A BRISK TOUR OF THE REFORMATION
Part 2 (MainFeatures of the Reformation)

The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is no doubt the greatestevent in the history of the Church after Pentecost. However, it must be bornein mind that this event is so great (in respect to the development of theChurch) only for the fact that the pre-Reformation Church had veered greatlyfrom what may be considered biblical Christianity. Indeed, the Reformation isso-called because, through it, the visible Church was literally re-formed. Astudy of the features of the Reformation is, therefore, an examination of theareas of the visible Church that are brought back to biblical Christianitythrough it. This second of our four-part series highlights what these areas are,and summarises the ways in which they are re-formed, so as to give anintroduction to what constitutes the Reformation. These areas will be examinedin two broad categories, namely, Doctrine and Practice.

Admittedly, the Reformation was not at all uniform. The Lutheran Reformationwas, for example, never complete because Luther rejected only what was directlyin conflict with the Word of God, believing that what is not explicitlyforbidden in the Word of God is lawful for the Church. Zwingli and Calvin howeverwent much further. They believe that only what is sanctioned in the Word of Godis allowed for the Church, especially in the areas of worship and churchgovernment. In this brief survey, it is not possible to enumerate all thefeatures while indicating the extent to which each feature was important to thevarious sectors of the Protestant Church. Rather, theapproach would be to highlight the major features regardless of whether theywere uniformly evident in all the groups.

Areas Pertaining to Doctrine

The key doctrinal features of the Reformation is best summarised in five Latinwatchwords: Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, SolaGratia, Solo Christo and Soli Deo Gloria.

Sola Scriptura

As it may be said that the seed of the Reformation firstbegan to germinate as Martin Luther began to read the Bible in the originallanguages, so it may also be said that the Reformation began to bloom fully asMartin Luther uttered those immortal words of his at the Diet of Worms in April1521:

Unless I am convinced by testimoniesof the Scripture or by clear arguments that I am in error—for popes andcouncils have often erred and contradicted themselves—I cannot withdraw, for Iam subject to Scriptures I have quoted; my conscience is captive to the Word ofGod.… Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. So help me God.

What Luther verbalised that day was but an eloquent expression of the mostfoundational principle of the Reformation. The Reformation was indeed whollyfounded on the Word of God only: Sola Scriptura! Allthe Reformers, like Luther, rejected the doctrines of tradition, councils andpopes, wherever they contradicted canonical Scripture, and conversely theysought to build every reformational principle they advocated from theScripture. This does not mean that the Reformers were individualistic andinnovative in their study of Scripture (as many who caricatures the doctrineof Sola Scriptura assert). Far from it! The Reformersrecognised that the Church is the “pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim3:15), and therefore they maintained high regards for the confessional andinterpretive consensus of the Church. However, they saw also that the Scripturealone is the perfect and sufficient final authority for all matters of faithand life. Therefore they rejected any interpretations of popes and councilswhich they understood to be either clearly contradicting the Scripture, or haveno basis in the Scripture.

Thus, the Reformation saw the rejection of many unbiblical Roman Catholicdoctrines, such as the existence of Purgatory and the doctrine ofTransubstantiation. Through the Scriptures, the Reformers also found that thereare only two, instead of seven, sacraments; and that there is no scripturaljustification for the clear distinction between clergy and laity; neither isthe veneration of Mary, saints and angels lawful. Neither is there any basisfor believing in the validity of an infallible apostolic succession. It was forthis reason that the Reformation was essentially anti-papacy.

Sola Gratia

While this aspect of the Reformation, like all otheraspects, may be seen as subordinate to the aspect just discussed, it is helpfulto examine it separately because this is an area that is practically denied inmany segments of Protestant Christianity today, with the infiltration ofArminianism into the Church. During the Reformation it was not so. All theReformers believed that sinners are justified (forensically declared righteousby God) and saved wholly by grace through faith. This aspect was the mostcharacteristic feature of the Lutheran Reformation, and was pronounced byLuther to be the article by which the church stands or falls.

Through the rediscovery of Augustinian theology, the Reformers unanimouslyagreed that man is totally depraved, and that apart from that grace of God allwould be lost. Works do not earn us any merit toward our salvation at all. Weare saved only by the grace of God: Sola Gratia!This high view of God, and our indebtedness to Him, together with the doctrineof the Sovereignty of God, form the basis of the Christian life of the believerunder the Reformation umbrella.

Sola Fide

Although accounts regarding Luther’s point of conversion toReformed doctrine vary, it is an undisputed fact that the words that had themost impact on him were: “The just shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17; Hab 2:4; Gal3:11; Heb 10:38). It was after a full realisation of the meaning of the versedawned upon him, that Luther began to repudiate the Romish doctrine that bothworks and faith are meritorious necessity for our salvation. If man is totallydepraved, how could any work be sufficient to merit his salvation? Even ourrighteous deeds are filthy rags in the sight of God (Isa 64:6)! But the justshall live by faith! We may be saved only because Christ lived a perfectlyrighteous life on our behalf, and then suffered and died in our place for oursin. We are saved, in other words, by Christ through His removal of ourdemerit, by His death and by His giving us His merits by His life. Our faithdoes not save us, though it is an instrumental means of our salvation. It is agift of God by which we are united to Christ. Works do not serve this purpose.Thus the Reformers insisted that we are saved by faith alone: solafide!

