Over the course of the past week, a variety of interpretations of the Reformation have been popping up. On a number of Roman Catholic websites and blogs that I frequent, the Reformation often is interpreted as nothing more than a rebellion against truth and against the Church as “the pillar and bulwark of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15) After the way that much of Protestantism has lived out its Reformation heritage, I think these Roman Catholic apologists might be onto something.
In short, it seems that much of the Protestant “protest” is a rebellion against the Church merely because the Church’s teachings are contrary to our likings. Insofar as this is the case, the Reformation becomes nothing more than a petty rebellion against the Church and – because the Church is Christ’s body – against God himself. The message to petty rebels in every time and place? “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing – for that would be harmful to you.” (Hebrew 13:17)
Despite the Reformation’s tendency to turn vain and self-seeking, there was – and I believe still is – a valid reason for reform. The Reformation was not rejecting the authority of the Church as such, but rather identifying who/what the ultimate authority is. And despite current ideas to the contrary, the ultimate authority is not the individual bound conscience. (This is especially true when that conscience is bound to the spirit of the age.) To speak of Luther, his bound conscience was bound to the Word of God. It is that Word – not the individual conscience as such – that holds the place of ultimate authority in the Church.
Ultimately, to be bound to God’s Word is to be bound to Christ, God’s Word incarnate. (John 1) It is bondage to Christ that truly frees a man from bondage to sin. (John 8) As a quick aside, it’s worth noting that the Christian is bound not to some imaginary Christ of his own making, but to the Christ to whom the Scriptures testify and who is revealed in the breaking of bread. (Luke 24:27, 30-31)
So the Reformation is not about rebelling against authority. Rather, it is about being bound to Christ – the ultimate authority in the Church – above all else. It is about being bound to the truth of the Gospel that Jesus Christ was “handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:25) The true spirit of the Reformation – if it is to be in line with the Holy Spirit – must be centered on confessing this Gospel in humility and boldness. We would do well to consider and emulate the apostles in the Book of Acts.
In addition to considering the humility and boldness of the apostles, we should remember that love – the primary gift of God’s Spirit – is neither arrogant nor rude. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5) The following is an appropriate exhortation: “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:29-30)
In the end, the Reformation was and is about obedience to Christ above all else. Perhaps that is why the Lutheran Reformers themselves so frequently used Peter’s words from Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than men.” Above I said that the petty rebellion of many Protestants is due to the fact that the Church’s teachings are contrary to our likings. In conclusion it must be said that the desire of the true Reformation is not to rid the Church of teachings that are contrary to our likings, but rather to rid Her of teachings that are contrary to the Word of God.
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