October 31—Reformation Day

We could not refrain from reminding our readers of Reformation Day. On this day in 1517 Dr. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the church door of Wittenberg. That was the beginning of a long and bitter struggle against the terrible heresies of Rome and against the Pope of Rome, who took to himself the title of Vicar of Christ on earth, but also against the church of Rome, which unjustly called itself Christian and Catholic. Finally, against a strong army of major and minor clergy, who as servants of the church of Rome sought to destroy the work of the Reformation.

Against all these enemies Luther declared war, using no weapon other than the Word of God. That Word inspired him. That Word gave him courage and strength in the battle, so that before kings and emperors he could say, “Here I stand, I can do no other. May God help me! Amen!”

Luther’s main purpose was to defend the truth of God, the honor of the Lord and the salvation of the Church. The main point of his doctrine was the free justification of the sinner before God out of grace for the sake of Christ’s merits. In the days of Luther Rome grossly tampered with that doctrine, and sold the notorious indulgences to obtain money to build the church of St. Peter in the city of Rome. The indulgences secured the forgiveness of all the sins of the person who bought them, even of those sins which had not yet been committed. We need not wonder that this abominable doctrine led to all kinds of wicked practices. In his sermons, but especially in the 95 Theses he nailed to the church door of Wittenberg, Luther strongly protested against this doctrine.

The sale of indulgences began with Pope Julius II in 1506, who announced an indulgence for a gift to the church. His successor, Pope Leo X revived the practice. He appointed Albrecht, archbishop of Mentz to be commissary. This worldly-minded prelate lived a very unspiritual life and was deeply in debt. The pope agreed to let Albrecht keep half of the income from the sale of indulgences, and the other half would be given to the church. Albrecht in turn made John Tetzel his commissary. He traveled through the countryside telling the people the virtues of these indulgences, as he was told to do.

It was especially against these indulgences that the 95 Theses were aimed, which Luther nailed to the door of the castle Church of Wittenberg, on the 31 st of October, the day before All Saints’ Day. Soon these theses were spread throughout all of Germany. This was the introduction to the blessed Reformation, which caused the Holy See (or Pope) to tremble, and was a very hard blow for the Roman Catholic Church, but also placed the Word of God on the candlestick as a shining light.

Thus there must be joy and gratitude when we see how God used Luther as an instrument in His hand to bring about such a wonderful Reformation. But we must also grieve when we see the great apostasy all around us. Unbelief is rampant, and superstition is spreading fast. Therefore we have every reason to humble ourselves before God on this day. No well-informed child of the Reformation shall forget this day. The wonder of grace God performed on this day is too great and too wonderful to be forgotten.

How little is left of the doctrine of Calvin and Luther in our country! And even less is left of the strength of their faith, which is the more sad because true faith is the victory that overcomes the world. In the days of the Reformation faith wrought righteousness, quenched the violence of the fire, dulled the axes of the executioners, and subdued kingdoms.

May it be to our encouragement and comfort, that the same God who performed such great wonders, still lives, and remains the same, and for the performance of His wonders does not need the mighty, the wise, nor the nobles of this world, nor even a large number of people.

We wish to include a portion of Luther’s prayer just before his appearance at the Diet of Worms:

“O almighty and everlasting God, how terrible is this world! Behold, it openeth its mouth to swallow me up, and I have so little trust in Thee. How weak is the flesh, and how powerful is Satan. If it is in the strength of this world only that I must put my trust, all is over. My last hour is come; my condemnation has been pronounced! O God, do Thou help me against all the wisdom of this world. Do this—Thou shouldest do this—Thou alone; for this is not my work, but Thine. I have nothing to do here; nothing to contend for with these great ones of the earth. I should desire to see my days flow on, peaceful and happy; but the cause is Thine, and it is a righteous and eternal cause. O Lord, help me! Faithful and unchangeable God, in no man do I place my trust— it would be vain. All that is of man is uncertain; all thatcometh of men fails.”

Thee, O Christ!

Thy works, not mine, O Christ,
Speak gladness to my heart!
It tells me all is done—
It bids all fear depart!
I rest in Thee, whose work alone
Doth gloriously for sin atone.

Thy wounds, not mine, O Christ,
Can heal the bruised soul!
Thy stripes, not mine, contain
The balm that makes me whole!
I rest in Thee, whose work alone
Doth gloriously for sin atone.

Thy cross, not mine, O Christ,
Has borne the awful load
Of sins that none could bear
But the Incarnate God!
I rest in Thee, whose work alone
Doth gloriously for sin atone.

Thy death, not mine, O Christ,
Has paid the ransom due!
Ten thousand deaths like mine
Would all have been too few.
I rest in Thee, whose work alone,
Doth gloriously for sin atone.

Rev. W.C. Lamain (1904–1984) pastored the Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Leiden 0929–1932), Rotterdam-South (1932–1943), Rijssen-Wal (1943–1947), and Grand Rapids, Michigan (1947–1984).

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