Lord’s Day, Vol. 2 No. 43
Remembering the Reformation
The 16th century Protestant Reformation was a spiritual awakening that took place in Europe after 1000 years of the Dark Ages where the gospel was hid from the people by the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation was in essence a movement back to the Bible. With it, the secret to true spiritual life was re-discovered – “How to be born again?” The doctrine of salvation of the Roman Catholic Church can be illustrated mathematically as Faith + Works = Salvation, basically justification by works. Whereas the biblical perspective of the doctrine of salvation is Faith = Salvation + Works, basically justification by faith alone. By the time of the Reformation in 1517, the Roman Catholic Church had one thousand years of history of traditions, teaching the doctrine of Faith + Works = Salvation.
Over the 1200 years since its inception in 313, there had been thirty-five heresies and inventions made by the Roman Catholic Church in the name of traditions which were venerated above the Scriptures. It was in the year 1511 when Martin Luther the great Reformer of the 16th century Protestant Reformation, re-discovered the biblical doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ alone. Church historian Earle Cairns wrote this record, “Luther began to lecture in the vernacular on the books of the Bible, and in order to do so intelligently he began to study the original languages of the Bible.
He gradually developed the idea that only in the Bible could true authority be found. From 1513 to 1515, he lectured on the Psalms, and from 1515 to 1517, on Romans, and later, on Galatians and Hebrews. While preparing those lectures, he found peace of soul that he had not been able to find in rites and acts of asceticism. A reading of Romans 1:17 convinced him that only faith in Christ, could make one just before God. From that time on, sola fide, or justification by faith, sola scriptura, the idea that the Scriptures are the only authority for sinful people in seeking salvation, and sola sacerdos, the priesthood of believers, became the main points in his theological system. On October 31, 1517, Luther posted his ninety-five theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.” That act sparked the Protestant Reformation.
The basic truth that the right understanding of salvation differs between the Roman Catholic Church and the Bible’s teaching warrants a clear line of separation – that was the cause for the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Has there been any change in the salvation doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church since the 16th century Reformation? The answer is an emphatic “no.” Based on the writings of the 3 Roman Catholic Councils (Council of Trent and the First and Second Vatican Council) that took place after the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church has not changed its doctrine of Faith + Works = Salvation, which is another gospel.
In the past two decades, there have been steps taken by the evangelical Christians to unite with the Roman Catholic Church. Can there be true unity? Should the 16th century Reformation be nullified in view of the campaign for unity between the Roman Catholics and the Evangelicals? The accord between the Roman Catholic Church and a part of the Protestant Church, called “Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium” (ECT 1), was released in March 1994 and a sequel under the title “Evangelicals and Catholics Together 2: The Gift of Salvation” (ECT 2), was released in 1997. The dogmas of Ecumenical Councils of the Counter-Reformation at Trent and the Vatican still hold true today for the Roman Catholic Church.
Therefore, the scripture injunction in Galatians 1:8-9 continues to be a warning to Evangelical to earnestly contend for the faith:
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Gal. 1:8-9)
May the Lord grant to His people spiritual discernment to stand by the doctrines taught in the Bible! Amen.
Yours lovingly in Christ,
Pr. Lek Aik Wee