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The Ninety-five Theses or Disputation
on the Power of Indulgences are a list of propositions for an academic disputation
written in 1517 by Martin Luther, professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, Germany, that
started the Reformation, a schism in the Catholic
Church which profoundly changed Europe. They advance Luther's positions
against what he saw as abusive practices by preachers selling plenary indulgences,
which were certificates believed to reduce the temporal punishment for sins committed by the purchasers themselves
or their loved ones in purgatory. In the Theses, Luther claimed that the repentance required by Christ in order
for sins to be forgiven involves inner spiritual repentance rather than merely
external sacramental confession. He argued that
indulgences led Christians to avoid true repentance and sorrow for sin,
believing that they can forgo it by purchasing an indulgence. They also,
according to Luther, discourage Christians from giving to the poor and
performing other acts of mercy, believing that indulgence certificates were
more spiritually valuable. Though Luther claimed that his positions on
indulgences accorded with those of the pope,
the Theses challenge a fourteenth-century papal bull
stating that the pope could use the treasury
of merit and the good deeds of past saints to forgive temporal punishment
for sins. The Theses are framed as propositions to be argued in debate
rather than necessarily representing Luther's opinions, but Luther later
clarified his views in the Explanations of the Disputation Concerning the
Value of Indulgences.
Luther sent the Theses enclosed with a
letter to Albert of Brandenburg, the Archbishop of Mainz, on 31 October 1517, a date
now considered the start of the Reformation and commemorated annually as Reformation
Day. Luther may have also posted the Theses on the door of All Saints' Church and other
churches in Wittenberg in accordance with University custom on 31 October or in
mid-November. The Theses were quickly reprinted, translated, and
distributed throughout Germany and Europe. They initiated a pamphlet
war with indulgence preacher Johann
Tetzel, which spread Luther's fame even further. Luther's ecclesiastical
superiors had him tried for heresy, which culminated in his excommunication in 1521. Though
the Theses were the start of the Reformation, Luther did not consider
indulgences to be as important as other theological matters which would divide
the church, such as justification by faith and the bondage of the will. His breakthrough on
these issues would come later, and he did not see the writing of the Theses
as the point at which his beliefs diverged from those of Rome.
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02 October 2017
How Should We Celebrate
the Reformation?
by
Tim Chester
Two
Johns, two wills, two versions of salvation.
Our
first John is John Marston. He was a chaplain of the chantry of St. Mary in the
parish Church of Aldborough, near where I live in North Yorkshire, England. In
1474, he made a will in which he “gave his soul to God Almighty, St. Mary, and
all saints in heaven.”
Our
second John is John Waddington, a clerk who was buried in the same church a
century and half later. In 1628, John Waddington made a will in which he
“commended his soul to God Almighty, his Creator and to Jesus Christ his
Redeemer, trusting Him for salvation.”
John
Marston died before the Reformation. Indeed, he was a chantry priest, employed
in one of the church’s three chantry chapels to say repeated Masses on behalf
of the dead. The hope was that this would speed their passage through
purgatorial torment. He spent his life amassing merit on behalf of others. He
died commending his soul to Mary and the saints. In his mind, salvation was
earned through the observances of the individual, the services of the church,
and the intercessions of the saints.
John
Waddington died after the Reformation, and he commended his soul to Christ. He
died “trusting in Him for salvation.”
These
two wills neatly capture the glory of the Reformation. The Reformation, whose
five-hundredth anniversary we mark this year, represents the rediscovery of the
biblical gospel. It is a gospel that focuses on the finished work of Christ. It
is therefore a gospel that brings assurance. My hope rests not on the shaky
foundation of my merits but on the rock-solid ground of Christ’s righteousness.
We can face death with confidence, as John Waddington did, “trusting in Him for
salvation.” It is a gospel that makes Christ big and us small. It is a gospel
worth celebrating. Tell the story. Have a party.
But
let me suggest two other ways in which we should celebrate the Reformation.
Renewing Our Commitment to God’s Word
Underlying
the Reformation was a rediscovery of the Bible and a commitment to its
authority. Martin Luther came to his understanding of salvation by faith alone
in Christ alone through his study of the Psalms, Romans, and Galatians. At first,
he assumed the medieval Roman church would agree with his message. After all,
it was plainly taught in the pages of God’s Word. Instead, the church opposed
him, forcing him to choose between the authority of the Bible and the authority
of the Roman church. He chose the Bible. Scripture alone would be the ultimate
authority of Reformation churches.
