NICOLE STEVENSON | Co-Host, Former Adventist Podcast |
On this Reformation Day we remember again how the Reformers worked to recover the foundational truth that the Word of God alone is the final authority in the life of the believer. Christians everywhere owe a debt of gratitude to these men who gave their lives to the translation and distribution of the Scriptures for the common people. Yet, our gratitude must not lead us to transfer to them authority that belongs to the Word of God alone, and I would argue that the best way to honor their work is to take great care to avoid that error.
As we reflect on the selfless courage of the Reformers who returned the Bible to God’s people, we will do well to consider how we might best honor their work today in our own lives. To do this, let us consider the subtle ways that even sincere believers today can drift from the commitment of the Reformers—sometimes even in the name of honoring them.
The Drift Toward New Authorities
Those of us who have left Seventh-day Adventism to follow Jesus did so on the conviction that the Scriptures alone are the final and sufficient authority through which God has spoken and by which all truth is measured. Against this measurement, Seventh-day Adventism has failed and we were freed in Christ (John 8:31,32).
When the Holy Spirit removed the veil that once covered our eyes as we read the Scriptures, we saw that God’s Word (given to us by His Spirit through His Apostles and prophets) is clear and sufficient. When we responded to it with faith, we were given new life (Ephesians 1:13,14; John 17:20).
In Colossians 2, Paul instructs the believers on how to live faithfully in Christ after receiving salvation. In his instructions he did not tell them to go find other sources of authority which God would send later to instruct them. No, instead he told them to remain as they were and to guard against drift.
When we are not content with Scripture alone as our authority we can begin to transfer authority to other things—even good and godly things.
In verses 6 and 7 Paul exhorts the church to remain just as they began: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” We see here that we are to walk out our faith in the same way we received it. No new sources of authority are necessary. With one foot in front of the other we walk rooted in Christ, established in the Scriptures which taught us, and abounding in Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving implies contentment, and this is where I see too many believers wander and drift. When we are not content with Scripture alone as our authority we can begin to transfer authority to other things—even good and godly things.
Paul not only says to remain as we began, but in verse 8 he immediately goes on to warn against drifting toward new authorities. “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Historically, as a Former Adventist, I’ve focused on the pieces of this warning that included “elemental spirits” and “empty deceit” because that’s where my personal experiences connected with this verse. Yet, Paul is concerned that believers not be captivated by human traditions and philosophy either. Paul, being a wise man himself, knew the temptation to be captivated by lofty ideas or cherished traditions passed down by men. He also knew what it was to count all those things as loss for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus His Lord (Philippians 3:4-8).
The first audience was dealing with false teachers who were seeking to put them under a yoke of slavery to man-made asceticism and a distorted gospel; but the drift away from the authority of Scripture isn’t always that obvious. The call to walk as we began remains timeless. Scripture is enough. Remaining as we began will guard us from drifting toward new authorities in whatever form they take today.
The church’s drift toward new and competing authorities was the heart of the issue at the time of the Reformation. The same struggle that marked the first-century church reemerged in Luther’s day. By God’s grace He raised up men who through their obedience to Him and His sufficient Word would restore to the church the only thing necessary for life and godliness—the Word of God.
Martin Luther’s Concern for the Church
It was on October 31, 1517 that Martin Luther is said to have nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This brave step of faith began a conversation which ignited a movement. It was a movement that would restore to the church the truths of Scripture which had been suppressed and distorted by man made religion and tradition. Martin Luther would come to recognize that authority does not rest in the magisterial counsels or prolific writers and orators of the day, but in the Word of God alone. Luther would come to give his life to translating Scripture for the common person.
