The Reformation - Established 30 A.D.

"Behold, I am making all things new..." Revelation 21:5

Today we remember how Martin Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation 492 years ago by nailing his 95 theses to the church door. It would be difficult to overstate the significance of the 16th century reforms brought about through men like Luther and Calvin. However, it would be impossible to overstate the significance of the great reforming work of Jesus Christ. Christ came and established a new and better covenant that would free us from the bondage of sin and free us to live a life unto him (Hebrews 7:22). The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah's prophesy of the new and better covenant:

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. " Hebrews 8:10

Under this new covenant, we have the promise of God putting his laws in our hearts and causing us to walk in his ways. For this to happen, we need more than reform; we need regeneration. We need God to move upon us and remove our hearts of stone, and give us a heart of flesh. The original reformation of Christ is ongoing: it did not start nor end in the 1500s. God has been reforming,regenerating, and recreating lives for the last two thousand years! As followers of Christ, we must always be examining our hearts to see how our lives can be reformed and conformed to the image of Christ. As churches, we must not assume that the Roman Church was the only one needing reform; today's American churches are in desperate need of reformation. However, real reform can only happen through individuals who have truly been reformed by Christ. Let us not give up on the battle cry of the 16th century: "Semper Reformanda!" (always reforming!)