A BRISK TOUR OF THE REFORMATION
Part 2 (Main
Features of the Reformation)
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is no doubt the greatest
event in the history of the Church after Pentecost. However, it must be borne
in mind that this event is so great (in respect to the development of the
Church) only for the fact that the pre-Reformation Church had veered greatly
from what may be considered biblical Christianity. Indeed, the Reformation is
so-called because, through it, the visible Church was literally re-formed. A
study of the features of the Reformation is, therefore, an examination of the
areas of the visible Church that are brought back to biblical Christianity
through it. This second of our four-part series highlights what these areas are,
and summarises the ways in which they are re-formed, so as to give an
introduction to what constitutes the Reformation. These areas will be examined
in two broad categories, namely, Doctrine and Practice.
Admittedly, the Reformation was not at all uniform. The Lutheran Reformation
was, for example, never complete because Luther rejected only what was directly
in conflict with the Word of God, believing that what is not explicitly
forbidden in the Word of God is lawful for the Church. Zwingli and Calvin however
went much further. They believe that only what is sanctioned in the Word of God
is allowed for the Church, especially in the areas of worship and church
government. In this brief survey, it is not possible to enumerate all the
features while indicating the extent to which each feature was important to the
various sectors of the Protestant
Church. Rather, the
approach would be to highlight the major features regardless of whether they
were uniformly evident in all the groups.
Areas Pertaining to Doctrine
The key doctrinal features of the Reformation is best summarised in five Latin
watchwords: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola
Gratia, Solo Christo and Soli Deo Gloria.
Sola Scriptura
As it may be said that the seed of the Reformation first
began to germinate as Martin Luther began to read the Bible in the original
languages, so it may also be said that the Reformation began to bloom fully as
Martin Luther uttered those immortal words of his at the Diet of Worms in April
1521:
Unless I am convinced by testimonies
of the Scripture or by clear arguments that I am in error—for popes and
councils have often erred and contradicted themselves—I cannot withdraw, for I
am subject to Scriptures I have quoted; my conscience is captive to the Word of
God.… Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. So help me God.
What Luther verbalised that day was but an eloquent expression of the most
foundational principle of the Reformation. The Reformation was indeed wholly
founded on the Word of God only: Sola Scriptura! All
the Reformers, like Luther, rejected the doctrines of tradition, councils and
popes, wherever they contradicted canonical Scripture, and conversely they
sought to build every reformational principle they advocated from the
Scripture. This does not mean that the Reformers were individualistic and
innovative in their study of Scripture (as many who caricatures the doctrine
of Sola Scriptura assert). Far from it! The Reformers
recognised that the Church is the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim
3:15), and therefore they maintained high regards for the confessional and
interpretive consensus of the Church. However, they saw also that the Scripture
alone is the perfect and sufficient final authority for all matters of faith
and life. Therefore they rejected any interpretations of popes and councils
which they understood to be either clearly contradicting the Scripture, or have
no basis in the Scripture.
Thus, the Reformation saw the rejection of many unbiblical Roman Catholic
doctrines, such as the existence of Purgatory and the doctrine of
Transubstantiation. Through the Scriptures, the Reformers also found that there
are only two, instead of seven, sacraments; and that there is no scriptural
justification for the clear distinction between clergy and laity; neither is
the veneration of Mary, saints and angels lawful. Neither is there any basis
for believing in the validity of an infallible apostolic succession. It was for
this reason that the Reformation was essentially anti-papacy.
Sola Gratia
While this aspect of the Reformation, like all other
aspects, may be seen as subordinate to the aspect just discussed, it is helpful
to examine it separately because this is an area that is practically denied in
many segments of Protestant Christianity today, with the infiltration of
Arminianism into the Church. During the Reformation it was not so. All the
Reformers believed that sinners are justified (forensically declared righteous
by God) and saved wholly by grace through faith. This aspect was the most
characteristic feature of the Lutheran Reformation, and was pronounced by
Luther to be the article by which the church stands or falls.
Through the rediscovery of Augustinian theology, the Reformers unanimously
agreed that man is totally depraved, and that apart from that grace of God all
would be lost. Works do not earn us any merit toward our salvation at all. We
are saved only by the grace of God: Sola Gratia!
This high view of God, and our indebtedness to Him, together with the doctrine
of the Sovereignty of God, form the basis of the Christian life of the believer
under the Reformation umbrella.
Sola Fide
Although accounts regarding Luther’s point of conversion to
Reformed doctrine vary, it is an undisputed fact that the words that had the
most impact on him were: “The just shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17; Hab 2:4; Gal
3:11; Heb 10:38). It was after a full realisation of the meaning of the verse
dawned upon him, that Luther began to repudiate the Romish doctrine that both
works and faith are meritorious necessity for our salvation. If man is totally
depraved, how could any work be sufficient to merit his salvation? Even our
righteous deeds are filthy rags in the sight of God (Isa 64:6)! But the just
shall live by faith! We may be saved only because Christ lived a perfectly
righteous life on our behalf, and then suffered and died in our place for our
sin. We are saved, in other words, by Christ through His removal of our
demerit, by His death and by His giving us His merits by His life. Our faith
does not save us, though it is an instrumental means of our salvation. It is a
gift of God by which we are united to Christ. Works do not serve this purpose.
