Reformation Day

Soon it will again be Reformation Day. On that day we think particularly of the man whom God used to cause the blessed work of the Reformation to begin. Who of us does not know of the simple act of Luther when he nailed the ninety-five theses on the door of the chapel of the castle at Wittenberg and its worldwide consequences?

It is good, however, to keep in mind that Luther did not have the intention of unleashing such a great movement when he made these theses public. Moreover, these theses were written in Latin. They were to serve as the basis for a theological dispute regarding the value of indulgences. Luther had noticed the disastrous results of this practice in the confessions which he heard from the people. Here, too, it holds true that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and God’s ways are higher than our ways. It was God who started the Reformation.

We have to seek its beginning in the reformation of Luther’s heart. Luther was a faithful son of the Roman Catholic Church. The rules which the church of Rome prescribed were carried out by him with the utmost accuracy, and he sought peace for his soul in the way that it was pointed out to him. He did not find peace, however, in the performance of these “duties.” When we observe the anxious wrestlings in Luther’s life, how clearly the leading and operation of God then become manifest.

From his early childhood years Luther already had a deep impression of God’s righteousness which frightened and troubled him. This impression was strengthened by all kinds of events in his life. It was for this reason that he tried to live his life in such a way that he need no longer fear the righteousness of God. All the commandments which were set before him were observed, and all possible recommendations were followed. He scourged himself, he fasted, and he wept, but nothing helped. There was, and remained, an absence of peace. God’s justice caused him to shudder, and he experienced that with everything he did, he could not satisfy God.

It pleased the Lord, however, to teach Luther that God’s justice is satisfied in the righteousness of Him who, as Substitute, bore the burden of God’s wrath and satisfied all of the commandments of God’s holy law. The passive and active obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ is the righteousness which alone delivers from death. That righteousness is revealed in the gospel which proclaims the perfect delight God has taken in the offering of His only begotten Son. The guilty and condemnable sinner needs nothing else but to be led by precious faith to that right eousness in which God has glorified Himself so that it becomes the resting place for his soul.

God taught Luther this truth, and this mystery is declared in his life. All of the luster of Rome’s ceremonies perished for Luther; from that moment on the Morning Star began to shine in his life. Then the heart of Luther was reformed. He learned the value of the words which became so significant in his life, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17b).

His preaching, his instruction, and his pastoral work all began to speak of this miracle. In his preaching he stopped using the Latin language and spoke to the people in their own language so they could understand the wonder of God’s free and saving grace alone. The churches were filled with people who thirsted after the water of Life. The wind of the Spirit began to blow through the church in Wittenberg. From that place the Lord continued His work so that the message of God’s free grace could also be heard in the other countries of the world.

What about us, sons and daughters of the Reformation? We who so gladly tell the history of God’s work and so gladly hear it told, are we also reformed? The Reformation was first and foremost a work of the heart. The power of the gospel comforted and refreshed the weary heart of Luther. We need nothing less than that the doctrine of free and sovereign saving grace also leads us to the knowledge of this mystery of being saved freely. With all that still exists, the fine gold has become so dim! From numerous pulpits of this once so richly blessed country messages are brought which are contrary to the doctrine of truth. How little is this doctrine experienced. How much seeking there is, also among us, of finding our righteousness before God in the works of the law, in doing and leaving undone. We are often so absorbed in everything which man does, has, and experiences, acting as if salvation could still be found in any of our endeavors and works.

Oh, that the wind of the Spirit might also blow among us to make us to understand and realize that which alone has value. When that happens, God breaks down all our righteousnesses, and we become a guilty people, deserving to be put to death and accepting that we are totally worthy to be damned before the justice and tribunal of God. Then none of our accomplishments will be profitable, not our humil iations, our humbling, or our legalistic bondage. Then Christ only shall become valuable for a poor and needy sinner.

Happily, even today in our dark times, there is still a remnant according to God’s grace that has knowledge and experience as to how, in this precious righteousness of Jesus Christ alone, God is satisfied. They know what it is to sink, by faith, upon that Stone, disallowed indeed of man but chosen of God and precious. Then it will also be visible in our lives because it becomes Jesus alone.

May the Lord make that doctrine the true practice in our midst, also, so that many might know the sweet power and saving experience of:

Mercy so undeserved

God for me reserved;

Praise I give alone to Thee,

For Thy grace, so pure and free.

May God’s children be given the freedom to testify more about it, and may it be better understood in the congregations that “the just shall live by faith.” When that becomes true in our life, we will actually know the meaning of the Reformation, a reformation of our heart, a reformation of our life. Then we would really be sons and daughters of the Reformation. May the Lord grant that many such sons and daughters may be found. p

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