On October 31, 1517, a young German monk named Martin Luther nailed ninety-five theses (public statements for debate) on the Catholic church door in Wittenberg, Germany.
His action, prompted by biblical conviction, ignited the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. The Reformation was a biblically-driven movement among God’s people. Realizing the Church of Rome had forsaken the essential truths of Christianity, the Reformers separated from this corrupt church and returned to the Bible alone as their sole authority for doctrine. This return to the Bible led to the glorious rediscovery of justification: sinners can gain a righteous standing before God by faith alone in Christ alone.
Yet 490 years later, many professing Christians—even many Lutherans—believe that Martin Luther’s insistence on doctrinal purity over visible unity was a significant mistake. But was it?
Continue reading ‘Was the Protestant Reformation a Mistake?’
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Believers should take this well-worn admonition to heart as they view from religious history the overall downward trend to eventually deviate from God’s truth. Based on lessons from the past, believers ought to be saddened, but not surprised, when God’s Word calls them or their churches to separate from what is impure. Historical honesty requires us to recognize that wholesale religious compromise with unbelief is not new to our generation. Likewise, responding to religious compromise with biblical separation is something God’s obedient people have always practiced.