"Peace if possible; truth at all costs." - Martin Luther

Do we need another Reformation?

It was 500 years ago this October 31 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, the act which began what we call the Protestant Reformation. Luther expressed some of his core commitments in bumper-sticker-worthy phrases, the most well known of which are:

• Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone)
• Sola Gratia (grace alone)
• Sola Fide (faith alone)

These were each truths the Roman Catholic Church had long since abandoned and which led to the need for a total reformation if the church was to align with biblical form and standards. That first one, Sola Scriptura, is the logical predecessor to the others. That is, within the Bible we read that salvation comes by God's grace to those who have faith. Abandon Scripture as the ultimate authority and anything and everything else is on the chopping block depending on the whims and goals of the individual or organization. 

In 1517, when Martin Luther protested against the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church, he never imagined it would, half a millennium later, be universally known as the Protestant Reformation. But here we are, the beneficiaries of his courage and commitments. 

And in need of another reformation, sadly for the same reason. 

No matter how it's described or on what basis the proponents push it, the shift in many churches to include women in the highest positions of authority including the task of preaching, and/or openly accepting, even affirming alternative sexual lifestyles is an abandonment of biblical teaching. No amount of exegetical gymnastics can get past Scripture's teaching that the church, like the home, should have males at the head, and that any sexual behavior outside of a one-man-one-woman marriage is an abomination to the Lord. Strong words? Indeed! But those are the words of Scripture and to recoil at them is to elevate contemporary cultural standards over God's expressed will for his children.

Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 5 that believers should not associate with those who call themselves brothers but are guilty of sexual immorality. He goes on to explain he does not mean by that prohibition "the sexually immoral of this world," "since then you would need to go out of the world" (v. 10). The unbeliever cannot be expected to conform to God's standards, but the Christian must. Paul goes on to explain that judgment is right and appropriate within the church (v. 12-13). "Purge the evil person from among you."

I'm working on the fourth section in which I *try* to give a very short, readable overview of 2,000 years of church history. Too short to do it any kind of justice, but enough to give some sense of the three major schools of theology and their roots. That has led me back to Martin Luther and his courageous stand for truth. Little did he know the impact his faithfulness would have 500 years later. 

Our battle is not now against an organized power like Luther's, but against an even more subtle, and perhaps dangerous foe - the spirit of this age. What the Germans call zeitgeist we identify as the cultural ethos that puts pressure on the believer to conform or suffer the consequences. And those consequences can be harsh. Social judgment from all corners, including friends and family, should not be minimized. 

Yes, methinks we need another Protestant Reformation. And that requires more believers with Luther-esque courage.

Sola Scriptura.