By Dennis Petersen
Could the result of today’s sharp divisions in human society in the ‘free world’ lead to an historic reformation matching the one beginning in 1517?
The last day of October is Reformation Day in some protestant circles. It’s obscured in our misguided culture by the more modern celebration of ‘Halloween.’ But election day in America is just around the corner, a few days later on the first Tuesday of November.
The 31st of October each year began to be celebrated as Reformation Day in the late 17th century, a hundred years after a turning point event. It all began when a passionate 34-year-old Catholic priest nailed his 95 critiques of Catholic controversial practices onto the church door in a town called Wittenburg Germany in the Holy Roman Empire. His name was Martin Luther.
Ten years earlier, Luther was ordained in 1507, and earned a doctorate in theology from the University of Wittenberg in 1512. Then he became a professor of biblical studies. But it was his own personal theological crisis regarding salvation that led him to his discovery of the Bible concept of justification by faith alone. That culminated in his 1517 publication of the Ninety-five Theses which challenged the sale of indulgences by Catholic promoters of the renovation of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. And that sparked the revolution that became the Protestant Reformation. It changed the world and culminated in generations of wars and the redirection of the history of Western nations.
October 31st was the eve before All Saints’ Day on November 1st. So, it came to be known as the sacred, or hallowed evening… thus… “Halloween.” But Reformation Day developed as an anniversary of the Reformation, not originally as a Protestant campaign against modern Halloween festivities. Its celebration as an alternative to the dark side of Halloween became a later application in some Protestant communities.
Four years after Martin Luther’s bold declaration against what he saw as detestable in Catholic practices, he was summoned to renounce all his teachings at a formal imperial assembly of the Holy Roman Empire. It lasted four months,from January to May of 1521, in the city of Worms, Germany. It has become known as The Diet of Worms. The 21-year-old Emperor Charles V presided over the formal public trial of Martin Luther. In response to a decree of the Pope, called a “papal bull,” Luther absolutely refused to recant, famously declaring, “Here I stand, I can do no other.”
The outcome was the Edict of Worms. It declared Luther a notorious heretic and outlaw. His writings were banned and citizens were forbidden to give him aid or shelter. But Luther’s popular support and protection by Prince Frederick the Wise of Saxony, made the edict unenforceable. The whole event marked one of the most pivotal turning points in history. It led to the Protestant Reformation that completely changed the centuries-long domination of the Roman Catholic institutional church in Europe. It ended the Medieval period, meaning the “middle-ages.” And that was a way of describing the era of a chronological bridge between classical antiquity, ending with the fall of the Roman Empire, and the Reformation era that led to the beginning of what we commonly refer to now as the modern world.
Western history after the early 16th Century Reformation, threw Europe into a fierce and bloody conflict. It lasted a hundred years, costing over a hundred thousand lives. It all happened over a political war that got out of hand because of competing ideologies. The eventual outcome of the Reformation brought much needed correction to the corrupted, high church that ruled the Holy Roman Empire.
It was the only “church” in town. There was no other. The empire itself ultimately fell apart. A secularized and polarized Europe has now become the ‘new normal.’
City-states before the Reformation, were ruled by a centralized, Roman-church-run government. But new nations arose, with clearer national identities, as well as languages and official religions. Some were Catholic. Others were Protestant. Ultimately, the new world of the Western hemisphere swung the pendulum of Western Civilization in a completely different direction because of the Reformation.
Whole new nations, societies, and most importantly, the spread of the Christian gospel and Biblical ideology, transformed the power structures of the Western World. Departing from organized state religions of England and Europe, America became the first world super-power, and with no official ties to formal Catholic or Protestant churches. Unquestionably guided by Biblical principles that were rediscovered during the Reformation period, America became far more influential than the great Roman Empire itself. Remember that the strength of that empire was what God prepared and used when the Holy Spirit birthed the Ekklesia – the church. And remember the assignment Jesus gave to His church – to disciple all nations and overpower the very gates – the influencing powers – of hell itself.
Over four hundred years have now passed since Virginia’s Jamestown settlers vowed, in their words, “to raise up Godly generations after us, and with these generations take the Kingdom of God to all the earth.”
Another product of the Reformation was our Pilgrim forefathers. They also declared a similar vision in their founding document, known as “the Mayflower Compact.” They wrote: “Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith…” and, their elected leader for some 30 years, William Bradford, recognized their unique providential calling, as he wrote of “The great hope, and for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world.”
