Reformation Day

Tomorrow is October 31, which most Americans know as Halloween. But there is another holiday that shares this date: Reformation Day. In this post, I decided to write about the history of Reformation Day.  

 

Who was Martin Luther? 

Martin Luther was a monk in the Catholic church. He grew up in modern-day Germany. He joined the monastery because he was afraid of death and divine judgment. Devoting himself to hours of prayer, Bible study, and confession of sins, Luther attempted to use works to make himself right with God. In 1512, he received a doctorate from the university at the Wittenberg Monastery.  

Why did his views change? 

After receiving his doctorate, Luther began to teach at the university. He taught mainly from Romans, Hebrews, Psalms, and Galatians. While studying these, he began to notice the theme of salvation through faith alone, by grace. This was shocking to him since he came from a background where penance and indulgences were considered necessities for salvation. After studying these books in the Bible, Martin Luther believed that they taught that salvation is a gift from God only and we are not able to earn it (or lose it) simply by our works. 

What was the Reformation?
As Luther felt more strongly about this, he became more outraged at indulgences. He believed that nowhere does the Bible command us to do penance and that only God can grant the forgiveness of sin. Thus, in 1517, he wrote the Ninety-Five Theses. In these theses, he argued that God grants forgiveness based on inward spiritual repentance rather than outward sacraments. He is said to have hammered a list of his theses to the door of the Castle Church on October 31, 1517, starting the Reformation. His beliefs that Scripture, not the pope, is authoritative, and that justification is by faith alone, not works, led him to be excommunicated in 1521.  

 

That’s a brief history of the origins of Reformation Day! Let tomorrow be a day not just filled with spooky skeletons and creepy cats, but a day of reflection on the revolution in scriptural doctrine that Martin Luther started.