THE REFORMATION OF THE CHURCH

We know from Holy Scripture that the Lord forgives iniquity, heals diseases, redeems from destruction, crowns with loving-kindness and tender mercies, satisfies with good things, all those who worship him in spirit and in truth. He also executes righteousness and judgement, and is a consuming fire to them who do not hearken to His Word. That is all based on a knowledge which God Himself makes known, and on experience which the Lord Himself fulfills in the lives of His people. But the God of the Bible, the only true God, not only saves, not only forgives, heals, and redeems, He also reveals! He makes known the unknown through His grace from heaven. So He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.

We know that in these days of great spiritual declension it has become very dark in our life and soul because of sin and ignorance of the true word of God. The sinner therefore needs an enlightenment of the eyes of his soul. The sinner needs to be taught of God what sin is. He must learn by the light of the Holy Spirit how his sins may be forgiven and of the way of salvation. And he must learn how to live to the glory of His Maker.

The Lord only can give the right understanding of His Word. By nature we are blind in sin and iniquity and are strangers to the ways of grace and salvation. Therefore it is necessary for all of us that the Lord teach us that we are dead in trespasses and sins, but also the way of salvation through the merits and atoning blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, He is a Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His people Israel (Luke 2:29–32).

The Lord made known His ways and His acts, to Moses and through him to the children of Israel. Yea, He gave Moses the right insight in the foretold coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen: “The Lord thy God, will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto Me; unto Him ye shall hearken.” Deut. 18:15.

Do we know the God of Moses and of Israel? He Himself gave at that time light and knowledge. He Himself built His church. In those days already the people said in their heart: Depart from us; for we have no desire in the knowledge of Thy ways. They worshipped a golden calf, and moreover, they crucified the Lord Jesus, the Prince of the kings of the earth.

God took care of His church in ancient times; and made known His ways. He also did that in the days of the blessed Reformation.

I think it is very necessary for our young people, that we instruct them about the wonders God did throughout the history of His church. And for our older people it is also good to repeat what great need the church had in those times. Let us never forget that through the providence of God we may yet be privileged to sit under the gospel preaching of free grace today. Had there not been the care and blessing of the King of His Church in the time of the Reformation, we would know very little about the true doctrine of salvation at the present time. Before God gave the great Reformation, there had been some God fearing people (in the church) who were given to understand and see the great apostasy and misery of the church. Even though it was very dark, there always would be men, whom the Lord endowed with the knowledge that neither the virgin Mary nor the Pope could give them the grace of God and forgive their sins. Yea, they learned from above that only Christ could redeem them from all their sins and iniquities.

But the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church would not listen and persecuted the true children of God. Then God provided another Moses, to whom He would give the knowledge of free grace but also the right knowledge of the way of salvation for people who were in the great darkness of false doctrine of the false church of those days.

God gave Martin Luther, born on November 10th, in the year of our Lord 1483. For those who are interested you can read of his conversion in some history-books. When he was a young man, he was nearly killed by a thunderbolt, that struck him to the ground. He was very anxious for the welfare of his soul, but he looked in a wrong direction for help. He prayed: “Help me Saint Anna, and I will become a monk.” He had yet to learn that only God can grant remission of sins.

He came face to face with death, and he was not ready for it. For many years he had a great problem, and this was: How can I become acquainted with a gracious God? How can I get assurance of forgiveness of my sins? Do we have this problem in our soul, also?

There came a time that the Lord taught him out of Romans 1:17: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

What did he see with the eyes of his soul? Well, what he saw was this: the righteousness of God is not a righteousness that you and I can create, it is a righteousness that “He clothes” us with. It is the free gift of God by grace through faith. The just shall live by faith. Then came the year 1517. Luther was now at the age of 34. At first he tried to reform the church from within. But God would lead him on another way. The Pope had decided to rebuild the famous church of St. Peter’s in Rome, and it was to be done magnificently. A notorious man by the name of Tetzel was appointed to obtain financing by going around preaching and selling indulgences, and telling the people of the wonderful bargains they could purchase for their souls well being. Among many other things which he said was this, that souls leaped from the flames of hell as the money rattled into his coffer. All this had become a terrible scandal, particularly in that part of Germany where Luther lived. He now knew through grace that forgiveness of sins was only the prerogative of God.

He then came to the firm conclusion that the preaching was totally, wrong in the church of Rome. Then he wrote the famous 95 theses. He nailed those theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg. What was the contents of these theses? I am going to pick out some of the more important ones. Here is the first: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, Repent, He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Another one: “Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the church, and this is granted him by God even without indulgence letters.” Now the last one: “Christians should be exhorted to be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through suffering, death and hell; and thus be confident of entering into heaven through many tribulations rather than through the false security of peace.”

God had made known His ways to Luther to the welfare of His church on earth. Within a few months the theses were translated into many languages. Thousands and thousands of copies were reproduced and distributed. Eventually Luther came to see that the entire Roman Catholic system was opposed to the Gospel, and completely in error. Once he said, “God led me on.” No, it was not his own work. God came to redeem His church out of the slavery of the false church.

Through His Word and Spirit the Lord gave true knowledge about the way of salvation. Luther said, “The Scripture and alone the Scripture has authority, and not the tradition of Rome and the teachings of the Pope and his servants.” Luther translated the Bible into the German language and in doing so he gave the church-members the true Word of God again.

The only comfort for Luther was that the Lord reigned and that He Himself protected him. Through the work of this servant, many people came to know the true doctrine of salvation and were rightly converted. It can be seen from history that God took care of His church in the blessed Reformation. God had in that time made known His ways to His elect, and His acts unto many inhabitants of Europe.

The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church. The Lord would teach His people, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts.” Oh, may we not forget the history of God’s church on earth. But how is it today? It is good to read the history, it is good to study the lives of these men whom God has raised up in the church from time to time. But above all may the Lord use it as a means to our eternal welfare.

There are many books, but most of them are worthless for our souls. Oh, young and old, please read the yet available and reliable books which speak about the works of God in our forefathers, and above all read your Bible.

Many people have the name to be a Christian, but is it true? The Lord says to us in the Revelations to John the Divine, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor and naked.”

During the time of the Reformation, thousands and thousands received reconciliation with God through the blood of the Lamb. They have learned through the Holy Spirit that we cannot pay for our sins, but that we have to bow down before God in true humiliation, and that in such a way, He will give us what we need for our eternal felicity. Oh, pray for the true work of God in your soul and that He would make known His ways unto you.

We hear in these days that people say: Aren’t you forgetting that Rome is changing? Aren’t you forgetting that you are living in 1973? But remember: outward circumstances may alter with Rome, but fundamentally, Rome never changes. We should be troubled for our own soul’s welfare, but also for the souls of them that live in a false doctrine.

What is then necessary for all of us? This: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Oh, my beloved readers, that we may receive a right conversion and fellowship with God, through the Work of the Holy Spirit and His Word. Then there would be a reformation in the churches, but also in our hearts.

May God give us the decree and incorporation into the living Church, then we may trust in Him. Oh, may we become inhabitants of Zion, the city of God; and when then everything else has gone, “the city of God remaineth.”

God grant this to all of us, and that we, through free grace may have the assurance that we are members and citizens of that city. They are only those, who have learned: “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.”

May the Lord make His Word more and more precious for us, on our journey to a never-ending eternity. Then we may understand what Luther sang:

God’s Word, for all their craft and force
One moment will not linger,
But, spite of hell, shall have its course;
‘Tis written by His finger.
And though they take our life,
Goods, honor, children, wife,
Yet is their profit small;
These things shall vanish all:
The city of God remaineth. Amen.

Chilliwack

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