Reform calls to mind the idea of progress toward a desired result. It is a word that evokes positive change. With such a diffused use of the word, however, it tends to lose its virtue and efficacy. When one speaks of the Protestant Reformation, therefore, the reform intended and celebrated may be lost in a sea of synonymous usage and ambiguity, and its richness watered down and confused.

Reform. Our world talks a lot about reform. It seems we all, to one degree or another, desire reform. There is health reform and educational reform. Agricultural reform and social reform. Fiscal reform and certainly religious reform.

Reform calls to mind the idea of progress toward a desired result. It is a word that evokes positive change. With such a diffused use of the word, however, it tends to lose its virtue and efficacy. When one speaks of the Protestant Reformation, therefore, the reform intended and celebrated may be lost in a sea of synonymous usage and ambiguity, and its richness watered down and confused.

The Roman Catholic Church also speaks of reform and recognizes its need within the church. Its call for reform predates the Protestant Reformation. Still suffering from the Great Schism between east and west in 1054, the Council of Constance (1414–1418) sought deep reform in the church. This has not changed in the many centuries since, and the Catholic Church continues to call for reform.

So, when we celebrate Reformation Day, what exactly are we celebrating? What sets the Protestant Reformation apart from other reforms and reformations? What sets it apart from the reform the Catholic Church intends and seeks? Why are we still celebrating it more than five hundred years later?

The answer to these questions reveals the true genius of the Protestant Reformation, and explains why it has endured through the centuries, is still celebrated today, and will continue to be celebrated.

Return of the Supremacy of God

What comes to mind when considering the Protestant Reformation? What are thought to be its distinguishing characteristics? Certainly, the Five Solas are at the top of the list. Faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone, revealed through Scripture alone, and for God’s glory alone. These are perhaps the most recognizable trademarks of the Reformation. Is this, then, where the genius of the Protestant Reformation is to be found? Are they the reason the Protestant Reformation has endured for more than five centuries?

Without a doubt, the return to these truths was extraordinary. They are to be celebrated for their clarity and the unambiguous boundaries they create for the faith. There is no confusion concerning the authority of Scripture against that of tradition. Salvation is definitively a gift of God’s grace alone, and cannot be attributed to works. They do not allow for ambiguity, indifference, or neutrality. They are a return to the heart of the faith and the biblical gospel. Surely it is correct, then, to suggest that the Five Solas explain the genius of the Protestant Reformation?

Or perhaps its genius lies with the great Reformers, such as Martin Luther and John Calvin? Surely the Reformation, in large part, owes its success to the brilliance of these men. A careful reflection of the Reformation, however, reveals that its genius does not lie in the articulation of the solas, or with the formulation of any doctrinal statement or declaration. It goes beyond the Reformers and even beyond the mere return to Scripture as the ultimate source of authority and truth. It goes deeper still. The genius of the Reformation is rooted in God himself. It is a return of the supremacy of God over all things. It is a return of the primacy of God in the church, in history, and in the heart of man. It is a radical, reformational work of the all-sovereign God of the universe himself.

God Reclaimed What Was His

This, however, is not a new revelation. It was no secret to the Reformers. They knew that no man could produce such radical reform. It had to be the work of God himself. Luther understood this well. “The church has need of reform, but it cannot be the work of one man . . . nor of many . . . rather it must be the work of God alone.”

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