Luther’s attack against the sale of Indulgences in 1517 was based on thisdoctrine. This is hinted in the ninety-five Theses, which he posted on the doorof Wittenberg. For example, thesis thirty-six says: “Every Christian who feelstrue compunction has right of plenary remission of pain and guilt, even withoutletters of pardon [i.e., Indulgence]” (Schaff, History, 7.162[§32]).

The bearing of this doctrine on the Calvinistic and Zwinglian Reformation isthat the churches were brought back to New Testament simplicity where externalrituals and forms were mostly done away. However, the Reformers were alwayscareful to teach that good works follow regeneration. For example, in hisInstitutes,Calvin teaches that “free will is not sufficient to enable man to do goodworks, unless he be helped by grace, indeed by special grace, which the electreceive through regeneration” (ICR 2.2.6).

Solo Christo

While Sola Gratia and Sola Fide wereexplicitly published by the Reformers andSola Scriptura wasimplicitly advocated by their rejection of the infallibility of tradition,councils and popes, Solo Christo—Christ alone,—did not have anostentatious place in the history of the Reformation. The reason for this isnot that the Reformers were not Christocentric. They were; and eminently so!The reason is that Christocentricity is hard to measure and, in some sense, didnot occasion immediate changes in the lives of the people. Sola Gratia wroughthumility and gratitude, Sola Fide removed dependence onworks, Sola Scripturadislodged unbiblical traditions, whereas SoloChristo had no specific revolutionary influence apart from its effecton exegesis (all Scripture points to Christ) and exposition.

Nevertheless, Solo Christo is a very important reformationalprinciple which was especially developed by John Calvin, who says: “Christ isthe beginning, middle, and end—that it is from Him that all things must besought—that nothing is, or can be found, apart from Him” (Comm. onColossians 1:12). Elsewhere, Calvin writes:

When we see that the whole sum ofour salvation, and every single part of it, are comprehended in Christ, we mustbeware of deriving even the minutest portion of it from any other quarter. Ifwe seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that he possessesit; if we seek any other gifts of the Spirit, we shall find them in hisunction; strength in his government; purity in his conception; indulgence inhis nativity, in which he was made like us in all respects, in order that hemight learn to sympathise with us: if we seek redemption, we shall find it inhis passion; acquittal in his condemnation; remission of the curse in hiscross; satisfaction in his sacrifice; purification in his blood; reconciliationin his descent to hell; mortification of the flesh in his sepulchre; newness oflife in his resurrection; immortality also in his resurrection; the inheritanceof a celestial kingdom in his entrance into heaven; protection, security, andthe abundant supply of all blessings, in his kingdom; secure anticipation ofjudgement in the power of judging committed to him. In fine, since in him allkinds of blessings are treasured up, let us draw a full supply from him, andnone from any other quarter (ICR 2.16.19).

The Reformers, moreover, taught that there is only one mediator between God andman, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5). Therefore salvation is not to be foundthrough the Church. Man must go directly to God through Christ. The priests donot qualify to be mediators, neither do Mary and departed saints, and neitherdo angels: Solo Christo, Christ alone is themediator.

Calvin, furthermore, teaches that Christ is our mediator according to athreefold office of Prophet, Priest and King. As our Prophet, He reveals God’swill for our salvation; as Priest, He is both our propitiation and ourintercessor; and as King, He is our redeemer, defender and ruler (see WSC 23–26).The Lord Jesus Christ, in other words, is not merely a historical figure, butour all in all. And if we live and think , then every aspect of our liveswill be affected. We would live as did the Apostle Paul: “For to me to live isChrist, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). Solo Christo, as such, isthe unifying theme of the ministry of every of the magisterial Reformers.

Soli Deo Gloria

Like Solo Christo, Soli Deo Gloria—gloryto God alone,—was, in a sense, not a revolutionary principle or aprinciple that stands alone. However, it was a principle that had been eclipsedby the pomp and power of the papacy and of the Roman Church prior to theReformation.

It was because the Reformers saw that glory must be ascribed to God alone andthat God must be glorified according to His self-revelation and the means Hehas instituted, that they cared not to please men (Gal 1:10) as they sought tobring the Church back to biblical purity. We may say that it was the principleof Soli Deo Gloria that drove the Reformers on in their work.

Areas Pertaining to Practice

It must be noted that while Reformed churches saw practice as being necessarilyfounded on doctrine, this was often not the case with the Church before theReformation. The areas pertaining to practice that were re-formed during theReformation include church polity; worship and liturgy; and the use of theBible.

