PROTESTANT REFORMATION OF 1517 – “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO US TODAY?”

The event that took place on 31 October in 1517, shook and impacted, not just the local Church, but the whole Christian world, and subsequently, the whole secular world. On 31 October 1517, German Augustinian monk, Martin Luther, who was barely 31, nails his ninety-five theses, or statements, against the practice of indulgences, promoted by the chuch. These theses will be widely distributed and help precipitate, the Protestant Reformation.
– ‘One man, Martin Luther, took a stand that literally shredded the fabric of Europe. It changed theology, it changed politics, it changed society and it changed political boundaries. It gave us a revolution in education, in literacy. There are many, many manifestations of the Reformation.” – Tom Rassieur, curator, “Martin Luther: Art and the Reformation”
– “It is impossible to understand modern history apart from the Reformation. We cannot understand the history of Europe, England or America without studying the Reformation. For example, in America there would never have been Pilgrim Fathers if there had not first been a Protestant Reformation.” – Jack Arnold, Church History professor, IIIM Magazine
– “The now almost universally acknowledged principles of religious freedom, liberty of conscience, the rule of law, separation of powers and constitutionally limited republics were unthinkable before the Reformation.” – The Reformation Society, Cape Town, South Africa

The core principles, or thinking, or theology, or doctrines, that drove the Protestant Reformation of 1517, can be summarised in the “Five Solas of the Reformation.”
1- SOLA SCRIPTURA – Scripture Alone
2- SOLUS CHRISTUS – Christ Alone
3- SOLA GRATIA – Grace Alone
4- SOLA FIDE – Faith Alone
5- SOLI DEO GLORIA – To God’s Glory Alone
These five principles emphasise that, SCRIPTURE is the ULTIMATE AUTHORITY; SALVATION is THROUGH CHRIST’S WORK ALONE; SALVATION is by GOD’S GRACE ALONE; through FAITH IN CHRIST ALONE, and not human works, or merits in any other way or means; and lastly, ALL GLORY BELONGS TO GOD ALONE, not any human agent or agency, whatever may be their contribution to the church.

The reasons for PROTESTANT REFORMATION OF 1517 are nothing new. The religious leaders of the day, through the doctrines or teachings of the church, had firm and complete control over every aspect of its subjects. One such teaching of the church that sparked the events of 31 October 1517 is the Doctrine of Indulgences. The church taught that, we can buy the salvation of all the dead of our family, by simply buying the certificate of indulgence, from the church authorities. What a cruel scam, played on the emotions of ignorant members of the church. The LORD Jesus had long warned about the traditions of men, and the scamsters that they are.
– “5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” 6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honours Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” 9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.” – Mark 7:5-9
– “8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” – Colossians 2:8

The religious leaders intentionally kept the laity ignorant, and in deliberate darkness, so as to hold on to the privileges and the power, which is so intoxicating, exhilarating and “empowering.” They fed fables and fantasies to the people, as the truth from the Word of God, and the ignorant people, glibly swallowed them, thinking it is true. 
– “Pope Paul V confronting the Venetian ambassador with the following rhetorical question in 1606 [show us the evilness in their hearts]: “Do you not know that so much reading of Scripture ruins the Catholic religion?” – Pope Paul V, 1606 as quoted by Diarmaid MacCulloch, in “The Reformation: A History”
– “One of the tasks of the 1564 Tridentine Index [of prohibited books] had been to keep vernacular Bibles away from the faithful; anyone wanting to read the Bible in a modern language required permission from the local bishop, and in the 1596 Roman Index the ban became complete and without exception. In Italy, the Index’s ban was enforced. Bibles were publicly and ceremonially burned, like heretics; even literary versions of scriptural stories in drama or poetry were frowned on.” –  Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation: A History, p. 406, words in brackets were added for clarity.

PROTESTANT REFORMATION OF 1517 – “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO US TODAY?” The question that we should be asking this morning is, “What lessons does the Protestant Reformation teach us Christians, living in 2025 and beyond?”

The Protestant Reformation, I think, should not become the celebration of a one-time event. It has to be an ongoing process of reform, in the sense of, returning back to the basics of our faith, and reclaiming the essence of what it actually means to be a Christian, the disciple, and the follower of the LORD Jesus Christ. If not, we end up where it all began, the traditions of men, ignorance, darkness,  Word of God misused to promote wrong teachings, by those who call themselves as christians, and the custodians of the church.
– “If we Protestants are ‘reformed and always reforming,’ then commemorating the Reformation should cause us not so much to celebrate the past as to renew our mission and ministry in the present.” – Prof. Christopher Gehrz
– “The mainstream Reformation was not concerned with establishing a new Christian tradition, but with the renewal and correction of an existing tradition. On the basis of their assertion that Christian theology was ultimately grounded in Scripture, reformers such as Luther and Calvin argued for the need to return to Scripture as the primary and critical source of Christian theology.” – Robert Kennerson, author, “The Theological Agenda of the Reformation”
– “Prior to the Reformation, worship was largely done for the people. The music was performed by professional musicians and sung in an unfamiliar language (Latin). The Reformation gave worship back to the people. … Worship once again became participatory.” – Kenny Lamm, “Renewing Worship”

It would be a scam much bigger than the darkness that prevailed during Reformation, if we pretend that, everything is fine with us today. The church is sick, and we don’t seem to think it so. Instead of going back to the biblical roots, just like Luther and other reformers did, we are trying to invent new doctrines and theology, that would tickle our ears, and please our hearts, and make us more appealing to the world we live in, than be aligned to the Word of God.
– “In particular, our church will have to confront the vices of hubris, the worship of power, envy, and illusionism as the roots of all evil. It will have to speak of moderation, authenticity, trust, faithfulness, steadfastness, patience, discipline, humility, modesty, contentment. It will have to see that it does not underestimate the significance of the human ‘example’ (which has its origin in the human of Jesus and is so important in Paul’s writings!); the church’s word gains weight and power not through concepts but by example.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
– “In our day, we emphasize the gospel of self-esteem, marketing the church based on people’s needs, saying, ‘I found it!’ and ‘I’m the little engine that could.’ Our culture promotes human ability and human will, as did the indulgence culture in Luther’s day, as a way to bring salvation. So I have a hunch Luther would still feel compelled to speak his central message.” – Martin E. Marty, ELCA pastor and professor

Are we willing to think in line with the principles that fuelled the Protestant Reformation? Are we willing to dispassionately dissect the doctrines prevalent today among Christians? Are we willing to get back to the fundaments of SCRIPTURE ALONE, CHRIST ALONE, GRACE ALONE, FAITH ALONE, TO GOD’S GLORY ALONE? Even so, the LORD help us.