The Reformation

Order of Service

• Prayer of Invocation
• Lesson

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Sermon Title: The Reformation — Scripture, Faith, and the Priesthood of All Believers

Scripture: Romans 1:16-17

I. Justification by Faith Alone — Sola Fide

A. The key verse: Romans 1:16-17

1. Luther's "tower experience" — struggling with God's righteousness as condemnation, then discovering it as a gift bestowed on believers
2. Luther: "The righteousness of God is a gift of God by which a righteous man lives, that is faith"
3. Direct contrast to Catholic teaching: salvation as synergy of faith, sacramental grace, and meritorious works
4. Augsburg Confession Article 4: men cannot be justified by their own strength, merits, or works but freely through faith for Christ's sake
5. Calvin: faith is the instrument by which we receive Christ, in whom our righteousness resides
6. Historical impact: subverted the penitential system, delegitimized the sale of indulgences

B. Reinforcing verses: Romans 3:28 and Galatians 2:16

1. Luther wrote sola (alone) in the margin of his Bible next to Romans 3:28
2. Calvin: justification is a legal declaration whereby God imputes Christ's righteousness — not by infusion or human achievement
3. Westminster Confession Article 11: faith is the alone instrument of justification; Christ's righteousness imputed to the believer
4. Sharp differentiation of Protestant and Catholic soteriologies: gracious declaration vs. progressive transformation via sacraments

C. Ephesians 2:8-9 — grace, not works

1. Explicit refutation of works-based salvation; cited in both Lutheran and Reformed declarations
2. Both Luther and Calvin stressed the unmerited, unconditional, gracious nature of salvation
3. Both the Augsburg and Westminster Confessions build their doctrine of justification on this passage

D. Imputed righteousness — Romans 4:5, Philippians 3:8-9, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

1. Faith counted as righteousness — not by works but by trust in the one who justifies the ungodly
2. Paul's goal: to be found in Christ, "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law"
3. The great exchange: God made Christ to be sin so that we might become the righteousness of God
4. Calvin: justification is sheer gift, not acquisition; warned against blending faith and works

II. Scripture Alone — Sola Scriptura

A. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 — the God-breathed sufficiency of Scripture

1. Luther at the Diet of Worms: "My conscience is captive to the word of God" — neither pope, council, nor tradition determines Christian truth
2. Calvin: Scripture carries its own evidence, confirmed by the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit, not by churchly endorsement
3. Calvin in the Institutes: "We owe to the Scripture the same reverence which we owe to God, because it has proceeded from him alone"
4. Both Augsburg and Westminster Confessions cite 2 Timothy 3:16 to establish Scripture as sufficient and authoritative for all matters of faith and life

B. Acts 17:11 — the Berean model

1. The Bereans examined the Scriptures daily to test what they were taught
2. Reformers invoked the Bereans as the ideal: church hierarchy could be questioned; doctrine weighed by ordinary reading of Scripture
3. Democratized theology; fostered a culture of lay Bible study

C. The vernacular revolution

1. Luther (German, 1522), Tyndale (English, 1526), the Geneva Bible (1560) — broke the monopoly of the Latin Vulgate
2. The printing press (Gutenberg) was the catalyst for mass distribution
3. Catholic Church resisted translations, citing risk of doctrinal chaos
4. The Book of Concord alone references the Bible more than 1,700 times

III. The Priesthood of All Believers

A. 1 Peter 2:9 and Revelation 1:6

1. Luther: "All Christians are truly of the spiritual estate and there is no difference among them save of office alone"
2. Direct access to God in prayer and Scripture needed neither priest nor sacrament as mediatorial necessity
3. Calvin: spiritual dignity, access, and responsibility belong to all believers — every Christian lives out a priestly vocation in holiness and service
4. Validated lay reading of Scripture, reception of grace, and participation in the life of the church

B. Old Testament grounding: Exodus 19:6 and Hebrews 4:14-16

1. Israel called to be a kingdom of priests — fulfilled and universalized in the new covenant
2. Christ as the true and final high priest: direct access to the throne of grace
3. Augsburg Confession: bishops are stewards of the word, not holders of civil or sacramental power by right
4. Westminster Confession: all saints have communion in each other's gifts and graces

C. Historical and social impact

1. Undercut the sacramental monopoly of clergy and the elaborate Roman Catholic hierarchy
2. Spurred the rise of literacy and education among the laity — the Bible was the first textbook
3. Seeded later debates about lay ministry, the role of women, and democratic church governance
4. Led to the rise of denominations as each community staked its identity on scriptural interpretation

IV. Life in the Reformation Era — A Snapshot of 1521

A. Political and legal pressures

1. The Diet of Worms (April–May 1521): refusal to recant risked imperial outlawry
2. Papal bulls labeled critics as heretics, removing legal protections
3. Reformers depended on sympathetic princes for protection — Luther protected by Frederick the Wise

B. Personal security and daily life

1. Luther hidden in Wartburg Castle after Worms; used the time to translate the New Testament into German
2. Others fled across borders, living as refugee preachers or scholars
3. Risks included arrest, confiscation of property, and execution
4. Daily life combined Latin study, Scripture reading, sermon preparation, pastoral visits, and constant travel

C. The power of the printing press

1. Rapid distribution of pamphlets, sermons, and vernacular Bibles spread ideas beyond clerical circles
2. Urban artisans, students, and some nobles enthusiastically received reform ideas
3. Correspondence networks connected reformers, patrons, printers, and sympathizers across Europe

D. Key figures active in 1521

1. Martin Luther — condemned at Worms, taken into protective custody, continued prolific writing
2. Ulrich Zwingli — preaching reform in Zurich, engaging the city council
3. John Calvin — young scholar in France, becoming increasingly aware of reformed currents

V. Pre-Reformers and Those Who Carried the Reformation Forward

A. Precursors to Luther

1. John Wycliffe — worked to put Scripture into the vernacular
2. Jan Hus — preached reform of the church; burned at the stake; the Hussite Wars followed
3. Wessel Gansfort (Netherlands), Girolamo Savonarola (Italy)

B. The breadth of the Reformation across Europe

1. Luther (Germany), Zwingli (Switzerland), Martin Bucer (France/Strasbourg), William Tyndale (England), Philip Melanchthon (Germany), Calvin (France/Geneva)
2. Common reformation spirit across different cultures — evidence of God's sovereignty at work

C. The Puritans — carrying the Reformation forward

1. John Knox, Thomas Brooks, Richard Baxter, John Owen, Thomas Watson, John Flavel
2. Took Scripture and expounded it further, embedding reformational doctrine in confessional and pastoral literature