How the Reformation Changed the Church
On October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenburg door, he igniteda movement that would change the church forever. Most of us know a little bit about the Protestant Reformation, but relatively few of us seem to understand either the evils from which the Reformation delivered us or the blessings which the Reformation won for us. In order to help usmore deeply appreciate the Reformation, and to prepare us for this coming Sunday’s service I thinkit will be beneficial to know what the church was like in the 16th century before the Reformationcaught fire.
The church, before the Reformation, was a church without the Bible. The priests and people knewscarcely anything about God’s Word or the way of salvation in Christ. Without the Bible in theirlanguage it was hard for people to know what was actually in the Bible. Going to church didn’tprovide any opportunities for learning the Bible either. Preaching was not an every Sunday event.Once a quarter was the suggested frequency, but not insisted upon. Hugh Latimer (1487-1555), anEnglish Bishop and martyr of the Reformation noted that while the mass was never left unsaid for asingle Sunday, sermons might be omitted for 20 Sundays in succession. Indeed, to preach much wasto incur the suspicion of being a heretic.
Before the Reformation, the concept of the Christian ministry was sacerdotal. That means thatevery minister was considered to be a sacrificing priest, much like the priests of the Old Testament.In the mass (communion service), it was believed that the priest transforms the bread and wineinto Christ's actual body and blood (transubstantiation). Every time the mass is celebrated, Christis believed to be sacrificed all over again, hence the need for an altar. Even today vestiges of thisterminology remain. But we do not have an altar in the church because there is no longer a needfor a sacrifice. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is sufficient. We do not need to continually offer upChrist as a sacrifice. When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are not sacrificing Him all overagain. Rather, we are remembering what Christ did for us through the one time he was sacrificed.If Christ needs to be sacrificed over and again through the mass, then His sacrificial death on thecross is not sufficient. When the Reformers understood this, they transformed the primary role ofthe clergyman from priest to preacher.
The Reformers taught that the primary business of every Christian minister is to preach the Wordand to be diligent in prayer and the reading of the Scriptures. For this reason, the altar has beenreplaced with the Lord’s table and the pulpit is centered, showing the centrality of God’s Word inthe worship of Protestant churches.
We must continually thank God for the Reformation. It lit the flames of knowledge and freedomwhich we must ensure are never allowed to be extinguished or to grow dim. We need to continuallyremember that the Reformation was won for us by the blood of many tens of thousands of martyrs.It was not only by their preaching and praying, and writing and legislation, but by their sacrificesthat our religious liberty, freedom of conscience and Christian heritage was won.
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