I’m a Protestant who believes Luther made an awful lot of mistakes, but got the big thing right—the gospel.- Mark Noll

This summer I traveled to Sacramento to attend the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).  A highlight of my week was getting to hear EPC member and American historian Mark Noll. In honor of the 500^th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation this October 31st (Halloween is also Reformation Day, by the way), he was giving two keynotes on Martin Luther and “Why the Reformation Still Matters.” My wife, Pam, knowing how much Noll’s book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind has influenced my ministry, talked me into getting the picture above.

It’s an amazing thing to learn “live” from one of the top evangelical historians in the world. Now at Regent College, he once served at Wheaton—the evangelical Protestant equivalent to Harvard.  He also taught at the similarly prestigious Catholic Notre Dame. Given his credentials and the breadth of his career, I knew Noll would give a picture of Luther and the Reformation that was true to its aim of being “responsible, humble, and accurate.”

Noll said the Reformation was a blessing because it empowered the laity and checked the power of the Pope. He said it was also a curse because it brought unprecedented strife and controversy. He called it “a crisis of authority that failed to unite.”  From a Protestant perspective, the Reformation did in fact reform.  From a Catholic perspective, Luther split the church.

Noll gave five reasons why the Reformation still matters. I use his outline and key thoughts below, adding my own for clarity and simplicity.

1. Context matters – Luther’s world was a time of new learning and a return to sources. The printing press was invented and there was a return to sola scriptura (Latin for “by Scripture alone”). Noll pointed out, however, that sola scriptura was understood as a critique for reform, not revolution. In other words, it was not a rejection of all confessional authorities. Noll also noted that Luther would have met few in his life that weren’t baptized. By contrast, most people today don’t go to church, or believe that Jesus is the only way to God. Further, in our postmodern and pervasively secular culture, it is imperative that we emphasize an experiential and loving relationship with the living God, rather than cold religion, stony dogma, and being good at rules.
2. Daily life matters – For Luther, this included vocation, marriage, and even simple gifts like wine and beer! Noll specifically called attention to how we still need an apologetic for marriage today. Statements like the Manhattan Declaration may serve a needed role in defending traditional marriage, but there is no better apologetic than a living, breathing, healthy, and joyful Christian marriage. Many young people, especially children in Christian families, hear much about how hard and difficult marriage can be. This is definitely part of the truth about marriage, but we all need to hear more of the life-giving directive to “enjoy life with the wife whom you love” (Eccl 9:9a) and how to do that well. One of the cool things about the 2003 movie Luther is how it captures the fun, delight, and spunk in Luther’s relationship with his wife, Katherine.
3. Singing matters – Music has a sacramental quality and Luther is famous for saying “music is the handmaiden of theology.” In other words, music is a conduit of God’s grace; it can serve and connect us with biblical truth in powerful ways. Noll celebrated Luther’s most famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress, as “biblical, emotional, and long-lived.” Many of us love this hymn because, every time we sing it, it puts steel back in our faith and helps us remember the precious truths of Psalm 46:1: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
4. Faithfulness matters – Luther went through bouts of depression and had a lot of set-backs; his influence, however, was amazing. His actual nailing of the 95 Theses to the Wittenberg Castle Church door may be more legend than fact, but not the size of the ripples associated with his legacy. Noll reminded us that “history is littered with people who felt defeated when they died, but history proved a different reality concerning their influence.” May we remember this when we get discouraged.
5. The gospel matters – Noll called Luther “God’s violent physician.” Luther’s manner and rhetoric was often aggressive and caustic. He made some egregious statements about the Jews and he could be extremely cantankerous, especially as he got older. He even stubbornly refused Calvin’s kind overtures to seek unity on their respective views on the Lord’s Supper. Still, Noll concluded by saying this: “I’m a Protestant who believes Luther made an awful lot of mistakes, but got the big thing right—the gospel.” Luther reminds us that “the most dangerous sin of all is the presumption of righteousness.” Our good works cannot save us. The gospel is the good news that we are justified by grace alone through faith. Thanks be to God!

Noll believes the two greatest statements that came out of the Reformation were the Heidelberg Catechism and Luther’s Smaller Catechism. As a way of celebrating the Reformation’s 500^th anniversary, why not pick one or both up, and give them a read? You might also order the 2003 movie, Luther, and watch it together as a family.