Some years ago, I attended a Reformation conference held at Cubao Reformed Baptist Church. Pastor Noel Espinosa masterfully responded to the question, “Is the 16th Century Reformation for the 21st Century?” Addressing the question of the relevance of the Reformation to today’s churches, he asserted, “The basic biblical truths championed by the Reformation must still be pressed today.” Pastors, theologians, and preachers who stand with Martin Luther, cry for the enduring validity of the Reformation. This must be heralded as we vow allegiance to the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that saves us.
Numerous reformation conferences are being held all throughout the world in commemoration of the 505th anniversary of the Reformation. It was about Luther’s challenge to the erroneous teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that hatched the Reformation when he nailed his 95 theses at the Church of Wittenburg. Much more so, it was about God’s preserving act of His church. From then on, the Reformation continued. Richard Sibbes called it ‘that fire which all the world shall never be able to quench.’
What led Luther in posting his thesis? It was nothing but the need to go back to the Scriptures; it is truly a scriptural impulse that lead him to nail his biblical convictions on October 31, 1517.In his book, The Theology of the Reformers, Timothy George expressed, “we celebrate and participate in the quest for Christian unity precisely because we take seriously the reformation concept of the church—ecclesia [reformata] semper reformanda, not merely a church once and for all reformed but rather a church always to be reformed, a church ever in need of further reformation on the basis of the Word of God.”[1]
The next blog posts will address why the Reformation must continue in view of Roman Catholicism, the Protestant Church, our faithfulness to the gospel, and the Christian life.
It is my utmost goal to bring the reader to consider the indisputable significance of the Reformation that has been the “greatest event, or series of events, that has occurred since the close of the canon of scripture”[2], which will usher to a greater ‘go back to the bible movement’ with seriousness and caution.
To God be the glory!
This blog is included in the series of posts for the 505th reformation month.
