On Friday, many people, especially children, will dress up and collecting candies from door-to-door. People look like the characters they see in the movies or TV shows. It can be scary or entertaining.
For Christians, however, October 31st is a sweeter treat than Halloween candy. Christians do have a "day" to celebrate. It is a significant day that we can never forget and take for granted. October 31st is indeed Reformation Day. This day commemorates an event that struck Wittenburg (Germany) with a hammer bang on the church door by a man named Martin Luther.
Luther confronted the issues that the Roman Catholic Church was doing for the lay people who had no access to the Bible. The Catholic church was promoting this false teaching called indulgence where it basically teaches that in order to be saved, you have to pay your way to heaven. Luther opposed that idea, the Catholic church and the Pope. Indeed, this confrontation and opposition got him into a lot of trouble in the Catholic church. Luther was soon tried by the church and had to recant of his teaching. During the trial, Luther's response shocked the crowd, "I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen."
Martin Luther's legacy has lived on for 500 years. Luther is one of the most significant figures that God raised up in the early 16th century - October 31st, 1517. Luther nailed his 95 thesis on the church of Wittenburg for the purpose of restoring the missing doctrine called the Doctrine Of Justification By Faith, and confronting the Catholic church. The Catholic church was teaching that we obtain salvation by merit. Luther's rediscovery of the forgotten truth lead to what it was historically called the Reformation or the Protestant Reformation. Luther rediscovered from Scripture that "salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, and good works result from our faith, they are not added to it as the grounds for our right standing in the Lord’s eyes (Eph. 2:8-10). Justification, God’s declaration that we are not guilty, forgiven of sin, and righteous in His sight comes because through our faith alone the Father imputes, or reckons to our account, the perfect righteousness of Christ (2 Cor. 5:21)." (Link)
You can read more about Reformation Day by typing this event on the Google Search Engine.In our western society and the church, this historical event has been forgotten. Christians attend church without understanding the history of how the church got here. Christians, we need to understand why we believe what we believe and teach what we teach. By doing so, we will know what we believe, why we believe it, how to live it, and how to share it.
Did you know that because of Reformation Day, we have our own translation of the Bible? Let us continue to not take our faith for granted, but to equip ourselves with Biblical Truth and live out that truth daily.