See: https://plimoth.org/explore/17th-century-english-village/faith-pilgrims
Have you heard of “The Five ‘Solas’ of the Reformation?” – Expressed in Latin, they are:
- Sola Scriptura
- Sola Fide
- Sola Gratia
- Solus Christus
- Soli Deo Gloria
They simply mean…
- Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”): The Bible alone is our highest authority.
- Sola Fide (“faith alone”): We are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
- Sola Gratia (“grace alone”): We are saved by the grace of God alone.
- Solus Christus (“Christ alone”): Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Savior, and King.
- Soli Deo Gloria (“to the glory of God alone”): We live for the glory of God alone.
These Five Solas emerged from the Reformation. They capture the spiritual convictions of the Reformers on the essentials of Christian belief. These plain Biblical facts call Christians back to the unique truths of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His early Church. They challenge our motivations. They call us to be Bible-based, Christ-centered, faithful and grateful. As we dare to stand for Christ, we can fight the good fight of Faith and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness with a pure heart. If we cringe in cowardice, we deny our faith and provoke God’s justice for complicity in the evil works of darkness.
Is your conscience captive to the Word of God like Martin Luther’s was? Are you building your life on the solid rock foundation of the Word of God?
Remember, Jesus said in Luke chapter 11…,
“…blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” Jesus said it in Luke 11:28.
What did the discovery of personal salvation do to Awaken changing Western ideas about Tyrants?
The Reformation started from the Biblical insights discovered and expounded about the transformation of personal salvation by men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and William Tyndale. It was all about personal salvation.
But the Reformation also resulted in a virtually global cultural revolution that affected every sphere of human society. Why is that?
Well, it’s because the society in Europe was so oppressed by the corrupted organized church leaders of the time that the common people finally began to discover from the Bible that they could think for themselves. Before the Reformation the idea of personal liberty was completely foreign to their thinking. They were subjects of their king, who owned everything. That’s why the American constitutional principle of “We the People” having the liberty to be accountable to our society at large, enabled our nation to become the most exceptional nation to ever exist on earth. It’s also what led to the battle cry of the soldiers of the Revolutionary War: “No king but Jesus.”
An interesting little historical side note…
On April 18, 1775 – just a little over a year before the declaration of Independence was signed and the Revolutionary War began –John Adams and John Hancock were at the home of Rev. Jonas Clarke, a Lexington pastor and militia leader. That same night Paul Revere arrived to warn them of the approaching Redcoats. The next morning British Major Pitcairn shouted to an assembled regiment of Minutemen; “Disperse, ye villains, lay down your arms in the name of George the Sovereign King of England.” The immediate response of Rev. Jonas Clarke or one of his company was: “We recognize no Sovereign but God and no King but Jesus.”
The Committees of Correspondence sounded the cry across the Colonies: “NO KING but KING JESUS”. Jonathan Trumbull, a crown-appointed governor, wrote back to England: “If you ask an American, who is his master? He will tell you he has none, nor any governor but Jesus Christ.”
That battle cry soon rang throughout the colonies making this not just a battle for rights, but for religious freedom as well. That explains why the first amendment of our Constitution deals with our freedoms of religious expression and the right to life.
So now, for years, we’ve been facing an entrenched bureaucratic government, corrupted by a secular, increasingly progressive ideology. That’s exactly why citizens have rightly called on our leaders to “drain the swamp.” Centralized authorities on both state and federal levels have over-ruled personal liberty in many ways. They act as if they were the crowned sovereign, passing regulations and unconstitutional laws that were never approved by citizens. How dare they dictate that healthy people be quarantined and prevented from their personal pursuits of productive labor?
The choices before us are clear. Will we choose unbridled, progressive, bigger government, serving the religion of secularism, winking at open anarchy? Or will we dare to reclaim the role of courageous men, willing to stand in defense of life from conception. Will we boldly resist tyrants by peacefully gathering with fellow believers to worship God? Will we selflessly accept our responsibility to obey our own constitution by displacing treasonous domestic enemies vowed to a Marxist ideology?
Will we, more aggressively, promote the idea that people can and should think for themselves and make personal choices regarding their own bodies, homes and personal behaviors in a way that is consistent with the freedom that God has given them to lead a godly life?
Dr. Archie P. Jones wrote: “[The American Founders] did not turn civil government, the making, enforcement, and adjudication of laws, over to Satan and those who serve him. They did not surrender the ministry of civil government to those who are in rebellion against God. Instead, they sought to base civil government and law upon the truth. They knew that our nation’s civil government and law must be based upon God’s laws and principles of justice if we are to enjoy His blessings upon our land and people.”
