Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther declared independence by standing up to the Pope. He stood up to corruption, to exploitation, and to bad theology. Although his goal was reform, the outcome was independence.

We do ourselves a disservice when we relegate this incident to the realm of Church History. Martin Luther declared that the Pope was fallible, that he was capable of making mistakes. He declared that the Church was not the authority on salvation.

He declared that no human had the final say.

Luther stood up to a corrupt Church because he believed it was part of the fallen nature of humanity. Prior to this, Luther had done something very few people had done in more than a millennium: he read the Bible in his native language. He read what it actually said and what he found was that the Church and Pope had abused their authority and power.

And he called them out.

The Pope had the power to cause real, bodily harm to Luther, but did not have the power to condemn him, therefore, his words were meaningless. I don’t think the old “sticks and stones” rhyme is about teasing, it’s about power. Words can do great harm, they can incite violence, they can also inspire, but only in as much as we respond to those words. Luther did not give power to the Pope’s words.

“Saved by faith” and “sola Scriptura” are one-liner theological ideas we pull from Luther that miss the point of the revolution he started: Luther was the child in the crowd that yelled, “the emperor has no clothes.” The Pope was just a man and his power was an illusion.

Today, the authority that Luther shifted to the Bible has grown to a level of idolatry that has led many Christians to believe they personally hold the keys to salvation, but they do not. 

When Timothy was told that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work,” (2 Timothy 3:16-17), he was not being told to cherry pick select portions of Scripture to condemn and oppress people. He was being told to do exactly what Luther did, and what we are empowered to do: read the Scripture for ourselves, so that we will not be deceived by those who come preaching a false Gospel.

You are saved by grace through faith, not by the Church or the Bible or by someone on a street corner holding up a sign. No person on earth has the authority to deny your salvation. 

That is the freedom we have in Christ Jesus.