The Legacy of the Reformation
By Dr. Timothy C. Tennent
On October 31, 2017, we will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The legacy of the Reformation is profound and has resulted in over a billion new Christians around the world. The Reformation was, among many things, a major new church planting movement which created thousands of new faith communities encircling the globe. Throughout history, a repeated theme is that when the church goes through a crisis, it often spawns fresh re-discovery of the gospel message which, in turn, unleashes bold new evangelism and church planting.
The question I want to address in this LINK article is this: Is the story of the Reformation the story of a cataclysmic division in the life of the church demonstrating that Christians can’t get along and see themselves as “better together?” Or, is the Reformation about preserving the unity of the church and the re-discovery of that ancient apostolic faith? I want to say that the Reformation was, in the final analysis, about catholicity, or church unity, not about division. Of course, from a structural, ecclesiastical perspective, we had a Roman Catholic Church and after the Reformation we had several new branches, including Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican and Anabaptist. This, in turn, has led to a narrative that the Reformation was about schism, unbridled individuality, secularization, and so forth.
However, the Protestant Reformers believed they were contending for “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) and recovering the gospel that some were “so quickly deserting” (Gal. 1:6). The reformers believed their efforts to be both catholic and evangelical. They believed that they were acting on behalf of the whole church and for the sake of the integrity of the gospel. To argue for the sole sufficiency of Christ for salvation is not a sectarian schism, but a contending for the apostolic gospel. The Reformers’ protest against the Roman Catholic Church was not against the concept of catholicity per se, only the unwarranted dogmas based on an appeal to authoritative Roman tradition rather than Scripture. What protests the Reformers made were ultimately lodged on behalf of the one holy, catholic and apostolic church. It is also important to remember that the Reformation sparked the Counter-Reformation within the Roman Catholic Church, which addressed many of the abuses that gave rise to the Reformation in the first place. There remain important differences, but we should thank God for the renewal that did take place, which has enabled, for example, over 1 billion Catholic Christians to read the Bible in their own language, or the Eucharist cup to be given to the laity, and so forth.
How does this apply to today? On the one hand, it is schismatic to contend for new doctrinal innovations which have never been believed or affirmed by the church of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, it is a sign of catholicity to contend for the faith “once for all delivered unto the saints.” A return to apostolicity is always an affirmation of catholicity. It also results in fresh evangelism and church planting. Hundreds of Protestants around the world have joined together in a common confession to demonstrate our deeper unity, despite our real differences. The confession can be found here.
As Methodists, we are rooted in the Anglican tradition. We should never forget that hundreds of our forefathers and foremothers in the faith were burned at the stake for the Apostolic faith. It was said at the time that they were burned for being schismatic. But, looking back, they were actually put to death because of their deeper catholicity to the apostolic message. During the short reign of Mary I, over 300 Protestants were burned at the stake. Anglicans particularly remember the Oxford martyrs: all bishops, who were burned at the stake, including Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley and Thomas Cranmer (the compiler of the Book of Common Prayer). These three died for sola fide (faith alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola scriptura (Scripture alone), and sola gratia (grace alone). They died for the deeper catholicity to which we have all been summoned by Christ. May we never forget.
Dr. Tennent,
I appreciate that you mentioned the “solas”, the basis of the Reformation (don’t forget Sola Gloria was part of that). But what you see as “renewal” is curious. The Counter-Reformation by the RCC between 1545 and 1564 did not enable Catholics to read the Bible or receive the Cup – that came about with Vatican II. However, even though Catholics are encouraged to read the Bible, Dei Verbum affirmed, also at Vatican II, that the task of interpreting the Word of God authentically, has been entrusted solely to the Magesterium of the RCC (Catechsim #100). And what good is having the “Cup” when the “meaning” of the RCC “Cup” is contrary to Scripture.
Insightful; indeed Reformation was very much a contention for catholicity in the Apostolic Faith and not schism, as the world the world is made to erroneously believed. Push for unity is not uniformity at all cost. After all, there is unity in the grave yard but it is dead unity. Unity of the church is indeed doctrinal; contending for the Apostolic Faith, once delivered (Jude 3).
Insightful; indeed Reformation was very much a contention for catholicity in the Apostolic Faith and not schism, as the world the world is made to erroneously believed. Push for unity is not uniformity at all cost. After all, there is unity in the grave yard but it is dead unity. Unity of the church is indeed doctrinal; contending for the Apostolic Faith, once delivered (Jude 3).
Thank You!
Alec Ryrie has written a colossal new book titled Protestants. He covers Protestantism from Luther’s protest, to England, new America, South Africa, Germany and Korea. What deeply affected me was the tens of thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of Christians being killed by Christians. It was a shock to my spiritual senses to see how many believers were so insensitive to the Great Comnandments concerning Christian love. A book worth reading and would love to discuss this somewhere in the future.