Thus the Reformers insisted that we are saved by faith alone: sola
fide!
Luther’s attack against the sale of Indulgences in 1517 was based on this
doctrine. This is hinted in the ninety-five Theses, which he posted on the door
of Wittenberg. For example, thesis thirty-six says: “Every Christian who feels
true compunction has right of plenary remission of pain and guilt, even without
letters of pardon [i.e., Indulgence]” (Schaff, History, 7.162
[§32]).
The bearing of this doctrine on the Calvinistic and Zwinglian Reformation is
that the churches were brought back to New Testament simplicity where external
rituals and forms were mostly done away. However, the Reformers were always
careful to teach that good works follow regeneration. For example, in hisInstitutes,
Calvin teaches that “free will is not sufficient to enable man to do good
works, unless he be helped by grace, indeed by special grace, which the elect
receive through regeneration” (ICR 2.2.6).
Solo Christo
While Sola Gratia and Sola Fide were
explicitly published by the Reformers andSola Scriptura was
implicitly advocated by their rejection of the infallibility of tradition,
councils and popes, Solo Christo—Christ alone,—did not have an
ostentatious place in the history of the Reformation. The reason for this is
not that the Reformers were not Christocentric. They were; and eminently so!
The reason is that Christocentricity is hard to measure and, in some sense, did
not occasion immediate changes in the lives of the people. Sola Gratia wrought
humility and gratitude, Sola Fide removed dependence on
works, Sola Scripturadislodged unbiblical traditions, whereas Solo
Christo had no specific revolutionary influence apart from its effect
on exegesis (all Scripture points to Christ) and exposition.
Nevertheless, Solo Christo is a very important reformational
principle which was especially developed by John Calvin, who says: “Christ is
the beginning, middle, and end—that it is from Him that all things must be
sought—that nothing is, or can be found, apart from Him” (Comm. on
Colossians 1:12). Elsewhere, Calvin writes:
When we see that the whole sum of
our salvation, and every single part of it, are comprehended in Christ, we must
beware of deriving even the minutest portion of it from any other quarter. If
we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that he possesses
it; if we seek any other gifts of the Spirit, we shall find them in his
unction; strength in his government; purity in his conception; indulgence in
his nativity, in which he was made like us in all respects, in order that he
might learn to sympathise with us: if we seek redemption, we shall find it in
his passion; acquittal in his condemnation; remission of the curse in his
cross; satisfaction in his sacrifice; purification in his blood; reconciliation
in his descent to hell; mortification of the flesh in his sepulchre; newness of
life in his resurrection; immortality also in his resurrection; the inheritance
of a celestial kingdom in his entrance into heaven; protection, security, and
the abundant supply of all blessings, in his kingdom; secure anticipation of
judgement in the power of judging committed to him. In fine, since in him all
kinds of blessings are treasured up, let us draw a full supply from him, and
none from any other quarter (ICR 2.16.19).
The Reformers, moreover, taught that there is only one mediator between God and
man, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5). Therefore salvation is not to be found
through the Church. Man must go directly to God through Christ. The priests do
not qualify to be mediators, neither do Mary and departed saints, and neither
do angels: Solo Christo, Christ alone is the
mediator.
Calvin, furthermore, teaches that Christ is our mediator according to a
threefold office of Prophet, Priest and King. As our Prophet, He reveals God’s
will for our salvation; as Priest, He is both our propitiation and our
intercessor; and as King, He is our redeemer, defender and ruler (see WSC 23–26).
The Lord Jesus Christ, in other words, is not merely a historical figure, but
our all in all. And if we live and think , then every aspect of our lives
will be affected. We would live as did the Apostle Paul: “For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). Solo Christo, as such, is
the unifying theme of the ministry of every of the magisterial Reformers.
Soli Deo Gloria
Like Solo Christo, Soli Deo Gloria—glory
to God alone,—was, in a sense, not a revolutionary principle or a
principle that stands alone. However, it was a principle that had been eclipsed
by the pomp and power of the papacy and of the Roman Church prior to the
Reformation.
It was because the Reformers saw that glory must be ascribed to God alone and
that God must be glorified according to His self-revelation and the means He
has instituted, that they cared not to please men (Gal 1:10) as they sought to
bring the Church back to biblical purity. We may say that it was the principle
of Soli Deo Gloria that drove the Reformers on in their work.
Areas Pertaining to Practice
It must be noted that while Reformed churches saw practice as being necessarily
founded on doctrine, this was often not the case with the Church before the
Reformation. The areas pertaining to practice that were re-formed during the
Reformation include church polity; worship and liturgy; and the use of the
Bible.
