Grace Alone
Last month I wrote about the Reformation in terms of its effects on Christians today as its 500th anniversary approaches. I talked mostly about its importance to Germans, Lutherans, (German Lutherans) other protestants, and even Roman Catholics. I didn’t talk all that much about the theology behind the reformation though. Certainly there are a lot of parts to the Reformation. Some of them really have nothing to do with the church (i.e. the printing press being the first form of mass media, the relationship that the various rulers had with each other and with the Pope, etc.). For us, one of the most influential parts of the Reformation is the theology. Certainly as Lutherans we carry Luther’s name and we also carry his theology.
When one considers Luther’s impact on Christian theology, it is always good to remember that he did not set out to create a new or separate church body. Luther was a good Catholic who was interested in making the rest of the Church good Catholics too. He set out to help correct the church, to reform it. Not to leave it. However, due to the circumstances of the time, this was not possible and the Reformation has become known as the time when the Christian Church was split into multiple denominations. Luther first engaged his superiors over the issue of indulgences. Selling indulgences in exchange for the forgiveness of sins was an understandable money-maker for the Roman Catholic Church but this is not Luther’s chief concern. His argument was more theological. Could anyone, the Pope included, even provide what indulgences claimed to offer? It was possible to buy an indulgence that forgave you all of your sins and thus guaranteed your entrance to heaven. On October 31, 1517, Luther asked some questions about this. He asked if the Pope even had a storehouse of forgiveness to dish out to paying customers. If he did, why did he not forgive everyone for free? Why make poor people pay for forgiveness, more than that, potentially send them to hell if they could not?
This issue is the one that Luther and various representatives of the church would argue about in the early days of the Reformation. But it was really more of a jumping off point to a larger issue which was: How do people get to heaven in the first place? Do they get there by doing works, by being good, by helping others, by saying prayers (or buying indulgences)? Or do we go to heaven because Jesus died on the cross and won forgiveness for us?
If you have been a Lutheran for any length of time, I trust you know how Luther (and therefore, we) answer this question. We have salvation, we go to heaven, because Jesus died and rose to earn it for us. He gives it to us free of charge. We do not have, nor are we able, to add anything to Jesus’ work. This is the essential difference between Lutheran Theology and Roman Catholic Theology (and most other Christian Theology as well for that matter). Relying solely on God’s grace for our salvation is the touchstone of Reformation theology.
This month, as we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, rest at ease knowing that you are not asked to do things in order to earn your salvation. You get to go to heaven for free. You get to go because of God’s grace, because of what He has done for you. And because of the Reformation you get to hear that gospel message in church every week.
~ Pastor Mehl