Reformation Musings

            You may have heard by now that October 31, 2017 will mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  It was Oct. 31, 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg.  For those who might be unaware, most of these theses (or statements) had to do with something called indulgences.  Indulgences were basically certificates that you could purchase in order to get souls out of purgatory.  The church at that time was teaching “that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory” (Thesis #27).  In other words, they were selling peace and salvation.

            This was being done as a fund-raiser for the church.  Funds were needed to build St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and thus indulgences were being preached everywhere.  Martin Luther and others objected, seeing that the pope was living in luxury while St. Peter’s was being built on the backs of the poor.  He also objected that people were being threatened with the fires of hell if they did not purchase indulgences for themselves and for their loved ones. People were being taught to trust in indulgences rather than in Jesus Christ.

            At the same time, it was common practice to assign people penance in order to pay for their sins.  You may have heard the term “works righteousness,” and this is where it comes from.  People were being taught to put themselves right with God by performing certain works, including paying for indulgences.

            However, in the midst of all this, Luther had one or more “Aha!” experiences while reading the Bible.  What he discovered is found in more than one place, but is well expressed in Ephesians 2:8-10.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph. 2:8-9).

            Luther realized that we do not have to pay for our sins or work our way out of purgatory or buy our way into heaven.  It is Jesus who has saved us as a gift, and it is faith in Jesus that assures us of this gift.  The good works that we do are not to earn our way in, but to reflect our status as precious children of God.  This realization set Luther free from a lifetime of trying to do enough to please God, and he sought to help others to experience that same gospel freedom.

            As Lutherans, this is part of our heritage.  However, it is not an excuse to look down on other Christians who have different understandings or to think ourselves better than Roman Catholics.  A lot has changed since the time of the Reformation, including some of the things that Luther objected to so strongly.

            At the same time, people seem to fall pretty easily into works righteousness.  I have talked to people who have been Lutherans their whole lives and yet still don’t know if they’ve done enough for God to accept them.  Somehow we are still not hearing the good news of God’s grace.  You see, God is always the one who acts first.  God saves us, and adopts us as God’s children, and gives us the Holy Spirit.  Because of that, we are free to live as the people God has created us to be – “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life” (Eph. 2:10).  By grace we have been saved through faith.  Thanks be to God!

                  In Christ,

                  Pastor Lynne Hutchison