The true spirit of the Reformation includes a commitment to being bounded by God’s Word.
That
meant the Reformation was always intended to be an ongoing project. It is a
commitment encapsulated in the Latin phrase semper
reformanda. It is usually translated as “always reforming,” but a
better translation is “always being reformed.” We are not the ones doing the
reforming. We are being reformed by God’s Word. God’s Word is the reformer of
the church. Or rather, it is Christ who renews His church through His Word. Semper reformanda does not
describe a movement forward to some uncharted horizon but a continual movement
back to God’s Word.
So,
the Reformation is not a mandate for boundless innovation. That is how many
liberals, theologically and politically, have chosen to view it. For them, the
Reformation is a symbol of individual freedom and self-determination. But the
true spirit of the Reformation includes a commitment to being bounded by God’s
Word.
But
neither is the Reformation a mandate for complacency. Yes, the Reformers saw
the Bible as the touchstone of orthodoxy. But they saw it as much more than
this. It is a life-giving Word. And this is how we should celebrate the
Reformation—by committing ourselves to constant renewal through the life-giving
Word of God.
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Luther at the Diet of Worms, by Anton
von Werner, 1877
The Diet of Worms 1521 (German:
Reichstag zu Worms, [ˈʁaɪçstaːk tsuː ˈvɔɐms]) was an imperial diet
(assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire held at the Heylshof Garden in Worms,
then an Imperial Free City of the Empire. An imperial
diet was a formal deliberative assembly of the whole Empire. This one is most
memorable for the Edict of Worms (Wormser Edikt), which addressed
Martin
Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation. It was conducted
from 28 January to 26 May 1521, with the Emperor Charles V presiding.
Other imperial diets took place at Worms in the
years 829, 926, 1076, 1122, 1495, and 1545, but unless plainly qualified,
the term "Diet of Worms" usually refers to the assembly of 1521.
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Renewing Our Commitment to God’s People
None
of the first Reformers set out to leave the Roman church, let alone start a new
one. They learned from Augustine that schism was a terrible sin. Yet here they
were, waving goodbye to the Roman church.
The
problem with the Roman Catholic Church was not only that it failed to preach
the gospel but also that it actually opposed it. In doing so, the Roman church
proved itself not to be a true church. The marks of the church are, the
Reformers argued, the gospel Word and the gospel sacraments (including gospel
discipline). That meant the Reformers were not really breaking away from the
church, since the Roman Catholic Church could no longer be regarded as a true
church. Instead, the Reformers were “re-forming” the church around the gospel.
The Reformers remained passionate about the church and its unity. John Calvin
wrote, “For those whom he is Father the Church may also be Mother” (Institutes 4.1.1).
All
too often, however, their successors have not shared this passion. The right to
the private interpretation of Scripture has been abused to justify separation
and division. One great way to celebrate the Reformation would be for the heirs
of the Reformation to rediscover the Reformers’ passion for the unity of body
of Christ.
The
Reformers turned to the two marks of the church—Word and sacrament—to provide a
way of recognizing the true church. Calvin said, “Wherever we see the Word of
God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to
Christ’s institution, there, it is not to be doubted, a Church of God exists” (Institutes 4.1.9). But these
marks also help explain why the Reformers were hesitant to break from the
visible Roman church. The Reformers broke from the Roman church only when it
became indisputably clear that the Roman church was not interested in the true
gospel or the right administration of the sacraments.
Lest
we regard church unity a light matter, let us end with Calvin calling down
thunderbolts:
For the Lord esteems the communion of his Church so highly that he counts as a traitor and apostate from Christianity anyone who arrogantly leaves any Christian society, provided it cherishes the true ministry of Word and sacraments. He so esteems the authority of the Church that when it is violated he believes his own diminished . . . Separation from the Church is the denial of God and Christ. Hence, we must even more avoid so wicked a separation. For when with all our might we are attempting the overthrow of God’s truth, we deserve to have him hurl the whole thunderbolt of his wrath to crush us. Nor can any more atrocious crime be conceived than for us by sacrilegious disloyalty to violate the marriage that the only-begotten Son of God deigned to contract with us. (Institutes 4.1.10)
Dr. Tim Chester is the pastor of Grace Church,
Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, England, and a faculty member of Crosslands
Training. He is author of several books, including the forthcoming book Rediscovering Joy: The Dynamic Power of
the Reformation in Galatians, and coauthor with Michael Reeves of Why the Reformation Still Matters.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/2017/10/how-should-we-celebrate-the-reformation/
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