One of the most dramatic chapters in the history of
Christianity was the Reformation of the 16th century. This was a
religious movement marked ultimately by rejection or modification of some Roman
Catholic doctrine and practice, and the establishment of Protestant churches.
One history of the Reformation suggests that making the
Bible directly accessible to "the people" may be compared in its
social and cultural effects to a vast irrigation project which provides water
to dry land. "Men's religious natures were provided with life-giving
water," it was said. People could now read their Bibles for
themselves and find directly such truths as the sovereignty of God,
salvation by faith, and the proper conduct of the Christian life.
Since the Bible was seen as centrally important in all forms
of Protestantism, it was not by chance that the Reformation was accompanied by
great activity in the translation of the Bible into the various languages of
Europe, so that it might be directly accessible to common folk.
Previously, the Bible had been faithfully translated into Latin, but only the
well-educated and church people could read Latin. The interest in
language translation was further enabled by the development of modern printing.
Gutenberg built his first printing press in 1450.
Martin Luther was a leader in articulating what would become
Protestant thought during the time of the Reformation. By 1510, Luther
had been ordained a priest, but he was deeply troubled by feeling personally
alienated from God. He sought relief through the rigors of becoming a
monk and joining a monastery.
For Luther, the question was: "How is an
unrighteous person (a fallen sinner) made righteous in the sight of God ----
especially, if he or she wants to be admitted to Heaven upon death?"
Luther tried every means in the Roman Catholic system, seeking to put himself
"right" with God. He did not believe he had been successful.
But, as he did further Bible study he began to see that
being put "right" with God was not to be earned just by human
effort. Instead, it is a gift from God which sinful mankind alone
cannot earn or deserve. This free grace, Luther concluded, can be
achieved only by mankind's inner trust or faith in God. But mankind must
be truly open to receiving this free grace.
Faith, for Luther, was simply an inward act of saying
"yes" to God. It meant turning with trust and loyalty to God as
the center and source of one's life ---- dealing directly with
God. This was a new way to look at religion, rendering useless and
trivial much of the elaborate medieval Roman Catholic system, where one's
priest was one's only route to justification with God. In 1519, Luther
debated publicly with Roman Catholic leaders. Luther argued that the
Scriptures of the Bible are an authority above the Church. The
following year he was excommunicated.
The natural state of mankind, said Martin Luther, is
alienation from God ---- proud self-worship. By man's own
acts he would be powerless to save himself. Luther placed little
confidence in the capacity of reason to turn mankind to God. Because
mankind is "fallen," Luther believed, man's reasoning is itself
depraved and sinful, and thus leads man away from God. Faith, not
reason, was for Luther the way mankind approaches God. By
"faith," Luther meant neither the use of intellect, nor so-called
mystical experiences, but simply by being open to God's grace and love.
For Luther the good news of this reconciliation between
mankind and God is revealed to us through the Bible. Luther believed in
directly teaching from the Bible as the final authority in all matters of
religion ---- not just following the lessons of tradition, the Church and the
Pope. Luther said that one had only to read the God-inspired pages of the
Bible, with an honest and seeking mind guided by one's inner promptings from
the Holy Spirit.
The riches of faith to be had in the Bible, in Luther's
view, made philosophical speculation unnecessary. More importantly,
having direct accessibility to the Bible leads straight to the doctrine of the
"priesthood of all believers," as Luther put it. Thus, God's
truth through Christ is not the exclusive prerogative of a priest or the
Pope. Rather, each person may and must guide their own life by Scripture
and right reason, interpreted according to their best judgment. Finding
this truth, or rather being found by it, the Christian is a "free"
man, Luther believed. But a part of the exercise of free will consists in
bearing witness to others. As Luther saw it, "the priesthood
of believers" meant not only that every man or woman was their own
priest, but also that they were a priest to every other man or
woman.
Following Martin Luther's teaching about the supremacy of
the Bible, Scripture reading is always part of our worship services at Central
Presbyterian Church. While our Senior Pastor may illuminate the Scripture
reading for that day, in the last analysis, as Luther said, it is up to each of
us to find within ourselves the intended message of the Scripture
passage. This is the direct word of God ---- no intermediaries required!
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some
personal spiritual growth this summer at CPC.
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