Reformation Day Remembered

31st October is the day on which reformed Christians remember the incident that heralded the great reformation of the church in Germany with the nailing of the Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences Commonly Known as The 95 Theses by Dr. Martin Luther on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg in 1517.  Luther (1483-1546) was appalled at the trafficking (nothing new in that!) that was going on in his day in indulgences (nothing new in that, either!) which were papal pardon for sins committed by the faithful.  In Luther's day, this was a great fund-raiser for the church.  If a Catholic wanted one of the Pope's indulgences, it was very simple: on the payment of money into the coffers of the Catholic church the indulgence was given.  

The reason for making this a public issue was that Luther's conscience was giving him a great deal of trouble and he was extremely keen to find peace with God.  He came, by the grace of God, to the wonderful discovery that this can only be had in the Gospel.  He wanted this issue discussed publicly, and by nailing his theses on the Castle Church door, he was announcing that this debate was to be held.

Not even Luther was to envisage the ramifications of this action.  He set the entire church alight with talk about indulgences, and forgiveness, and peace with God.  The Gospel became a very hot potato that was to be the means of debate and discussion and argument in the church for many years.  This debate was really around, "How does a sinner get right with God?"  It was about the Gospel and the Gospel way of salvation.

That's why Christians of the reformed persuasion remember this event that rocketed the church into being re-formed.  It is clear that Luther did not want to form a new church, but rather that the church might be formed again, or re-formed, or reformed, according to God's Word.

The following articles explain this in greater detail, and I am grateful to Dr Alan C. Clifford for permission to publish these articles on my blogsite.