Monday, October 31, 2005
Ephesians 2:8-9 It is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.
THE REFORMATION
The date that is most frequently acknowledged as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in Germany is October 31, 1517. On this day, Martin Luther posted his "95 Theses" on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
The theses were statements concerning the church's sale of indulgences. An indulgence was a piece of paper from Pope Leo X granting the forgiveness of sins. The more money one paid for an indulgence, the more forgiveness was dispensed. Concerned Christians were outraged by the practice, claiming rightly, on the basis of Scripture, that God's forgiveness could not be bought and sold, but was given freely by grace, through faith, for Christ's sake. The church, however, was reluctant to withdraw the sale of indulgences because they were a primary vehicle for raising money to build St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Pope Leo X demanded that Luther retract his writings against the church, but in 1521 the reformer made his historic stand at the city of Worms, Germany in which he announced to Emperor Charles V and to the Pope that his conscience was bound by the words of the Bible, therefore he could not and would not retract what he had written.
Luther's stand encouraged others to search the Scriptures and discover the same precious truths that he had found. Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ, not by the payment of money or the doing of good works. It is this joyful salvation which we celebrate at the end of each October, and we thank God that He caused this message to be "rediscovered" in 16th century Europe so that it could be passed on to us.
