This Reformation Goes On and On

The following is the manuscript to a micro-sermon I gave leading in to the prayerful conclusion of a recent gathering of seven London churches to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. 
 

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus says:

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Ecclesia semper reformanda est. A Latin phrase attributed to Augustine, the great North African Berber theologian tells us, in English “the church must always be reformed.” "Reformed" in continuous sense of "reforming". 

History is not always as clean-cut as we would like. Reformers like Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin did not always live up to the ideals of reformation and their words and actions were sometimes contradictory to the gospel of grace at the heart of the Reformation's "5 Solas". For purposes of tradition and expediency as much as theology they continued some unbiblical beliefs and practices, leading quite tragically to religious coercion, violent persecution, and churches filled with people who were not committed followers of Christ.
The so-called (commonly but falsely!) "Anabaptists" offered helpful correctives to the deficiencies of these Magisterial Reformers. There is much to like about their emphasis on love and Christ-likeness, their unwavering commitment to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, and their New Testament model of church. They suffered though at times from idealism in their view of humanity and sin, legalism in their approach to salvation and works, anti-intellectualism, sectarianism, and social isolation.

Our celebration today is not then of the Reformers as men, so much as it is of the Reformation as a movement. More important even than what the Reformers did, is what we continue to do. Because times change but truth doesn't, reform can never remain static in the confines of past history. 

We must always be reforming, always examining our beliefs and behaviours. What is truth? If God's word is truth - and we confess that it is - what does it say? On the basis on what God's words says, what does it mean for me, today? Not just as individuals, but what does it mean for our churches? The way we handle God’s Word. The way we treat each other. The way we show hospitality. The way we approach the gathering of the local church. How we do evangelism, what we consider to be “missions”, and how we support evangelists and missionaries most biblically and effectively. How we relate to other churches that are likeminded. What “association” really means and looks like practically. How we conduct church discipline. How we respond to and address racism and classism. How we stand as Christ’s distinctive disciples against false belief on the one hand and foolish, sinful behaviour on the other. How we can avoid following those Reformation-heritage churches that have drifted far from the safe moorings of biblical faith and practice, wrecked by the waves of religious relativity, moral depravity, and cultural insanity. The answer to all of these questions is the authority of God’s Word - incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ and written in the Scriptures. 

Hip-hop group Public Enemy once rapped about the civil rights movement, “this revolution goes on and on.” Today I suggest that “this Reformation goes on and on.”

If the salt is bad, throw it out.

If your light is hidden, let it shine. 

And as the good salt seasons the meat and everyone compliments the chef, and as the lights of the hillside city glitter in the dark and those in distant night gaze admiringly on, so will a listening and watching world turn to give glory to our great God and most gracious Heavenly Father.