Happy Reformation Day!

          Today is Halloween, and many folks will be celebrating by dressing up in
     costumes, and partying, while the kids are trick or treating.

          However, there's another reason, a much more important reason, for Christians
     around the world to celebrate this day -- it's Reformation Day.

          495 years ago, Martin Luther, a German monk, posted his 95 Theses onto a
     Wittenberg church door, protesting some of the beliefs and practices of the Roman
     Catholic church.  It served as an invitation to debate these issues, and it helped
     lead to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

          Huldreich Zwingli, a Swiss religious leader, and John Calvin, a French theo-
     logian, also had major influences, along with many others, on starting the Protestant
     Reformation.


                                                                 ********************


          There were three major principles of the Reformation:

     1. Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone)

         Scripture is considered the sole, infallible rule of faith for the Christian,
    and is "the only authority for the Christian in the matters of faith, life, and conduct."
                                                                          Theopedia


                                   "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful
                                    for teaching, rebuking, correcting and train-
                                    ing in righteousness, so that the man of God
                                    may be thoroughly equipped for every good
                                    work."
                                                                          2 Timothy 3:16-17


             "Paul affirms God's active involvement in the writing of Scripture,
     an involvement so powerful and pervasive that what is written is the
     infallible word of God."
                                                                          NIV Commentary


                                  "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of
                                   Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpre-
                                   tation.  For prophecy never had its origin in the will
                                   of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried
                                   along by the Holy Spirit."
                                                                           2 Peter 1:20-21


               "In the production of Scripture both God and man were active partici-
     pants.  God was the source of the content of Scripture, so that what it says is
     what God has said.  But the human author also actively spoke; he was more
     than a recorder.  Yet what he said came from God.  Although actively speak-
     ing, he was carried along by the Holy Spirit."
                                                                            NIV Commentary


     2. Sola Fide (by faith alone)

         This is the view that "we are justified before God (and thus saved) by faith alone,
     not by anything we do, not by anything the church does for us, and not by faith
     plus anything else.  It is anchored by the broader principle of Sola Gratia (by grace
     alone)."
                                                                            Theopedia


                            "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --
                             and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not
                             by works, so that no one can boast."
                                                                            Ephesians 2:8-9


                            "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart
                             from observing the law."
                                                                            Romans 3:28


                           "So we too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may
                             be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law,
                             because by observing the law no one will be justified."
                                                                             Galatians 2:16b


                           "You who are trying to be justified by law have been
                             alienated from Christ, you have fallen away from
                             grace.  But by faith we eagerly await through the
                             Spirit the righteousness for which we hope."
                                                                             Galatians 5:4-5


                           "Clearly no one is justified before God by the law,
                             because, 'The righteous will live by faith.' "
                                                                            Galatians 3:11


     3. The Priesthood of all believers

         "Scripture teaches that believers are a 'holy priesthood.' 

                            "As you come to him, the living Stone -- rejected
                             by men but chosen by God and precious to Him --
                             you also, like living stones, are being built into a
                             spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering
                             spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
                             Jesus Christ."
                                                                          1 Peter 2:4-5


          "All believers are priests before God through our great High Priest
     Jesus Christ.  As believers, we alll have direct access to God through
     Christ, so there is no necessity for an earthly mediator."
                                                                         Theopedia


                             " ... You have come to God, the judge of all men,
                               to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to
                               Jesus the mediator of a new covenant ..."
                                                                         Hebrews 12:23b-24a


                            "But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior
                             to theirs (earthly high priests) as the covenant of
                             which He is mediator, is superior to the old one,
                             and it is founded on better promises."
                                                                        Hebrews 8:6
                            
                                                                       
          Jesus interceded for His people only, and not for the rest of the world.


                            (Jesus said), "For I gave them the words you gave me
                            and they accepted them.  They knew with certainty
                            that I came from you, and they believed that you sent
                            me.  I pray for them.  I am not praying for the world,
                            but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
                           All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.  And
                           glory has come to me through them."
                                                                         John 17:8-10


           Jesus interceded for those who would believe in Him.


                          "My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those
                           who will believe in me through their message, that all
                           of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and
                           I am in you."
                                                                         John 17:10-21a

         

          "Evangelical Protestants see the Reformation as simply a call back to
     biblical Christianity."
                                                                     Theopedia


          Reformation Day -- a day to remember what God has done for those
     who love Him.