Church Polity

With the denial of a separate clerical class, the politicalstructure within the church logically also underwent a reformation. Althoughorganisation in the visible church was considered “necessary for efficientfunctioning,” it was not seen as necessary because the Church is the dispenserof divine grace. Moreover, the Reformers found no basis for the hierarchicalstructure of the Roman Catholic church. Therefore, they generally, did awaywith much of the complexity of the papal system. However, neither Luther norZwingli restored the church organisation according to the apostolic model. Itwas Calvin who fought strongly for, and attempted to implement, anecclesiastical system based upon apostolic directives found in the Scriptures.

The church, moreover, was thought of as a community of believers rather than ahierarchy of officials. It is not so much an organisation as a living body (1Cor 12:12).

A person is saved when he is united with Christ and so becomes a member of theinvisible Church. His salvation is quite independent of his membership in thevisible church.

Worship and Liturgy

Another important feature of the Reformation was the changein the manner of worship and the use of liturgy. The Reformed churchesgenerally went back to the simplicity of the apostolic churches. In the firstplace, the use of images was banned in the churches. Secondly, with thepossible exception of the Lutheran church, the use of Liturgy was kept to theminimal. The Mass was abolished and the number of sacraments was brought downto the biblical pair—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Thirdly, the services wereconducted in the vernacular languages of the congregations. And fourthly,preaching was given central place. Finally, congregational singing was alsointroduced into the church. But strikingly, the Calvinistic church, in contrastto the Lutheran church, sang generally psalms, and that without musicalaccompaniment, for Calvin was convinced that:

Musical instruments in celebratingthe praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, thelighting up of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law (Comm. onPsalm 33:2).

Secular vs. Clerical Distinction

The Roman Catholic church taught that there is a separateclass of people akin to the priests of the Old Testament, who are to act asmediators between God and man. Thus there was a sharp distinction between theclergy (priesthood) and the laity. The Reformers, on the other hand, arguedfrom Scripture that there is no place for such a distinction in the Gospel. Thepriesthood of the Old Testament was a shadow of the priesthood of Christ, whichceased with the completion of the sacrifice of Christ (Heb 10:1, 12). Today,believers are a “royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9) on account of our union withChrist, and Christ is our only mediator (1 Tim 2:5).

There is, therefore, no longer any division between the clergy and the laity.The call of God for persons to serve as ministers of the Gospel is unique inthat it is mediated through the church, and involves unique spiritual gifts.However, they are not the only ones who are called. God calls people intodifferent occupations, be they in the ministry of the Word, or in ‘secular’vocations, such as farming, teaching, studying, engineering, soldiering orhomemaking (1 Cor 7:20). Each believer is serving the Lord Christ when heheartily performs, as unto the Lord, all that is his duty according to hisvocation which God has called him unto by His providence (Col 3:23–24).

Use of the Bible

The Bible (through the principle of Sola Scriptura)was not only the basic doctrinal foundation of the Reformation, it also becameone of the most important features in the lives of the Reformed believers. Inline with the teaching of the priesthood of believers, it became necessary tomake the Bible available to everyone. As a result, in every Reformed sector,the Bible was translated into the vernacular language. Luther completed histranslation of the New Testament into German in 1522. By 1532, the OldTestament was completed. The French translations came by way of the humanistJacques Lefèvre d’Etaples in 1523 (NT) and 1528 (OT), as well as by PierreRobert Olivetan, Calvin’s cousin, in 1535. The first English New Testament waspublished in 1525 by William Tyndale. The complete English Bible was the MileCoverdale’s Bible in 1535.

With the authority of traditions and of the papacy removed, and the Bible,widely read, the Bible became the sole authority on all matters of theChristian life to the Reformers and their congregations. Though all branches ofProtestantism very quickly saw the necessity of writing confessions andcatechisms for the more systematic instruction of the members of the church, aswell as to maintain unity within the churches, these creeds were ostensiblyfounded upon the Scripture and, whenever possible, used the phraseology of theScriptures. And where these creeds were adopted by the churches asauthoritative, they were seen as subordinate standards of the churches whichderived their authority from the Scripture where the Scripture is faithfullyinterpreted. In other words, the Scripture remains the sole authority.

Conclusion

This article is but a very brief survey of the doctrinal and practical featuresof the Reformation in the areas where it affects the church as well as theChristian life. We have not even touch on its effect on culture and society.But I believe it is not difficult to see that it is indeed the most remarkableevent in the history of the Church. It is, as we can see, much more than abreaking of the shackles of Rome.It was almost a rediscovery of biblical Christianity altogether. It would dowell for the modern believers to look back, to see our roots; and to see howfar we have deviated from the biblical ideals for which our Reforming Fatherspaid with their lives—whether it be by the martyr’s death as Zwingli, or thedeath of one worn out by constant toil and labour as Calvin. May the Lord whomade the Reformation possible be our help! Amen.

—J.J. Lim