On the 31st of October
1517, 500 years ago, a Roman Catholic monk of the Augustinean order nailed
95 statements to the door of the castle - church in Wittenberg, Germany. These
95 theses were protests against the severe abuses of the Roman church under the
leadership of Pope Leo X.
One of the things that Luther protested against was the
"milking" of the German people by the Italian pope who wanted money
to build the very expensive St. Peter's basilica in Rome. This was done was by
the sale of indulgences in
conjunction with the so called doctrine of purgatory.[1] Indulgences were a kind of promissory note from the pope that the person that
purchased an indulgence would get their time in purgatory reduced.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory
as ‘a final cleansing of human
imperfections before one is able to enter the joy of heaven.’ We pray for the
souls in Purgatory, especially during the month of November, to help them pass
through to heaven faster than they would on their own.”
So, when a member of the Catholic Church[2]
dies he or she first goes to purgatory - an
intermediate state between earth and heaven.
Time in purgatory depends on the kind of life one has lived, whether one
went to church regularly, did good works etc., plus the prayer of the
living for the dead (especially in November[3])
to get them out there sooner. It
certainly is not marketed as a place where you want to be for a long time.
In Luther’s times the sale of indulgences for time off in purgatory was used to raise funds for
the pope’s extravagant building projects in Rome. Offering a financial way out of a guilty
conscience remains a favourite tool by spiritual manipulators in our own day. People
will spend a lot of money to relieve their guilty consciences. A Roman Catholic
monk called Johan Tetzel (1465 –
1519) drove the indulgence agenda of the Roman Catholic church in Germany. He marketed
the idea to ignorant and superstitious Germans and he coined the catch phrase, “As soon as the gold in the casket rings,
the rescued soul to heaven springs.” [4]
This was simply too much for Dr.Luther, a respected professor of the Catholic
church.
He said:
"before long all the churches, palaces, walls and bridges of Rome
will be built out of our money. First we should rear living temples, next local
churches, and only last of all St Peter's, which is not necessary for us. We German's
can't attend St Peter's… why doesn't the pope build the basilica out of his own
money? He is richer than Croesus. He would do better to sell St Peter's and
give the money to the poor folk who are being fleeced by the hawkers of
indulgences." [5]
Now this kind of sentiment expressed by Luther was shared by
many a German. In fact, the Italian leadership
in Rome did not think much of the Germans, and so when bishop Albert of Mainz
forwarded Luther's 95 theses to Rome, Pope Leo apparently said: "Luther is a drunken German. He will
feel different when he is sober!"
He made light of Luther. Luther in turn referred to the Pope as an anti-Christ because he believed that
term appropriate for anyone blocking people from freely coming to Christ without
money and price (Isa. 55:1).
Luther’s main concern with the Roman Catholic teaching of purgatory and
the sale of indulgences was that it undermined the free gift of God in
salvation. It undermined the definite work of Christ on the cross for sinners,
and therefore it is heretical. Clearly,
if you can save yourself from your sin in another way, then Christ’s death for
sin becomes just an option, or even worse, His death on the cross becomes
irrelevant. Imagine for a moment that you could buy your
way out of hell (or into heaven) by means of money! So Luther began to demonstrate from the Scriptures that salvation was
not something that could be given by human hands. The Scriptures clearly teaches
that Christ ALONE had secured the salvation of all who would come to Him. There can be no human aid or effort involved
in the work of true removal of our guilt and sin. Salvation is from Christ the
Lord ALONE. Substituting the work of
Christ for any other form of human scheming makes null the Word of God!
Now why do I tell you this story about pope, purgatory and
indulgences? I want show you that the problem and principle remain relevant
in our own day. Everything conspires
against the work of God in Christ for sinners. Everything conspires against that
which God has written for us in His holy Word. But
right now, I want to take you back to an example in the Bible in which biblical
principles of Reformation are clearly seen. In 2 Chronicles 34 we see what the rediscovery of an inspired
piece of Scripture does in its day, bringing about a profound transformation.
JOSIAH AND THE
REFORMATION : 2 Chronicles 34
34:1
“Josiah was 8 years old when he
began to reign…”. Our story begins with an 8 year old boy born to an evil
father Amon. Amon, his father was in fact assassinated by his servants after
only 2 years in office. (2 Chron.
33:21-25). Concerning Josiah[6]
we read that “while he was yet a boy, he
began to seek the God of David his
father, and in the 12th year
he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places…” (vv. 3-7). Note then firstly, that the little boy–king had an early God-
awareness, and it related to the faith of David, and we are told twice that he
walked in the ways of David, his father (and not of Amon).
In the first 7 verses we read of an outward, moral reformation in which all the foreign gods
and influences, undermining the faith and practise of Israel were removed under
Josiah’s direction. Now there are many important things that one wants to say
about Josiah, and I have been privileged to do some profitable reading
concerning the times in which Josiah ruled. Incidentally, the prophet Jeremiah[7]
prophesied concerning the impending doom of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile,
but he is not mentioned here. Yet from Jeremiah
22:15-16 we know that he commended Josiah (Jer.22:15) for his reforms.
The prophet Zephaniah also make mention of him (Zeph.1:1).
