through faith alone. Christ's death is the only payment for sin that God will accept. Additionally, the righteousness of Christ is transferred to us by faith and is the only merit or righteousness that God will accept. We possess the righteousness of Christ in the sight of God (Romans 3:23-26, 4:1-3). All who truly believe in Christ are born again and become the children of God (John 1:12-13; Ephesians 2:8-9). All true believers, once saved, are kept by God's power, not our own, and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39).

    For more on my beliefs I have a statement at:

    https://womenlivingwell.org

    go to the above address and click on "about me".

    This debate is centuries old so I am sure that we will not be able to resolve it here on my blog – but I really appreciate the gentle manner that you approached this. (and you are not alone – I had one other anonymous comment with similiar feelings and I deleted it because I didn't want to debate it. But after receiving your comment also – I thought I should answer.)

    I would have emailed you but your profile is a closed profile. If you have any questions please email me at courtney@womenlivingwell.org

    I love you and thank you for taking the time to hang out at my blog!

    God Bless!
    Courtney

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