It’s October, let the celebration begin! October is always a very special month for Lutherans. It is the month in which we celebrate God’s work in Martin Luther and many other reformers both before and after him. It is this month, in the year 1517, that God moved upon the heart of Luther to post his 95 Theses to the castle church door and challenge the unbiblical practices of the Roman Church. Today, 508 years later, the question that confronts us is this: “Why is the Reformation still important today?” Notice, the question is not, “Is the Reformation still important?” That is a ridiculous question to ask Bible-believing Christians in general and Lutherans in particular. Of course, the Reformation is still important. It was a historic event. It continues to have a resounding impact in the life of Christ’s Church on earth. But the question remains: “Why is the Reformation still important in our day?” As to our historical theology as Protestants, the Reformation was, and still is, a decisive event in the life of the Christian Church. October 31, 1517, was a day that changed the Church forever! For years, the Church had lived in darkness. For the common people, the truth of God’s Holy Word had become clouded in mystery and reserved only for the eyes of the clergy. By 1517, the message of the Gospel had been lost to the world at large. In its place the church leaders – the Pope, bishops, priests, deacons, and councils – proclaimed a false gospel of empty rituals and the vain practices of human works as the only acceptable means whereby the people could placate the anger and wrath of God toward their sins. Yet, Almighty God in His eternal providence, had a plan (He always does!). He called Martin Luther and set him apart as His instrument. A young Luther studied the Holy Scriptures and looked at the culture around him, especially the Church. He came to despise the sale of indulgences and the false practices of the Roman Church. The Holy Spirit opened the eyes of Luther to embrace and to understand the words of the apostle, “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Romans 1:17) and “a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So, we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16). Luther’s challenge to papal authority, the traditions of the church, and the very means of salvation came directly from the Word of God alone and upon that Word, Martin Luther took his stand! At the time, few would have ever suspected that the sound of a hammer striking the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany, would become the sound heard around the world. Against the impoverished and worthless promises of the Roman Church, Luther took quill in hand and penned his 95 Theses. Luther’s intent was only to spark debate, to stir academic discussion, and soul-searching among the clergy within the Roman Church. His desire was to issue a call to reformation based upon the clear teachings of Holy Scripture. He stood firm against the unbiblical traditions and practices of the church. One of Luther’s 95 Theses boldly declares, “The Church’s true treasure is the most holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God” (Theses #62). Those words alone reveal the deep and essential meaning of Reformation Day. As a result, Luther’s 95 Theses sparked more than a simple debate, and the Church and the world would never be the same. Today, Luther’s legacy lives on in the confessions of the Lutheran and Protestant churches around the world. But we must return to our question: “Why is the Reformation still important in our day?” Recently, Ligonier Ministries (the Teaching Fellowship of Dr. R.C. Sproul) issued their “2025 State of Theology Survey.” The results of their survey are astonishing, and I don’t mean in a positive way. Each year, their “State of Theology Survey” takes the temperature of America, revealing what people actually believe both inside and outside of the Christian Church. The 2025 results are in, and they are sobering. This nationwide survey highlights widespread confusion (I prefer the term “heresy”) about God and His Word. Among Evangelical Protestants who claim to have a high view of the Bible, the statistics are troubling: • 53% affirm that “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.” • 53% think that “The Holy Spirit is a force but not a personal being.” • 47% affirm that “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.” • Standing in stark contrast to the above three points taken from the 2025 State of Theology Survey is the clear eternal truth of Holy Scripture: • Romans 3:10ff “as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one… 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” • John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” and John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” • John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” and I Timothy 1:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Decline is not inevitable. Confusion is not the only option. While the survey results are troubling, the clear Word of God stands forever! Today, clear Bible teaching and preaching is needed more than ever. The Church has been charged with the task of not simply sharing the Gospel but of “making disciples” (Matthew 28:17–20). The recent assassination of Charlie Kirk has been called “a political assassination.” Perhaps that is the case. I do not know. But I do agree with these words penned by Virgil Walker, “In just 13 years of ministry, Charlie Kirk showed young people that God’s eternal truth is stronger than cultural lies and reminded the Church that when the culture wages war on your children’s souls, you must fight back with the sword of the Spirit.” Virgil Walker goes on, “The statistics should terrify every Christian parent: 66 percent of young people who regularly attended Protestant churches as teenagers drop out for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22. Lifeway Research confirms what pastors have witnessed for decades: 70 to 88 percent of youth from evangelical homes abandon their faith after just one year in secular college. By high school, nearly 30 percent of seniors completely dismiss religion as important to their lives. In barely 13 years of public ministry, Kirk built what would become the largest conservative youth organization in America, Turning Point U.S.A., and helped untold numbers of young people recognize that eternal truth, not cultural lies, were the key to creating a life of purpose and joy. His assassination in Utah revealed something the secular world cannot comprehend: Charlie Kirk’s greatest victory was not political but spiritual. He reversed the tide of apostasy by raising a generation unashamed of the Gospel.” Charlie Kirk didn’t win young hearts with entertainment. He won them with truth, God’s eternal truth. While youth pastors and well-meaning Christian leaders rely on games, gatherings, pizza parties, and “youth activities,” Kirk armed himself with two millennia of Christian thought. He put Aquinas in young hands as a counter to Marx. He taught Augustine as they faced Nietzsche. He knew the battle for souls begins with ideas, not entertainment. Kirk understood that America’s founding principles drew from the well of the Reformation and true Protestantism. The ideas about Christian faith proclaimed by the preachers of the Great Awakening were an exposition of Biblical truth. This was not abstract theory; it was the theological foundation that shaped Christian civilization. Kirk knew young warriors needed to understand their heritage before they could defend it. Walker wrote, “The secret to Kirk’s boldness lay in his spiritual disciplines. Kirk’s pastor and friend David Engelhardt captured the essence of his faith by saying, ‘Faith wasn’t a garnish for him — it was central. He prayed at every meal, before every flight, and at every board meeting. This wasn’t religious theater. It was authentic dependence on the God he served. This prayer life was the wellspring of his courage.’ And as a result, students saw what unashamed Christianity looked like in daily life. Kirk showed that young people hungry for answers wanted to be fed rich and authoritative teaching from God’s Word. Instead of therapeutic deism, he offered biblical citizenship. Instead of avoiding cultural issues, he demonstrated how Scripture addresses immigration, economics, gender, and governance.” Charlie Kirk may not have realized it, but he was wearing the mantle of Martin Luther! He embraced the Word of God for what it is, the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of the Living God. Like Martin Luther, 500 years before him, Charlie Kirk loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and he wanted the world to know the truth of the holy Gospel. Why is the Reformation still important in our day? It is still important because it is the continuing movement of God. The truths of the Reformation today, with the light of the Gospel, challenge and dispel the darkness of evil, wickedness, and sin! Read carefully the familiar words of Luther that we are so accustomed to singing, “And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us; The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him. That word above all earthly pow’rs, no thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth; Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.” This is why the Reformation is still important in our day! Thanks be to God! Pastor Jim

Why is the Reformation Still Important in Our Day?

 

Rev. Dr. James L. Cavanah II, Pastor

 

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