[From the new Foreword to Benjamin F. Morris’ monumental history of early America, The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States [1864], Dr. Archie P. Jones.]
It’s obvious to even a pagan today that God’s blessings on our land and people are in serious decline. The recent calls by some of our national Christian leaders to public gatherings expressly to pray are commendable. We need to revive regular local prayer and fasting as part of our community spiritual service. Old time Revivals are not enough. We need another heaven-sent, nation-wide Awakening that results in nothing less than a generation-shaking Reformation. Let’s not cease praying for that.
Even a casual observer can see a stark contrast between the modern common expressions of American Christianity and the clear Biblical truths of what Jesus said He would build. While Christ’s kingdom is remarkably advancing in some other parts of the world like Africa, China and South America, what’s happening in America? What changed as history advanced past the greatest century of world missionary expansion, into the greatest century of world-wide deliberate death and decline into secularism – a national culture with no perceptible ‘fear of God?’
The ruling ideology of our culture has become ‘Secular Humanism’ – simply called ‘Secularism’
Secularism is supreme – not just in entertainment and education, but in business and medicine. The high regard for the folly of naturally carnal human lives casts a darkness over society making us wonder where IS the light that Jesus proclaimed exposing darkness, causing darkness to flee with its evil deeds?
There is no neutrality when it comes to religion. Not believing in God is every bit as much a religious belief as it is to believe in God. To exclude the Bible from public education is a religious decision just as much as it is to include the Bible. It’s called Secular Humanism. And since Christians in America largely abdicated their responsibility for their local public schools decades ago, the leadership and policy-making void has been filled by the Godless dark ideologies of Marx, Dewey and Horace Mann. When you refuse to fear God, you inevitably fear man … and you naturally serve idols of convenience, arrogant academia, and ego. That’s humanism. It’s the core of our national culture, education, and even much of what we call ‘the church’ in America, unfortunately. Christians have been conned into believing that government-run bureaucrats are “neutral” in educating our children. This is surrender to a colossal lie of the Devil.
Have we given up the good fight of faith to disciple our nation?
How dare we blame the devil for all the destruction around us? If we’re honest, we know that believers have passively surrendered to secularists. And that includes Big Tech social media. Just look at network media’s chronic violations of free speech, religious liberty, and our right to assemble with our peers. Are we going to continue to sit on the sidelines as wholesale disaster swallows up our children and grandchildren?
Let’s face it. We Christians in our society, are responsible for the loss of the Biblically based culture built by America’s Christian Founders. Over the last two centuries, Christians have increasingly abandoned the Kingdom assignment of Jesus in Matthew 16:18. That’s where He declared He will build His Ekklesia – His congregation family – assigned to conquer the darkness that has disastrously ruled over the public square of society. Compounding the grievance, we’ve embraced a modern, church-centered idolatry requiring huge budgets, big buildings, and crowds of half-hearted seat-warmers to give an appearance of the biggest influence in the community. All the while, we’ve forfeited our key role of developing an assembly of wise and faithful cultural leaders and counselors. Now we’re shepherding flocks of sheep with virtually zero impact on the culture. Let’s be honest… Our success seems to be measured by how many are in attendance, or how much money is collected, when it should be how our city or region is overcoming the works of darkness. How can this be pleasing to God? We’re found wanting, aren’t we?
When it’s time for voting again, many will be asking, “What do I tell a friend wanting voting advice?” The clear non-partisan answers are at www.ivoterguide.com. Also go to https://www.frcaction.org/
Are you a Christian? Are you a true disciple of Jesus Christ? Shouldn’t we all consider what is our assignment as we pray for the outcome of electing our community’s judges and leaders? Why should you equip every voter you can with guidance to avoid their contribution to a potential disaster?
The answer should be obvious. It’s no different that stepping in to prevent a child from eating rat poison. And, for starters let’s be clear about how we’re allowing our own thinking to be poisoned.
Who are you listening to?
If you are spending any time at all listening to the mainstream media’s evening news shows, you are drinking poison. It’s nearly all corrupted and distorted according to the anti-God, leftist delusions of the elitist owners of those networks. The few relatively good apples left in modern TV journalism’s rotting barrel, are people like Sean Hannity, Greg Gutfield, and Laura Ingraham. By now, most of us law-abiding, God-fearing, freedom-loving Americans have figured out that we have to seek out cable, and online channels with brilliant reporters like Glen Beck (Blaze TV), Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, and the Next News Network (Gary Franchi). If you want to be updated on what’s actually going on in the world of policy-making and civic events in our nation, you’re not going to be able to know anything close to the truth unless you are listening regularly to conservative talk radio, with brilliant reports like those from Redacted, Epoch News, and Worldview Tube. Pastors and evangelists have their job to do, of course. But if you’re spending any time at all listening to secular news sources and educators, just admit that they’re built to deceive you and switch channels. See how refreshing and positively transforming it can be, drinking truth-filled water from a well that hasn’t been poisoned by Godless immorality and religious humanism.
