The Reformation’s Reverberations

    500 years ago this week – October 31, 1517 – an obscure monk in a backwater university town in Germany posted a list of points for academic debate that kicked off a theological and political revolution. The implications of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses echo on down the corridors of time to our own day.
    Medieval society was locked into tyrannies of various forms: corruption in the Roman Catholic Church resulted in people of all classes being bilked of their limited resources by paying “indulgences” in hopes that deceased loved ones would thus be spared years of punishment in purgatory. Churchgoers were encouraged to venerate relics purported to be associated with saints, and to undertake harrowing pilgrimages, in hopes of accumulating merit that would aid their souls. Political leaders ruled by force in a system of feudalism that kept the majority oppressed and landless at the bottom of the social order.
    The Protestant Reformation (as it became known) changed all that. Martin Luther’s ideas became wildly popular and spread broadly thanks to Gutenberg’s newly-invented printing press. Luther translated the original Biblical languages into a new German Bible that common people could read for themselves, thus encouraging basic literacy and a common point of reference for morality – by which even rulers could be held to account. The democracy that we enjoy today became a possibility.
    There were notable gains for women, too. A female colleague comments, “The Reformation freed us from the misogyny that plagued the medieval Catholic church. It was a significant step on a journey that has made it possible for us as women to be where we are today: active, respected contributors in our homes, the church, and wherever we dream of walking.”
    As the Reformation progressed and matured, five Latin phrases emerged which came to summarize the proponents’ main contentions. How do each of these compare with the ideologies of our own day? How might 21st-century Canadian culture use these to critique its own sometimes unspoken ultimate goals and implicit assumptions? In what ways do these call us to review our own chief purposes and aims in life?
    “Soli Deo Gloria” – we live for the glory of God alone. Mantras in culture might be, “Live for the moment”; “Do whatever turns your crank”; YOLO - “You Only Live Once”; “Get all you can, while you can”; and, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Advertising morphs us into a fundamentally selfish society, seeking our maximum pleasure through buying the latest gadget or personally-enhancing product. But (as Justin Holcomb explains) the Reformers maintained: “God’s glory is the central motivation for salvation... God is not a means to an end—he is the means and the end. The goal of all of life is to give glory to God alone: ‘Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 10:31).” We find our ultimate purpose, and life’s true meaning, in reference to God, not ourselves.
    “Solus Christus” – Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Saviour, and King. Modern society touts the “self-made man”; naturalism tells us “big fish eat little fish” so in our closed system, the way to get ahead is to promote yourself, work hard, put in long hours, and maybe someday you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately many climb the ladder of success only to find it leaning against the wrong wall. That amounts to a life misspent. By contrast, the Reformers understood: “God has given the ultimate revelation of himself to us by sending Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15). Only through God’s gracious self-revelation in Jesus do we come to a saving and transforming knowledge of God.” (Holcomb) We can’t save ourselves or go it alone: bottom line – we need Jesus.
    “Sola fide” / “Sola gratia”: we are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ; and, we are saved by the grace of God alone. Our capitalist society puts much stock in the work world – accumulating assets, putting in long hours, clambering your way up the corporate ladder... often at tremendous cost to family relationships and personal health. When people toil for years and fail to achieve goals they’d hoped for, despair and disillusion may set in, tempting them to anaesthetize their emptiness or anomie by substance abuse or self-harm. But the Reformers held that good works (such as climbing up the steps of St. Peter’s on your knees) are not the way to get Brownie points with God. It has to be by faith, simply trusting God and accepting His free gift through Jesus’ own work at the cross. As Ephesians 2:8-9 puts it, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
    Humanism paints an optimistic, rosy picture of human nature – one that is betrayed by the tragic conflicts and genocides of the 20th century. By way of juxtaposition, Holcomb notes: “As humans, we inherited (from our ancestor Adam) a nature that is enslaved to sin. Because of our nature, we are naturally enemies of God and lovers of evil. We need to be made alive (regenerated) so that we can even have faith in Christ. God graciously chooses to give us new hearts so that we trust in Christ and are saved through faith alone.”
    The fifth ‘sola’ – “Sola Scriptura”: The Bible alone is our highest authority. Modern mantras are, “Be your own boss,” “Make your own rules,” “Don’t let anyone tell you what to do,” “Might makes right.” Respect for those in positions of authority has plummeted: teachers struggle to cope with rowdy students; police forces clash with protesters; criminals target unsuspecting homeowners even on the backroads of Huron County. Anarchy is on the rise, as people’s capacity for submission to proper authority diminishes. The Reformers, though, held that civic and ecclesiastical authorities can be held accountable to God’s truth revealed in the Bible. As the common German peasant heard Luther’s Bible preached, s/he came to understand that even the Pope would someday have to answer to God, and certain long-held ecclesiastical practices were misguided.
    As Justin Holcomb writes, “The Scriptures are our ultimate and trustworthy authority for faith and practice. This doesn’t mean that the Bible is the only place where truth is found, but it does mean that everything else we learn about God and his world, and all other authorities, should be interpreted in light of Scripture. The Bible gives us everything we need for our theology. Every word of the 66 books of the Bible is inspired by God’s Holy Spirit.” Or as the Apostle Paul wrote to his protege Timothy, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...”
    The reverberations of the Reformation begun five centuries ago continue to echo through time and challenge our latest idolatries and distorted values, calling us to re-evaluate in light of what really matters eternally.

