Do We Still Need the Reformation?
Author: Pastor Chris Castaldo
October 27, 2022
With Reformation Day again upon us this Sunday, now is a good time to ask the oft-repeated question: Do we still need the Reformation?
Central to the Reformation was the fact that God places us before His unbroken gaze. We who were once separated from Christ—strangers to the covenant of promise and without God and without hope in the world—have been drawn into the loving embrace of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This happens, says the Apostle Paul, “by the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13). But how exactly does it happen?
The Fundamental Difference
A basic distinction between Catholics and Protestants has concerned this question of how God embraces sinners. Divine acceptance, according to the Roman church, is internally “infused” through her sacraments, a process that consists in moral virtues and good works as the necessary conditions for humanity’s final absolution. The Protestant Reformers, on the other hand, located the basis of one’s acceptance in the finished work of Christ upon the cross, a forgiveness that is attributed or imputed to sinners as a gift.
It is at this point in which the phrase “faith alone” (sola fide) is so important to the Protestant tradition. From the earliest days of the sixteenth century, sola fide was a slogan describing how sinners receive the gift of divine acceptance. On the basis of Scripture, the Reformers recognized that God justifies men and women apart from meritorious works. In the words of Paul, “And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5, ESV).
All of this is straightforward. We are accepted because of Christ, and not on account of our achievements. And yet, foundational as this doctrine may be, those of us with a modicum of self-awareness recognize our tendency toward self-justification. We succeed, we accomplish, we perceive ourselves to be significant, and this, we think, hastens our acceptance. It’s the normal pattern of life in the world. But such self-reliance is incompatible with life in Christ.
The Reformers recognized in their historical moment this same challenge: God embraces sinners, and we recoil from His presence. God establishes, feeds, and fulfills His promises, and we regularly mistrust His motives. God pledges His love by providing His Spirit as an enduring bond, and we doubt His commitment. So long as this is the case, an internal reformation of our souls will continue to be necessary.
Where Ethics Come into Play
So what about moral virtues and good works? What role do they play in the Christian life? Some suggest that since divine acceptance is devoid of meritorious works, ethics should be of secondary concern. After all, isn’t salvation by faith alone apart from works? Unfortunately, this denigration of ethics is the other side of the horse from which we sometimes fall when considering our Reformation heritage.
Yes, over and against advocates of Catholic renewal such as Desiderius Erasmus, the Protestant Reformers refused to see Jesus as an ethical paradigm for Christianity. They insisted upon spiritual union with the crucified and risen Christ as the priority and guiding impulse of faith. “Did we in our own strength confide,” wrote Martin Luther, “our striving would be losing.” We come to the Savior full of weakness and find his grace to be sufficient.
But how do we find God’s empowering grace to be sufficient? This question leads us into ethics. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not by relegating the Christian life to forgiveness—a merely judicial or forensic faith. In Oswald Bayer’s words, “The new human is no grotesque caricature who spends his life in a darkened room, reciting with closed eyes, ‘I am justified by faith alone, I am justified by faith alone.’”[1]
While Reformation Protestants assert that we are justified by faith alone, this faith does not remain alone: “For we dream neither of a faith devoid of good works nor of a justification that stands without them,” said John Calvin.[2]
Such virtue is not extra credit for religious overachievers; it is the natural unfolding of our life and calling as children of God. We may not agree with our Catholic friends in recognizing divine acceptance as a sacramental process that consists in moral virtues and good works, but we nevertheless insist that authentic faith issues forth in good works. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” said Paul, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13, ESV). Salvation may not be achieved by works, but it is certainly comprised of works.
Our Reformation Calling Today
Living in the unbroken gaze of God’s love, our calling is to distinguish faith and works without separating them. It is easy to reach toward one of these extremes, but our calling is to uphold both. In biblical terms, it’s the need for Luke 18:9-14 and 14:25-33. In the first case, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector teaches us that it’s not the one who boasts about his works who is justified, but the one who prays, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” At the same time, however, we must include the uncompromising reality of the second, that “any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” In Luther’s words:
God will not judge by your name, whether you are called a Christian or have been baptized. But He will tell you: If you are a Christian, tell Me where the fruits are by which you can prove your faith.[3]
Yes, we still need the Reformation. As gospel-centered Christians, our Reformation calling is to proclaim the gift of divine acceptance by faith alone and to embody the moral transformation that such a gift produces.
- Oswald Bayer, Living by Faith: Justification and Sanctification. Trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 27.
- John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Religion, (3.16.1).
- Martin Luther. What Luther Says, An Anthology, vol. 3, ed. Ewald M. Plass. St. Louis: (Concordia Publishing House, 1959), 1510.
Chris Castaldo is lead pastor of New Covenant Church in Naperville and author of the forthcoming book from Crossway, "The Upside Down Kingdom."
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