Happy Reformation Day!

October 31, 1517 was the day that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany. The theses addressed various current Roman Catholic practices and were triggered by the sale of indulgences to build St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The sale, conducted by the flamboyant and effective Johann Tetzel, offered for a price the freedom of a soul from purgatory and direct entrance into heaven. A relatively common practice at the time, its lack of scriptural warrant led Luther to challenge it and related teachings of the church. Luther's posting was meant to be a challenge to debate these issues, but became instead a rallying point for those questioning the church's understanding of salvation generally. Luther himself had come to believe that people are justified by faith alone, and thought that the Church, when pushed, would come to the same conclusion. His misreading of that result, along with his firm commitment to the authority of Scripture over the church to settle matters of faith, was the central driving force that led to Luther's excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church and what we now refer to as the Reformation.

All Protestants, including we who are in the Baptist tradition, trace our development back to this one moment in history, so Reformation Day is a day we should all mark with great thankfulness to God and to a German monk who saw the glorious gospel truth and let it change him as well as the church.