I have no qualms against celebrating Halloween - dressing up in crazy costumes and having a good time with friends. In fact, I went to a Halloween party Saturday night - I was a woodland nymph...but I also learned a few years ago that a greater event happened on October 31st...in the year 1517.
Now, I won't claim to be an expert on the life of Martin Luther, nor will I say I agree with all of his teachings and doctrinal statements, but he was used in a pivotal way to maintain the purity of the Gospel in church history, and on one point he was most unequivocally right and clear: that salvation comes through grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone.
Luther grew up originally wanting to become a lawyer, but God had other things in store. He ended up becoming a monk. He participated in confession, self flagellation, and all aspects that accompany monk-hood. Historical documents tell that while many of the other monks would spend about 5 minutes in confession each day, Luther oftentimes would spend up to three hours belaboring over the prior 24 hours worth of his sin. He saw God as holy and righteous, but he mostly saw Him as a fearful, harsh Judge - and Luther was very aware of his inability to stand before His righteousness with even an ounce of sin. While this is true of our standing before a holy God, Luther did not understand full forgiveness and the cleansing that comes through Christ...until later.
At the time of Martin Luther, the Roman Church was practicing the sale of "indulgences" as a means for mans' sins to be absolved by the Church. This had nothing to do with the gospel or biblical teaching whatsoever in light of the fact that the gospel presents Christ's sacrifice for sin received by faith alone as the only means of salvation. Nowhere in the Bible does it state that any man [other than Jesus Christ] has the authority to remove sin from any other man, and nowhere does it mention purchasing any indulgences from a man.
As Luther continued to study scripture in the monastery and teach theology at Wittenburg, he became increasingly aware of the stark contrast between what scripture taught about salvation through faith in Christ, and the indulgence doctrines of the Church. One verse that he struggled with in particular was Romans 1:17: "16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." His greatest conflict with the practices going on around him was the emphasis that seemed to approve more attrition [sorrow, but not repentance] through the quick purchasing of indulgences, rather than contrition [true remorse and repentance] of sin. Now remember that Luther was the ever-confessing monk that had seen his sin in light of a holy God who was to be feared - therefore, he was fearful that the teachings of indulgences in the Church were leading many to be blinded to the true state of their souls: he felt that the indulgence movement was a cheapening of forgiveness and a cheapening of grace [as put by R.C. Sproul].
So when, on that fateful day 494 years ago, Luther marched up to tack his 95 Theses on a church door, he wasn't attempting to start something new, but his purpose was to expose theological issues within the Church, get back to the basic truths of the gospel, and consequently, show many the error of their ways in hopes that they may turn in repentance to Christ. He saw how the Church had gotten much too big, and the Cross much too small. Salvation was not and is not based on church authority, the buying of indulgences, your own "goodness," or practicing the ordinances.
Let me give you a verse from God's very own Word that expounds on this:
"Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified." Galatians 2:16
And again:
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
During Luther's time, the Church was the most powerful institution in the world. Knowing this, it only makes Luther's endeavor to expose truth all that more impacting and inspiring. He stood alone; therefore, he must have firmly believed in the errors of the Church, otherwise, why would he have risked his life and reputation?
If you are still hoping and believing that your own good works will save you when the time comes to stand before a Holy, Righteous, Perfect Judge that can only allow holiness, righteousness, and perfection in His sight, then I, in line with Luther, urge you to examine your heart and your understanding of truth to see that Christ is the only Holiness, the only Righteousness, and the only Perfection that you can ever, and will ever need. Serve Him today as Lord of your life, in full repentance of sin, relying only on His perfect work on the cross for your full forgiveness in the sight of the perfect God who delights in His Son.
This is truth from God's Word, and I pray
that He opens your eyes to see it. I am glad that the Lord provided such a man at such a time: that the Reformation would allow for greater
clarity of the Gospel, and that ultimately, the truths of scripture
would prevail in being exposed in glorious light.
Much love, and to all who delight in these glorious truths, Happy Reformation Day!
