Reformation Day: Semper Reformanda

October 31st, 1517, a day that changed the world. Though, on that specific day, there was nothing truly extraordinary that took place. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. Announcements, invitations, and the like were often nailed to the door.

Luther wanted a debate, an academic exercise. He wasn’t looking to change the world. But those 95 Theses sparked a flame that could not be extinguished. He directly attacked the Catholic Church and the Pope. He challenged their authority. He challenged their doctrine. He challenged their power.

But Luther wasn’t even trying to be disrespectful. He was hoping to change the church, yes, but to change it from within. He did not expect the firestorm that would follow. He did not expect to be kicked out of the church he had been faithfully serving.

Luther would spend the following years in a state of turmoil but also faithful preaching. His story has many facets that we will not explore today. But Luther, unknowingly, changed the world on that day.

So what does Reformation Day mean for us now?

The Reformers had a saying, Semper Reformanda, always reforming. The church is made up of fallible, sinful human beings. Because of this, the church is prone to fall into error. Not necessarily an intentional fall, but a fall nonetheless.

The idea of always reforming means the church always will be in need of faithful men to faithfully preach the Word of God and to point us back to the truth of the Scriptures in the face of social and moral decline. And we need those voices in the church today.

As we continue to see the moral decline here in the United States with the LGBT Movement, abortion, destruction of the family, political strife, and more, we see the church falling into these traps as well. The church is leaving the faithful doctrine of the Word of God. May faithful men step up to the plate and preach the word. Men who will not preach only what people want to hear (2 Timothy 4:3) but will preach the truth with authority (2 Timothy 4:2). May we be sober-minded, enduring the suffering that will come with this task (2 Timothy 4:5). And, as always, Semper Reformanda.