In the preface to the Wittenberg Edition of Luther’s German Writings, Martin Luther shared his feelings about his own writings. He writes:
“I would have been quite content to see my books, one and all, remain in obscurity and go by the board. Among other reasons, I shudder to think of the example I am giving, for I am well aware how little the church has been profited since they have begun to collect many books and large libraries, in addition to and besides the Holy Scriptures, and especially since they have stored up, without discrimination, all sorts of writings by the church fathers, the councils, and teachers. Through this practice not only is precious time lost, which could be used for studying the Scriptures, but in the end the pure knowledge of the divine Word is also lost, so that the Bible lies forgotten in the dust under the bench (as happened to the book of Deuteronomy, in the time of the kings of Judah).
Although it has been profitable and necessary that the writings of some church fathers and councils have remained, as witnesses and histories, nevertheless I think, “Est modus in rebus,” [“there is a way in things”] and we need not regret that the books of many fathers and councils have, by God’s grace, disappeared. If they had all remained in existence, no room would be left for anything but books; and yet all of them together would not have improved on what one finds in the Holy Scriptures.”
Along with Martin Luther I believe it has been profitable and necessary that we have documented histories of faithful believers who came before us to contend for the gospel. It’s important for us to know and remember the significant counsels which wrestled with and exposed heresies for the body of Christ. More than that, it’s supremely important for us to thank God for these men and women who fought the good fight before us. Yet, I share Luther’s concern that too much time and weight might be given to the writings of men—which can never improve upon the Word of God.
Our admiration for the courage and accomplishments of the faithful men who came before us must never lead us to ascribe to their personal interpretations and insights the authority that belongs only to God’s Word. Far too many well meaning believers do, and this leads to a dynamic where the consciences of some can be bound to the opinions (and even to the unexamined interpretations) of the Reformers. It’s a subtle shift in authority when our admiration of those who teach us the Scriptures leads us to promote them out of the role God gave them in the Church. When, in the name of church history, Biblical truths are replaced with man made systems of thought, will God excuse this because our motives were good?
Christians are not called to shape their lives by the words of the heroes of Church history; rather we are called to be shaped by the Word of God— a call that the reformers would plead with us to remember.
Christians are not called to shape their lives by the words of the heroes of Church history; rather we are called to be shaped by the Word of God— a call that the reformers would plead with us to remember. Even a love for church history can become a subtle return to papal-like authority if Scripture is not the primary and singularly authoritative voice.
As we seek to honor the reformers it is a worthy goal to seek to understand their heart and their intentions in all that they did on behalf of the church. Here in this same Preface we learn just that from the pen of Luther himself:
“It was also our intention and hope, when we ourselves began to translate the Bible into German, that there should be less writing, and instead more studying and reading of the Scriptures. For all other writing is to lead the way into and point toward the Scriptures, as John the Baptist did toward Christ, saying, ‘He must increase, but I must decrease’ [John 3:30], in order that each person may drink of the fresh spring himself, as all those fathers who wanted to accomplish something good had to do.
Neither councils, fathers, nor we, in spite of the greatest and best success possible, will do as well as the Holy Scriptures, that is, as well as God himself has done. … Therefore it behooves us to let the prophets and apostles stand at the professor’s lectern, while we, down below at their feet, listen to what they say. It is not they who must hear what we say.”
I’m struck by Martin Luther’s humility. He is not insisting on his interpretation of the prophets and apostles, but he is calling the church to sit down below at their feet and hear what they have to say to us in the Scriptures.
Martin Luther’s Desire for the Church
Martin Luther went on to write about the example of David and his relationship to the Word of God in Psalm 119. From David’s example, Luther exhorts believers to make the Scriptures their ultimate focus and pursuit. He affirms his conviction that the Word of God alone is sufficient in itself to humble and instruct all who meditate upon it, producing true theologians equipped for teaching others. Luther writes:
“If you study hard in accord with his example, then you will also sing and boast with him in the Psalm, ‘The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces’ [Ps. 119:72]. Also, ‘Thy commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep thy precepts,’ etc. [Ps. 119:98–100].
