Reformation Day

While most people know October 31st as Halloween, it is actually the date of another holiday as well.

On a blustery day in Germany 492 years ago, a young man named Martin Luther nailed his famous "95 Theses" to the church door at Wittenberg. As we all know, this protest aganist unbiblical Catholic doctrines was the major incident that is considered to have begun the Reformation.

The break from Rome took many turns through the years, and through several of those twists the Presbyterian Church of America was born. This Reformation day I am going to be celebrating that I belong to a Christocentric, Gospel-driven, Bible-exalting denomination.

Beyond that, I am going to celebrate the battle cries of the Reformation:

Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")
Sola fide ("by faith alone")
Sola gratia ("by grace alone")
Solus Christus ("Christ alone")
Soli Deo gloria ("glory to God alone")

Thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit and the courage of a German monk, this October 31st is more than a day of fall festivaties or a ghostly night of costumes and candy. Above all, this 31st is a time for us to give thanks to God that he has provided his Son, Jesus, with a bride; and that we, the bride, are constantly being prepared (through events like the "95 Theses") to be ready for our glorious wedding banquet in the future!

Happy Reformation Day!