Next month, Bible-believing churches around the world will celebrate the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. We celebrate the Reformation because this was a God-appointed time in the history of the church when a ship that had gone so far off-course was finally righted and the Gospel, which had been diluted and obscured, was re-discovered and clearly proclaimed once again. Christians have every reason to celebrate and cherish the five “solas” that were re-claimed by the Reformation: sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, sola scriptura, and soli Deo Gloria. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to God alone be the glory!
However, there are many other less celebrated inheritances of the Reformation that Christians should not forget. One of the great benefits of the Protestant Reformation was the return of congregational worship. By the turn of the 16th century, medieval worship had transformed the regular laity into little more than befuddled spectators, passively observing ceremonies in which they neither participated nor even understood. When, or even if Scripture was read, it wasn’t in the language of the people, but was instead in Latin, which would have been incomprehensible to the ordinary man or woman. Singing was not congregational, but was instead chanted by priests, on behalf of the congregation, and again, in Latin. In some parts of Europe, if you weren’t a priest, you weren’t even permitted to take part in the Lord’s Supper out of a fear that the common riff-raff might spill the blood of Christ. So priests simply took communion on behalf of the people while the congregation simply observed (this even became a cause of the Hussite Wars of the 1400s!). In many places, the only way the people were still allowed to participate was in giving tithes, but much of this was ultimately sent away to build grand palaces and monuments in far-away Rome. In short, people in medieval churches didn’t worship. They weren’t allowed to. And what little worship did take place, the common man could not understand. The people of God were starving.
So in addition to the right preaching of the Gospel, that one does not need works to be saved, but simply faith in the grace of Christ, the Reformation also gave us back congregational worship. The people of God were never supposed to be passive observers, but active participants. We listen to God’s word together (in a language we can all understand!), we pray together, we sing together, and we observe the sacraments together.
Christian, it is not only your calling, but also your great privilege to worship our God. That is the very end for which you were created. This right was taken away from God’s children for a time, but has now been restored through the efforts of our forefathers. So I hope that you will not neglect this awesome inheritance, but will take it up with all joy and eagerness. “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” Psalm 100:1-2
In Christ,
Pastor Norris