And it will be your experience that the books of the fathers will taste stale and putrid to you in comparison. You will not only despise the books written by adversaries, but the longer you write and teach the less you will be pleased with yourself. When you have reached this point, then do not be afraid to hope that you have begun to become a real theologian, who can teach not only the young and imperfect Christians, but also the maturing and perfect ones.”
Luther’s exhortation for the church to cling to and meditate upon the Word of God is timeless. Those of us, like Martin Luther himself, who have climbed out of religion saturated in “authoritative” writers, counsels, traditions, and cultures know what damage comes from the dangerous drift away from the authority of Scripture alone. It’s the same drift that Paul warned about in Colossians.
Grand human tradition and unwavering denominational loyalties can create an authoritative hierarchy that eclipses the Scriptures and under which too many believers can shrink. Too many forget that the ground is level at the cross and the Scriptures are the sword of the Spirit for every believer—not only for the elite. They make wise the simple, they bring life to the dead, and they need no institutions or systems to bring their truth to bear upon the soul of man.
Luther’s humility before Scripture exposes a heart that had learned deep contentment in the Word of God itself. That same contentment—rooted in gratitude and trust—is what every believer today is called to cultivate.
Are We Content with Scripture?
In a women’s Bible study I’ve been a part of this fall we’re studying the book of Philippians. A major theme in this book is contentment. I’ve been thinking a lot about contentment and the fact that it’s the fruit of thankfulness to God—a heart posture that trusts Him fully and rests in His provision.
So, I want to ask: What is our heart before God regarding His Word? Are we satisfied with Scripture? Are we content with its final authority, or do we find ourselves craving novel interpretations, human approval, or new authorities to reassure us?
The world today looks very different from the one Martin Luther knew, yet the temptation to grow restless with Scripture—and the subtle drift toward new authorities or into church factions—remains as strong as ever, though it often hides beneath subtler forms. From books, podcasts, influencers, to YouTube teachers and endless digital archives of theologians from the Reformation to the present, our options for factional loyalties seem limitless.
To be sure, God has blessed His church with people who can articulate Biblical truths well. It’s right for us to be thankful for them and for their willingness to use their gifts and serve the church. But we must guard against what psychologists call the Halo Effect, which assumes that because someone excels or is right in one area, their opinions in other areas are equally trustworthy.
We cannot allow ourselves to venerate the messenger above the message. When we do we risk confusing loyalty to Christ with loyalty to personalities or unexamined extra-biblical philosophies.
We cannot allow ourselves to venerate the messenger above the message. When we do we risk confusing loyalty to Christ with loyalty to personalities or unexamined extra-biblical philosophies. When this happens it becomes far too easy to find ourselves engaging in quote-slinging contests meant to punctuate our opinions rather than in the pursuit of understanding the Word of God—a problem Martin Luther himself feared would infiltrate the church.
When Scripture alone is our authority—the standardagainst which all other claims are consistently tested—we find unity preserved in the bond of peace. We remember that Christ Himself is the head of the church. And as we remain fixed in obedient submission to His Word, which reveals His mind, we will experience true fellowship in His body. It will be from this place that we will most appropriately and biblically give honor to those whom honor is due.
Returning to the Heart of the Reformation
The Reformation was never meant to make celebrities of men—it was meant to free the church from bondage to human authority and restore confidence in the living Word of God. For those of us who have been rescued from Adventism through the reading of our own Bibles written in our own language and resting upon our laps in the comfort of our own homes, we know experientially how important the doctrine of Sola Scriptura is to true saving faith—may we guard it not only with our words, but also with our practice.
It’s my prayer that as we resist conformity to the world and pursue the renewal of our minds through Scripture, we will learn deep contentment and gratitude for God’s authoritative Scripture—that we will remain rooted in Christ and allow those roots to sink deeply into His Word.
As we celebrate Reformation Day, let’s honor the Reformers by remembering that they never asked to be followed—rather, they called us to return to the Scriptures themselves! True Reformation faith is not in the heroes of church history, but in the God who speaks through His living Word. He is the One for whom our beloved Reformers gave their lives. †
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