For the Christian, Every Day is Reformation Day

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It's true that October 31 like December 25 only comes once a year. With Christmas coming near, I remembered the song by Kenny Rogers that's titled "Christmas Every Day". Nope, it's not a call to celebrate it daily, Christmas feasts are something to look forward to but to keep the Christmas spirit in your heart. Okay, I know there are some objections, "But Christmas is pagan!" but the arguments tend to argue like Hislop. Now, back to the Reformation. It's true that the Reformation Day comes once a year like the ungodly Halloween. So, what does it mean to keep the spirit of reformation (and not just the Reformation) in one's hearts?
Romans 12:1-2 
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The truth of the matter is that the call to reform one's mind is not just on October 31. Martin Luther didn't introduce the idea of moral reformation. The Old Testament prophets did such as when Elijah called for a serious moral reformation in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. We see John the Baptist preaching repentance of sins. Jesus Himself the Son of God came to be the biggest reformer and the apostles too were reformers. The real reason why the Reformation even happened was not just a mere understanding. It was because Luther saw the need for people to return back to God. He wrongly thought he could reform the Vatican. The Reformation happened because of the rampant corruption and the true Church went into hiding. The Roman Catholic institution was marching around, proclaiming herself to be the true Church founded on 33 A.D. while the true Church was persecuted. Long before Luther, many true Christian reformers before the Reformation were executed. Jan Hus and Girolamo Savonarola too were reformers. So I wonder why is Luther's name tagged with reformation when he didn't even start such reforms? Earlier Christian groups such as the Baptists and Waldenses already got persecuted for sharing the Gospel. Yet, Luther used the printing press (which I heard was later condemned by Rome) invented by a Roman Catholic named Johannes Gutenburg to spread the truth.

Nailing the 95 Theses on October 31, 2017, was not a one-time affair. It was a day of discussion. Luther saw all the corruption therein. The Reformation didn't stop on November 1, 2017. In fact, the Diet of Worms was in 1521 - another important milestone of the Reformation. We would later get other reformers such as John Calvin, John Knox, and Huldrych Zwingli. Calvin himself was responsible for the "Geneva Study Bible" and "The Institutes of the Christian Religion". The works of Calvin would later be used by the Calvinist Puritan scholars in writing the King James Version (KJV) or the Authorized Version of 1611 (AV1611). The KJV or AV1611 would later be translated into other languages. You can see how the KJV itself is a diligent work by the scholars. The copyright was strictly there so no one could alter it. The translators were aware that they were handling the Word of God and placed italics when need be to emphasize that it wasn't from the Textus Receptus and Masoretic texts. The spirit continued on and on. If that spirit didn't continue then there would be no KJV which is considered to be the best English translation ever. For me, the KJV is the best English Bible (though it's been translated now into many languages) for any Reformed theologian even of the Puritans and Charles H. Spurgeon used the Revised Standard Version (or today's English Standard Version) at times as an additional reference.

The problem today is that the Reformation is now being viewed as just a "mere misunderstanding", Some Protestant churches have already been yoked to Rome. It's upsetting to learn Don Moen sang for the Pope. It's upsetting to see Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) is already compromising with the Vatican. The late Billy Graham has been having unequal yokes with the Popes. The late Martin Luther King Jr. is still hailed as a hero even if he was a Jesuit agent of a preacher. The late John Paul II for 25 years worked towards ecumenism and even called Graham his brother. Retired  Benedict XVI and the incumbent Pope Francis have also worked hard towards trying to heal the wounds between Catholics and Protestants. Sadly, it wasn't just a mere misunderstanding. The Vatican had brutally murdered Christians (Protestant or not) for standing by the Word of God. Baptists (who were called as such because they insisted in baptism by immersion) were already beheaded before the Reformation and their heads were placed on spikes as an example. What happened was no mere misunderstanding but a battle for the truth!

I don't believe in the Reformed doctrine because Luther taught it or Calvin taught it. I believe in Reformed doctrine because it seeks to have the Bible alone as the final authority. I know salvation and sanctification are by faith alone and grace alone because the Bible teaches it. Men need Christ to have a righteous imputation and a righteous life - not crutches such as icons and rosaries. It's grace alone and faith alone that leads to a changed life. It's in Christ alone and not going to Christ throug his earthly mother Mary. Mary is a godly woman no doubt but she still declared her need of a Savior (Luke 1:47) and she directed people to her Son (John 2:8). Mary wanted people to know she couldn't mediate between us and her Son in the Wedding of Cana. you can see that everything else is glory to God alone. If my works could save me then where does God get the glory? It's me and not God and God forbid that anybody should glory in both salvation and sanctification. Men hate salvation by grace through faith because fallen humanity isn't composed of humble creatures. It takes a real regeneration for it to do so!

The spirit of reformation itself is always to declare the truth of the Bible on a daily basis. Luther continued the reformation he started until the day he died. The very spirit of reformation was even going on even before Luther blasted a public bomb. Pre-Reformation groups like the Baptists were already getting persecuted. The Counter-Reformation was soon launched with the hopes that the true Church will not prevail and that the false church to be declared as true. Yet, Jesus promised Peter in Matthew 16:18-19 that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church. The Church is marching forward. The very lies of Rome were further unmasked during the Reformation but were already unmasked even before it. The call is to live with the principles of the Bible alone. Anybody who says that cults are established by Sola Scriptura is dreaming. It's not Sola Scriptura but rather its rejection that gave birth to even more cults resulting in several "Protestant" denominations that rule by man's tradition than the Word of God!

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