James exhorts us in the Bible that, “faith without works is dead.” The meaning is clear. Faith without corresponding action is impotent. – powerless… without effect. If we’re going to fight for the destiny of our nation in prayer, then we must begin by taking responsible spiritual action. If you’re not serving God with a pure heart – a clean heart – you better take care of that first. Then your responsibility as an American member of ‘We the People’ is to do your part. Vote. It’s a simple action. And for us believers, it must be manifested by voting for candidates that honor the policies that honor God.
Political issues are faith issues
The reality is political issues affect your freedom to live peaceably, to be able to worship freely, and to have a society where we won’t be thrown in jail for bringing the gospel to those in darkness. Ask yourself which candidates, which parties should you support to actually promote that idea of bringing the gospel to those in darkness. Be honest. Political choices are profoundly spiritual issues. Political issues are faith issues. Be sure your vote is never based on a party or a personality. That’s what makes it partisan. That’s what makes it dirty. It’s pathetic that many Christians fail to discern political and cultural issues from a Biblical perspective. Your vote is your “amen” and agreement in the earth. Never give your support to anyone based on looks, ethnicity, personality, or party. God says, “Do not judge by appearances.” You’re not voting for your savior. In leadership elections like those for president, governor, and representatives, you’re voting for one who can best do the job running some of the largest economies on earth, and to protect God-given human rights. It’s shameful to hear Christians fumbling around, saying they don’t like the tone or tweets of a candidate whose policy actions are undeniably supportive to Biblical values like the sanctity of life, respect for personal property, and law and order. Go beneath personality, gender, skin color or looks. Go deeper than following the herd and voting for the same political party as your family and friends. Don’t be controlled by popular distorted news. It’s known for its leftist propaganda. Guard yourself from the poisonous power of social media manipulation, and media broadcasts.
The Reformation period of Europe’s past – beginning in the 1300s with John Huss and John Wycliffe and going into the 1500s with Martin Luther and William Tyndale – is one of the most heroic episodes of God’s providential guidance of human history. It makes you realize more powerfully the fact of the hand of God in human society’s experience as recorded in Acts 17 when Paul spoke about God determining the times of nations and the bounds of their habitation (Acts 17:26).
Don’t miss your opportunity to exercise your God-given abilities and influence to do your part and leave the rest to God. Vote, and the next time we meet we’ll have more to share
Bonus Segment
Is there any question that a destructive agenda against the rule of law, against liberty, and against Constitutional rights has laid siege in cities across our country? Now, in many ways, those who truly love this nation have a unique choice. Will we allow socialism, illegal immigration, racial divides, and social in-fighting to destroy this country from the inside? Or will we rise and protect the Biblical/constitutional ideals that our founders intended citizens to enjoy?
Tyranny requires truth to be silenced. It requires real history to be erased and rewritten. It requires speech to be restricted, and individual thought to be silenced.
The biggest censorship push in history is happening today. That means that the biggest propaganda push is also underway. Those complying with ridiculous bureaucratic mandates affecting your personal choices must be courteously, but strongly challenged. I’ve referred to trustworthy voices who have done the research for us. Take the time to know the talking points and defend the truth. A big challenge of our time is not only that we haven’t been coached how to think, but many of us haven’t been shown how to speak the truth in love.
God is giving all of us an opportunity to influence the outcome of our nation because He commanded His disciples to actually disciple the nations of the world. And that’s possible because He proclaimed that all authority had been given to Him when Jesus resurrected. Do you honestly believe that? Then why not make every effort to participate in the process of determining the leadership of your own nation under God? In upcoming elections, vote for freedom of conscience and the liberty to proclaim the truth of God. You’re voting for a platform of principles, not for a personality. This is a rare opportunity in our generation. We have a crossroads before us where every vote counts. Who, in their right mind, wants to throw their vote away by either not voting or voting for a platform determined to enslave all humanity by a globalist agenda?
Only by constant intercession for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven… for His Kingdom to invade our earthly community… for His enablement to guide us to speak the truth to enlighten the darkness… these must be our priorities in each day God gives us breath.