Why Celebrate the Reformation?
We should all celebrate the Reformation and the benefits it brought that extend to today.
Each year October 31 is Reformation Day. The Lord’s Day before is known as Reformation Sunday, an opportunity for churches to remember this great event and its continued relevance.

What is Reform?
Reform or reformation means to bring back or return to the original shape (e.g. bent clay, gunk in a pipe, out of level). The Protestant Reformation was the movement that sought to restore the Roman Catholic Church—the Church of Western Europe— to the beliefs and practices of the New Testament Church.

Why Was the Reformation Needed?
Jesus had warned against the build up of man-made tradition (Mk 7:7) and sadly over time—and intermingled with good teaching—this is what happened. The Dark Ages were not called dark for no reason. A traditional perspective was offered by a Baptist in 1811,“But ere long, Christianity became wretchedly adulterated by the inventions of men,” and “At the Reformation, a happy change took place.” [1] For over 1000 years Christianity sat in darkness. The Church taught and condoned many things not in the Bible.[2] Any attempt to Reform was met with the Inquisition. The Bible, in Latin, could not be understood. The free grace of God through faith in Christ was replaced with a system of works. Atop it all was a highly centralized Papacy that controlled the knowledge of God. Without the Gospel, lives remained untouched.

By 1517 there was not an informed person in all of Europe who didn’t know Reform wasn’t in the air.
What was the Reformation?
On the Eve of All Soul’s Day (All Hallows Eve- Halloween), a German Augustinian monk named Martin Luther posted 95 Thesis on the church door in Wittenburg (This was the normal way to post debates in a university town). It was timely because All Saints day was when people prayed for, offered Masses for and bought indulgences for the dead stuck in purgatory. However, Luther, had been converted shortly before by reading Ro 1:17 and had become infuriated by the practice of indulgences that robbed the poor so the Pope could build St. Peter’s in Rome. The 95 Theses posited forgiveness in Christ through repentance and faith. These were printed on the new printing press and Luther’s ideas were spread all over Europe.

His grievances didn’t stop there, and he began to write against a whole host of Catholic corruptions, preached justification by faith, published the Bible into German and reformed the German churches in various areas of teachings and practice. He became a leader in the Reformation, which was not just a protest movement but a reformation that brought about renewal—it was the greatest revival since the early Church. He was joined by many others in other countries who similarly desired to see the Church reformed but believed it was too corrupt to do from within the Roman body. The Roman Church eventually realized they had to do something and addressed some surface matters but not the deep and unbiblical traditions that had developed over centuries.

While Luther and other Reformers challenged any abuse in the Church they saw as unscriptural there were a number of doctrinal principles that stood at the heart of the Reformation.

What Principles Did the Reformation Restore?
At its heart the Reformation was about justification by faith (the material issue)— ‘How does a sinner become right with God?’; and the authority of Scripture (the formal issue)— ‘By what authority can I know God and what He expects?’

Being able to read the Bible brought light to people—knowledge of God and how to be in a right relationship with Him (just as Jesus had said, Jn 8:12 and 32). Thus, the motto of the Reformation became post tenebras lux (after the darkness, light; or, out of the darkness light).

The centre of Reformation belief came to be known as the 5 solas:
sola gratia      By grace alone
sola fide          Through Faith alone
solus Christus             In Christ alone
sola scriptura             According to Scripture alone
soli deo gloria             To God’s glory alone

We should celebrate the Reformation because through the courageous faith of many men and women, we who come after them, can read the Bible in our own language, learn of the way of salvation in the Gospel, be in a right relationship with God through faith, follow Jesus by the power of the Spirit and worship and live together in the Church the way He intended.
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And lest we think the Reformation is over, it is ongoing. Every generation must reform to be renewed because of our human tendency to create our own ideas and traditions. Hence another Reformation saying, ecclesia reformanda est (the Church is always to be reforming).
Happy Reformation Day!


[1] John Ryland, Divine Revelation (1811), 34–5.

[2] Especially in areas of Scripture, Church, Salvation, Worship and Christian Living. Examples of abuses include: The sacraments, especially penance (including indulgences) and the Mass (transubstantiation). Papal authority and worldly interests, simony, nepotism, the celibacy of priests, the ignorance and immorality of priests and people alike, justification by works vs. faith, the worship of Mary and saints, idolatry, relics and pilgrimages, purgatory, opulence vs. loving the poor (e.g. the construction of St. Peters). 

