This week an important observance went virtually unnoticed, eclipsed by Hallowe’en, which has now become the second highest-grossing holiday of the year for retailers.  I am talking about Reformation Day, which is also on October 31.  On that day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the castle at Wittenburg (which is pronounced “Vittenburg”), listing the reasons that Dr. Luther was opposed to the church’s practice of selling indulgences.

It’s hard for you and me to imagine this today, but in the early 1500s, the church sold indulgences - basically the forgiveness of sins - like they were some sort of spiritual version of the “Get Out of Jail Free” card in a Monopoly game.  You could buy indulences for yourself if you were planning to sin, or you could buy them for loved ones who had passed away, in essence paying the church to bribe God into removing your loved one from purgatory and take them to heaven.  This wasn’t just a theological issue for the church, it was a practical and financial one. Indulgences were primarily used to pay for the construction of the massive St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Martin Luther never intended to start a new church or to break away from the Catholic church.  His intent was to reform the church, which is why the name of the event that he set into motion on October 31, 1517 is to this day called the Reformation.

As a result of his actions, Martin Luther was declared a heretic in 1521 and threatened with excommunication.  He was given the opportunity to “repent” and agree with the practice of selling indulgences.  This is what he said in response:

Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason and not by Popes and councils who have so often contradicted themselves, my conscience is captive to the word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I cannot and I will not recant. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.

We can learn a lot from the character and the actions of Martin Luther.  He was willing to literally put his life on the line to stand up for what he knew God’s Word said, even though that went against the accepted teaching of the church and the prevailing opinion of the day. 

When you think about it, it is somewhat ironic that Hallowe’en and Reformation Day fall on the same day.  (Of course Hallowe’en was originally All Hallow’s Eve, the day before All Saints Day, which has it’s origins in the martyrdom of the early church father Polycarp, but that is another post for another day.)

The Great Reformer had a lot to say on the subject of Spiritual Warfare, and none was more eloquent than his lyrics for the great old hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

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 powers, 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!

HT: Burleson