I simply
wish to focus on
Josiah’s attempts at reforming
the society of his day under the Word of God and the effects that this
had on his own generation.
Following the
first attempts at reforming the nation which had fallen into
deep sin as a result of the wicked reigns of Manasseh and Amon, in vv. 1-7, something deeper and
profounder happens in vv. 8- 33.
Josiah had given instructions to repair the temple, when in the process of the ‘clean–up’,
“the Book of the Law (TORAH)”, was
found in the temple (v.14). Thus
began a period of reform that lasted until the death of Josiah (v.33).
So what we see in vv.
22-33 is an earnest attempt to deal with the Word of God. I remind you that
at the heart of the Torah is the teaching found in Deuteronomy 5 and 6 - the Shema, the summary of the greatest
commandment in Deut. 6:1-9, as expounded in the 10
commandments of the preceding Chapter (Deut.
5:1-33). These two chapters have taught God’s people to
always love God supremely and from this, to also love our fellow man. To that
end we have been created to glorify God.
And it wasn’t happening in Israel. The Law of God was clearly forgotten,
and the regular worship of God in the
temple was neglected. The temple was in a bad state of repair. Evil and
idolatry flourished instead. And Josiah was greatly disturbed and he
understands the consequences as laid out in v.25. The young king’s
repentance brought about a word of
comfort by the prophetess Huldah, and with it
followed temporary reprieve and assurance from the Lord (vv.
27,28) and the subsequent reforms are recorded for us in verses
29-33.
At the heart of this
chapter we find that the
Book of the Covenant was read to all, both great and small (v.30). The covenant was reaffirmed, and
a new commitment was made to perform the words of the covenant, and the
results are seen in v.33.
Josiah was faithful in his day, and he really helped his own generation to fear
and obey the Lord. That, dear people is our great responsibility. Each generation needs reformation under the
Word of God. Each generation needs to be reminded anew
that we can only be saved from
our ongoing problem of sin and continual backsliding when we are brought under the Word of God which ALONE will save us. It alone
can restore health and healing to our
idolatrous society.
So what do we learn from Josiah’s and Luther’s Reformation ?
1. God must work by giving us a catalyst. God gave us
many catalysts in biblical history and church history. They were instruments of
bringing society back from the brink of spiritual apostasy followed by man made disaster. We have recently shared with you a cross section of Reformation
Cameos – people who were used by God as
catalysts in their respective environments, and often beyond. Pray that God would give us godly leaders, such as Josiah and Luther to lead us out of this
mess that was created by our fathers and
forefathers.
2. There needs to be a desire to see our environment reformed. It is
no good hearing the Bible read and explained, but nothing done about it. Josiah
and Luther worked hard to remove the idolatrous
stumbling blocks of the societies in their day and real change
followed.
3. Central to our Reforms needs to be
the Word of God. Note,
it is when the Word of God is read and
explained that deep-seated conviction occurs. The Reforms brought about by the Word of God need to
have the following effects :
· A real response to the Word of God- not just lip service.
· Real
repentance for our faithlessness to God and a real desire to go forward in
obedience. If we are never moved to change when reading the Bible, then let us
search our souls, and ask ourselves why we are not able to respond in
obedience.
· Real humility. We need to see ourselves as God sees us. The Bible helps us to maintain that perspective
that produces proper humility before God.
· Real Worship of God and Christ in the
Holy Spirit. Heartfelt, glad, habitual worship from a heart that has been set free
by God to serve Him, replacing the idol
worship (the replacement of God) in
which we have learned to indulge..
· Real Reformation for old and young. Josiah assembled both, the young and the old to hear the Word of God. Children must hear the Word . They must not be kept out of the church where the Word is preached. Pastors must learn to communicate the Word of God to young and old alike.
· Real comprehensive Reformation of society. Reformation brings about not only
spiritual changes, but moral changes, resulting in political and societal
changes. A great example of this is the 18th century Reformation
under the preaching of men like George Whitefield. In our own country the ministry
of a man like Martin Rautanen had a similar effect among the Oshiwambo people. Josiah saw this in his day. So did Luther. So did many others. Why not we? We have seen some very positive changes in our Baptist
Churches in Namibia. Let us call out to God for more substantial changes.
In Summary – the 5 SOLA’s
of the Reformation : A real Bible ; a real Christ ; real Grace , real
Faith – a God really glorified!
A Prayer : Psalm
85 :1-7
[1] http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm#III
1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified,
are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo
purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of
heaven. 1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final
purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of
the damned.
[2]
Any person baptised by the RC Church is considered a member , and
in their eyes this cannot be undone.
[3]
All Souls Day – 2st November : praying for all the souls that have
not yet reached heaven; All Saints Day on 1st November is celebrating those who have already entered into heaven.
[4] Altes Deutsch : “Sobald der Gülden im Becken klingt, im huy die Seel im Himmel springt“ [Hochdeutsch: “Sobald das Geld im Kasten klingt, die Seele in den Himmel
springt!“]
[5]
Roland Bainton: Here I stand, p.63 (Hendrickson Publishers)
[6] reigned
for thirty-one years, from 641/640 to 610/609 BC. He is also one of the kings
mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew
[7]
Jeremiah 1:1