We’re living in a time when it doesn’t only feel as if suicide is on the rise, it is. While suicide has always existed in the human experience since the Fall, it has steadily been on the rise in Canada since the 1950s when it was only 5 deaths/100K. Today it is 15+ deaths/100K (this is similar to a peak in the 1970s).[1] In the USA it has increased 36% since the year 2000.[2] The stats are also eschewed because attempted suicides are not recorded, a higher category amongst women, and also because MAiD isn’t considered suicide by StatsCan. As of 2019, most suicides happen amongst those middle aged, though there a variety of factors why certain groups or individuals succumb to suicide.[3]
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However, statistics shield the reality that each represents a person. Today, hardly anyone or any family escapes suicide’s tragic effect. Whether it be MAiD or classic instances, suicide has even been described as a present epidemic, being one of the leading causes of death in the USA.[4] Clearly, we must be informed on the subject, as hard as the reality may be.

This is not a mere intellectual exercise either, nor should our experience or emotions be the primary guide. I don’t write here emotionally detached, from as early as high school I was confronted with suicide amongst friends. My own childhood friend committed suicide as an adult, there have been attempted suicides in my extended family and I’ve had youth and adults connected to my churches kill or attempt to kill themselves. While this doesn’t make me an expert it does, along with professional training, provide an opportunity to comment on suicide from a theological perspective. Christians must be equipped to deal with suicide, which sadly given the state of our culture and like many other things, is only going to get worse.

This multi-part blog series will seek to answer:

What is suicide and what does the Bible say about it?
How can we help minister to those considering suicide/or who suffer as its result?
What about a profession Christian who commits suicide?


[1] https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-11293-8

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html

[3] https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/healthy-living/suicide-canada-key-statistics-infographic.html

[4] https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html

The story of Joseph is not only a real story but one that is a picture of Jesus and wider biblical teachings. One such picture is of salvation, not only of conversion or becoming a Christian (being saved from the penalty of sin) but of our ongoing salvation (sanctification, being saved from the power of sin).
The 5 Rs of Salvation (c.f. Saving Faith) that we can see in this story are: Recognize, Remorse, Repent, Restoration and Renewal.

A devotional given at Grey Gables chapel on 2 Ch 26.

For a few years now my son has operated a fall veggie stand to learn a work ethic and earn some money. I did something very similar when I was a boy. However, in the early 90s I never remember anyone stealing any of my pumpkins and squash. Things are different now. While many pay a fair or generous amount (my son’s veggies are by fair market donation) this year has seen a spike in those stealing or under-paying (it is even so bad that some Mennonites have installed security cameras at their stands). This window into the sinfulness of the human heart proved a difficult lesson for my son. It speaks to the de-Christianization of our society and the growing moral depravity that comes when our focus is on self.  

The 8th commandment of God’s moral law, the 10 Commandments, states, “Thou shalt not steal.” Stealing is taking something that belongs to someone else. In murder that is their life, in adultery it is a spouse, in stealing it is some material possession, financial or property. When we steal, we rob something from someone else, we harm them through this loss and violation. When we steal, we essentially say I am better than you, this therefore should belong to me (i.e. stealing is an expression of coveting). This can happen amongst the wealthy and poor, anyone can steal. We can steal something small or something large, something from someone who is helpless (a child) or someone who is strong (a country).

Yet far above the human plane we all steal from God, whether we steal from others or not. We steal from Him when we don’t give Him His due. When we don’ t honour Him through honouring His special day—we’re stealing. When we don’t honour Him through tithing—we’re stealing. Yet ultimately, when we are coveting (10th commandment) we reveal how we are breaking the 1st commandment. Ultimately by loving self we’re stealing from God His due to be worshipped (loved) and served.

We naturally steal from God and can and do steal from others. Wonderfully Jesus came to give Himself so we might be forgiven of all of this selfish sin and be renewed by the gift of His Spirit so as to give to God and give to others, to love them.
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So let’s stop stealing and let’s start giving, to God and to others.