Church Polity
With the denial of a separate clerical class, the political
structure within the church logically also underwent a reformation. Although
organisation in the visible church was considered “necessary for efficient
functioning,” it was not seen as necessary because the Church is the dispenser
of divine grace. Moreover, the Reformers found no basis for the hierarchical
structure of the Roman Catholic church. Therefore, they generally, did away
with much of the complexity of the papal system. However, neither Luther nor
Zwingli restored the church organisation according to the apostolic model. It
was Calvin who fought strongly for, and attempted to implement, an
ecclesiastical system based upon apostolic directives found in the Scriptures.
The church, moreover, was thought of as a community of believers rather than a
hierarchy of officials. It is not so much an organisation as a living body (1
Cor 12:12).
A person is saved when he is united with Christ and so becomes a member of the
invisible Church. His salvation is quite independent of his membership in the
visible church.
Worship and Liturgy
Another important feature of the Reformation was the change
in the manner of worship and the use of liturgy. The Reformed churches
generally went back to the simplicity of the apostolic churches. In the first
place, the use of images was banned in the churches. Secondly, with the
possible exception of the Lutheran church, the use of Liturgy was kept to the
minimal. The Mass was abolished and the number of sacraments was brought down
to the biblical pair—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Thirdly, the services were
conducted in the vernacular languages of the congregations. And fourthly,
preaching was given central place. Finally, congregational singing was also
introduced into the church. But strikingly, the Calvinistic church, in contrast
to the Lutheran church, sang generally psalms, and that without musical
accompaniment, for Calvin was convinced that:
Musical instruments in celebrating
the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the
lighting up of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law (Comm. on
Psalm 33:2).
Secular vs. Clerical Distinction
The Roman Catholic church taught that there is a separate
class of people akin to the priests of the Old Testament, who are to act as
mediators between God and man. Thus there was a sharp distinction between the
clergy (priesthood) and the laity. The Reformers, on the other hand, argued
from Scripture that there is no place for such a distinction in the Gospel. The
priesthood of the Old Testament was a shadow of the priesthood of Christ, which
ceased with the completion of the sacrifice of Christ (Heb 10:1, 12). Today,
believers are a “royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9) on account of our union with
Christ, and Christ is our only mediator (1 Tim 2:5).
There is, therefore, no longer any division between the clergy and the laity.
The call of God for persons to serve as ministers of the Gospel is unique in
that it is mediated through the church, and involves unique spiritual gifts.
However, they are not the only ones who are called. God calls people into
different occupations, be they in the ministry of the Word, or in ‘secular’
vocations, such as farming, teaching, studying, engineering, soldiering or
homemaking (1 Cor 7:20). Each believer is serving the Lord Christ when he
heartily performs, as unto the Lord, all that is his duty according to his
vocation which God has called him unto by His providence (Col 3:23–24).
Use of the Bible
The Bible (through the principle of Sola Scriptura)
was not only the basic doctrinal foundation of the Reformation, it also became
one of the most important features in the lives of the Reformed believers. In
line with the teaching of the priesthood of believers, it became necessary to
make the Bible available to everyone. As a result, in every Reformed sector,
the Bible was translated into the vernacular language. Luther completed his
translation of the New Testament into German in 1522. By 1532, the Old
Testament was completed. The French translations came by way of the humanist
Jacques Lefèvre d’Etaples in 1523 (NT) and 1528 (OT), as well as by Pierre
Robert Olivetan, Calvin’s cousin, in 1535. The first English New Testament was
published in 1525 by William Tyndale. The complete English Bible was the Mile
Coverdale’s Bible in 1535.
With the authority of traditions and of the papacy removed, and the Bible,
widely read, the Bible became the sole authority on all matters of the
Christian life to the Reformers and their congregations. Though all branches of
Protestantism very quickly saw the necessity of writing confessions and
catechisms for the more systematic instruction of the members of the church, as
well as to maintain unity within the churches, these creeds were ostensibly
founded upon the Scripture and, whenever possible, used the phraseology of the
Scriptures. And where these creeds were adopted by the churches as
authoritative, they were seen as subordinate standards of the churches which
derived their authority from the Scripture where the Scripture is faithfully
interpreted. In other words, the Scripture remains the sole authority.
Conclusion
This article is but a very brief survey of the doctrinal and practical features
of the Reformation in the areas where it affects the church as well as the
Christian life. We have not even touch on its effect on culture and society.
But I believe it is not difficult to see that it is indeed the most remarkable
event in the history of the Church. It is, as we can see, much more than a
breaking of the shackles of Rome.
It was almost a rediscovery of biblical Christianity altogether. It would do
well for the modern believers to look back, to see our roots; and to see how
far we have deviated from the biblical ideals for which our Reforming Fathers
paid with their lives—whether it be by the martyr’s death as Zwingli, or the
death of one worn out by constant toil and labour as Calvin. May the Lord who
made the Reformation possible be our help! Amen.
—J.J. Lim