Plowing of the Soul

My father Norman Dow demonstrating use
of a walking plow at a local plowing match.

The 100^th International Plowing Match happening nearby in Walton has captured the attention of many in our area this month. I have memories of attending the IPM as a child along with our farming family – some of those memories muddier than others! My father in his nursing home room has proudly on display a trophy he won 70 years ago in the 1947 IPM as a young farmer starting out post-war at the age of 27. (That was with horses.) And about 40 years ago, in 1987 as a young pastor starting out on St. Joseph Island, I was privileged to place first (with a tractor) at a local plowing match. What can I say – it was a small class!

Plowing is a skill that involves three aspects that have significance in the spiritual domain. It is an inversion of the soil. It requires careful regulation of depth. And prize-winning plowing necessitates maintaining a painfully straight direction.

First, plowing is fundamentally an inversion of the soil, turning it upside-down so the nutrients that have sunk to lower depths, perhaps leached down by rainfall, are brought back up to the surface where the next crop of plants can use them. This action of inverting the soil also helps aerate it and loosen its texture, making it easier for roots to penetrate.

In the spiritual realm, plowing corresponds to repentance and confession of sin. Repentance is an upheaval, an about-turn in our spiritual orientation. About 600 B.C. Jeremiah prophesied to the people of Jerusalem and Judah, “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns.” (Jer.4:3) He was not talking about agriculture! Context shows God was calling people to do an about-face, to return to Him and abandon the detestable idols they had been worshipping. The Lord was calling them to a spiritual revolution, to circumcise their hearts and turn from their evil ways (v.4).

Similarly, when Jesus began His earthly ministry, His opening words were a call for people to invert themselves in terms of outlook and commitment. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) What infertile ‘hardpan’, prejudices, and indifference have we allowed to creep into our lives?

Second, plowing requires careful setting of the equipment’s depth of cut. Usually a competitor will make some practice strokes on a nearby patch of ground to set the plow before beginning on the official plot. Set it too shallow and the furrows won’t be wide enough; set it too deep and you may bury the plow!

Spiritually, genuine repentance leads to the practice of confession. Jesus emphasized the importance of confession by anchoring it squarely at the heart of The Lord’s Prayer. “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12) Or as many of us were taught, “Forgive us our trespasses...” Coming before a holy infinitely pure and righteous God, we are reminded of our impurity, the many ways we have fallen short.

Our trashy behaviour. One four-year-old boy misheard the Lord’s Prayer, and so came to recite his own slightly modified version: “And forgive us our trash-baskets, as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.” Sin does treat others in trashy manner, doesn’t it? Paul urged the church, “Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13)

Repentance means we go into sufficient depth about our sin during our prayer of confession to ‘make it real’. No vague skimming the surface! Thomas Watson observed, “A child of God will confess sin in particular; an unsound Christian will confess sin by wholesale – he will acknowledge that he is a sinner in general.”

Plowing of the soul involves inversion; requires depth; and, third, it involves going straight. A championship plower picks a distant object on the horizon and keeps their tractor pointed at it so their furrows end up arrow-straight, and absolutely parallel to one another. It could spell catastrophe to look back too often and let the tractor begin to swerve even a hair. Jesus alluded to the recognized need for straightness in plowing when He said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

Spiritually speaking, when it comes to the discipline of repentance and confession, the distant point of reference on the horizon has to be God, rather than any compelling goal the world may offer. Confession fundamentally is not just being sorry for the consequences when I’ve messed up: true confession is to agree with God’s appraisal of the evilness and wickedness of my sin – the bankruptcy of my very nature, which inclines to do wrong all too readily.

Hosea about 700 B.C. prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel about how their actions were off-kilter compared to God’s holy standards. “I will drive Ephraim, Judah must plow, and Jacob must break up the ground. Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” (Hosea 10:11f) It is not enough just to be uprooting and plowing: we need to actively seek the Lord in order to understand His guidance for how to live each day, to discover His direction for righteousness. The Holy Spirit through the inspired writing of the Bible is our roadmap providing necessary direction and orientation to ‘true north’.

This past Sunday at the Christian Reformed Church in Blyth, a student from the Teen Challenge Farm near London shared a confession relating to a painful uprooting in his life. A First Responder, he was deeply affected when a female victim of a car crash died in his arms. Developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he lost his job, turned to alcohol to numb the pain, and eventually was divorced by his wife. When he bottomed out, he acknowledged his addiction and entered the program at Teen Challenge. He graduates later this month and was happy to report he has been able to reconcile with his wife! But apart from repentance and the Lord’s re-direction, the story might have had an outcome that was much more grim.

So, keep plowing with eternal perspective! Undertake the moral upheaval of repentance. Go deep in your confession – don’t just skim the surface. And develop spiritual insight through learning God’s ways in order to stay heaven-focused and not swerve from His righteous leading.