|
 It
is appropriate for Christians to remember the significant
heroes of the past. This is especially true for Protestants,
since there have been so many truly great champions
from the Reformation era (c.1517-1650) who made a
major impact upon the present day church.
Men such as: Theodore Beza, Martin Bucer, Heinrich
Bullinger, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Hus,
John Knox, Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, Pierre-Robert
Olivetan, Caspar Olevianus, Nicolas Ridley, Samuel
Rutherford, Menno Simons, William Tyndale, Zacharias
Ursinus, John Wycliffe, Ulrich Zwingli, and many other
lesser known persons.
Each of these Reformers, despite some of their individual
differences, greatly influenced the church in their
own particular region to hold to right doctrine (orthodoxy)
and to develop a practice in their churches rightly
based upon the Bible (orthopraxy). This is why taking
time to remember these men on Reformation Day (October
31st), the very day that Martin Luther posted his
Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral,
is good and right and proper.
Consider the following “rallying cries”
as hard-won blessings which have been “bought
with blood” for the benefit of Christ’s
Church during this current era in which we live.
1. “By Christ Alone” (Solus Christus):
Jesus Christ is the only name by which we may be saved
(Isaiah 53:1-12; John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
2. “By Scripture Alone” (Sola
Scriptura): The Bible alone is the source
of God’s revelation; it contains the Law, the
Gospel, and principles for how we should live and
worship and think (John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:14-17,
Hebrews 4:12-13).
3. “By Grace Alone” (Sola Gratia):
God’s grace alone is the ground of
our salvation, and this is received by faith alone
(Psalm 31:1; Ephesians 2:4-10; Titus 2:11-14).
4. “By Faith Alone” (Sola Fide):
God-given faith is the only way to receive
the imputed righteousness of Christ, which results
in our justification (Romans 1:16-17, and 3:28; Ephesians
2:8-9).
5. “In The Presence Of God” (Coram
Deo): Christians are exhorted by the Bible
to live all of life in the presence of God. This implies
that there is no area of life where we do not have
“business with God” [Negotium cum Deo]
(Proverbs 15:3; Ephesians 5:1-14; Col. 3:1-17).
6. “To God Be the Glory” (Soli
Deo Gloria): God alone is the proper recipient
of our gratitude in the matter of salvation and the
Christian life (1 Cor. 10:31; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter
4:10-11).
7. “The Priesthood of Every Believer”
(Communio Sanctorum): Every believer is exhorted
by God to live-out the Christian life as a “holy
venture” that pleases God (1 Peter 2:9-10).
Our sanctification and assurance of salvation are
based solely upon the finished work of Christ on the
Cross (Romans 12:1-2; 1 John 1:9; 1 Peter 2:21-25).
8. “After Darkness, Light” (Post Tenebras
Lux): This was the motto of Geneva, Switzerland
during the time of the Reformation. It reflects the
wonderful deliverance from their former way of life
that the local population came to feel as they lived
by the doctrines of the Bible (John 3:19-21 and 8:12;
Colossians 1:13-14).
Sources
of Information for further study:
Beeke, Joel
R., & Ferguson, Sinclair B.,
Reformed Confessions Harmonized, Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999.
Douglas, J.D. (ed.), The
New International Dictionary of the Christian
Church (rev. edit.), Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978.
George, Timothy, Theology
of the Reformers, Nashville, TN: The
Broadman Press, 1988.
Godfrey, Robert W., Reformation
Sketches, Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian
& Reformed Publishing, 2003.
Lindsay, Thomas M., A
History of the Reformation, (2 vols.),
New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons,
1949.
McKim, Donald K. (ed.),
Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith,
Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press,
1992.
Muller, Richard A., Dictionary
of Latin & Greek Theological Terms,
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1985.
Sproul, R.C., Faith
Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification,
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995.
Sproul, R.C., Jr. (ed.),
After Darkness Light, Phillipsburg,
NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing,
2003.
© October 2005,
Rev. Marcus Serven, Th. M.
Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
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