The Focus of the Ongoing Reformation is the Word of God, Not the Reformers nor Denominations

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Yesterday was Reformation Day. Today is November 1 or All Saint's Day for Roman Catholics. There are many issues with the Reformation. I was told before that I didn't know how to pray because my "god" is Martin Luther. The name Protestant was simply dubbed on those who protested against the Roman Catholic institution. Some Protestants have the right to say that they're not Protestant but just Christian. There are Baptists who don't consider themselves Protestants even if they do embrace non-Baptist Christians or reject the Baptist Bride doctrine. What was the real big issue of the Reformation? Was it about Luther or John Calvin? Was it about John Knox, Uldrich Zwingli, or any other person dubbed as a Protestant reformer? No, the big issue of the Reformation is all about focusing on the Word of God - that's what Sola Scriptura actually means. 

What therefore is Sola Scriptura? Sola Scriptura is defined as follows by Ligonier Ministries' article "What is Sola Scriptura":
The Reformation principle of sola Scriptura has to do with the sufficiency of Scripture as our supreme authority in all spiritual matters. Sola Scriptura simply means that all truth necessary for our salvation and spiritual life is taught either explicitly or implicitly in Scripture. It is not a claim that all truth of every kind is found in Scripture. The most ardent defender of sola Scriptura will concede, for example, that Scripture has little or nothing to say about DNA structures, microbiology, the rules of Chinese grammar, or rocket science. This or that “scientific truth,” for example, may or may not be actually true, whether or not it can be supported by Scripture—but Scripture is a “more sure Word,” standing above all other truth in its authority and certainty. It is “more sure,” according to the apostle Peter, than the data we gather firsthand through our senses (2 Peter 1:19). Therefore, Scripture is the highest and supreme authority on any matter on which it speaks.

What the Reformation was about was focusing on the Word of God not as the sole authority but as the final authority. That is the Bible is the guidebook containing God's Word to follow in the matters of church authority and tradition. Tradition is not wrong per se as long as it doesn't go against God's Word. Church authority is governed and established with guidelines from God's Word. The Scriptures contain God's Word so why are they saying that Sola Scriptura isn't scriptural? The apostles exerted their authority but only by God's Word. Jesus blasted the Pharisees with the Scripture. The focus of the Reformation has been about Luther or the Reformers. Just remember that Luther never built a church either. Calvin's focus was on expounding the Word of God while he was in Geneva. Centuries later, the Reformation eventually led to the King James Version (KJV) also called the Authorized Version of 1611 (AV1611). The KJV was given its copyright to make sure nobody would tamper with it. Before that, the KJV had other predecessors in the English language and later, the KJV was revised and re-edited because the translators wanted to get rid of any translation error that they may commit against the preserved Word of God.

The big problem with the Reformation was similar to what happened before the Reformation. Pre-Reformation Christian groups (which I heard also included some Baptists before that) were persecuted for bringing out copies of the Bible to laymen. It's because the Roman Catholic institution banned the reading of the Bible for centuries - something that it denies until this very day! Jan Hus was executed for doing so. Girolamo Savonarola was executed for protesting against Alexander VI Borgia whom he called a servant of Satan. Pre-Protestant Christian martyrs were there yet one can say that they were still reformers. Maybe, we should call the Pre-Protestant martyrs as Pre-Protestant Reformers because they were already protesting before Luther was even born. Hus was said to have predicted the rise of a swan who Rome couldn't catch and that would be Luther. Luther eventually translated his Catholic Latin Bible (which I believe is a Latin Vulgate) into German for the people. William Tyndale was persecuted and burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English. So a reformation already happened even before the rise of the Protestant Reformation. 

Why is October 31 still regarded as an important day? It's because Luther's protest is yet another milestone aside from Hus and Savonarola. Yet, it was also Luther who finally made good use of the printing press invented by Roman Catholic Johannes Gutenburg. I guess Gutenberg never became a blessed or a saint because of that. Luther's use of the printing press not only made his writings more available (while he used a pen name Junker Jörg in hiding) but also made German translations of the Bible. It allowed the work of the pre-Protestant Christian groups to be easier. Before, Christians who came before the Protestant Reformation didn't have much of an easier time sharing copies of the Scriptures. Luther's efforts allowed Bible believers in Germany to get a copy of the Bible in German and use it to spark another revolution. Tyndale did the same for the English-speaking world. Luther placed his neck at risk when he posted an open challenge for debate with the nailing of the 95 Thesis. 

Pastor Paul David Washer of Heartcry Missionary said that the reformers didn't want to be called reformers - they just wanted to be biblical. Washer's statement rings true to this very day. Luther's famous statement about his conscience and the Word of God should be the focus of continuing the Reformation. I don't really care too much about whether or not Baptists are Protestant or not. For me, Baptists aren't Protestants but rather were called as such as an insult because they openly practiced baptism by immersion. John the Baptist was called "Baptist" because he baptized people - not because he was a member of any denomination. One big reason why the Protestant Reformation happened was that Roman Catholicism has been adding their own teachings to the Word of God rather than having their tradition based on it. The Word of God was also used to renounce the Pharisaical hypocrisy of Papal Rome with all the immoralities Luther saw. Luther didn't just go to say it was salvation by faith alone - he also insisted that such faith if it has no works must be invalidated. Luther may have had once a problem with James but later saw it valid since he believed that faith without works is dead. The other Reformers kept sticking to what the Bible says in all matters of church tradition - something Rome didn't do as they continue to reject and even misrepresent what Sola Scriptura means. 

Washer also had a very important thing to say that Calvinism shouldn't be an issue. David W. Cloud of Way of Life Literature mentions he has known many good Calvinist Christians. Cloud also mentions that he loves them but rejects their Calvinism. Other known sound teachers who didn't like Calvinism (but still honored Calvin's works in a way) are like J. Vernon McGee and Harry A. Ironside. McGee's commentary mentioned parts of Calvin and Luther even if he outright renounced Calvinism and didn't really understand what lordship salvation was about. Some people today uphold historic lordship salvation yet think they're against it. It's best to really avoid as many controversies as possible while pursing the only one cause that the Protestant Reformation to take place - it's to uphold what the Bible says!

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