Born in Germany in 1483, Martin Luther became one of the most influential figures in Christian history when he began the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. He called to question some of the basic tenets of a certain religion, and his followers soon split from it to begin the Protestant tradition.

“Sola Scriptura”, “Sola Gracia”. Sola fide”. “Solus Christus” and “Soli Deo Gloria”, were the hallmark of the Reformation.  Martin Luther handed down to us the precious truth that salvation is by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  The bible is the sole authority (Sola Scriptura) in our Christian faith and for the glory of our Almighty Creator God alone (Soli Deo Gloria).

We thank God for Martin Luther who defended the faith.  It is only through the undiluted truth of the gospel that we can be saved.  We will otherwise perish from erroneous teachings.

With the dawn of the printing press in the 16th Century,

Martin Luther translated the bible from Latin to German.  While the Word of God was previously only available to the priests, with that, God’s word became freely available to the common people.  To pass on God’s Word and its salvation grace, many paid a high price, while countless numbers lost their lives.

Some twenty years later, a French/Swiss theologian, John Calvin, further refined the reformers’ theologies on the nature of God and God’s relationship with humanity, and this has come to be known as Reformed theology. This theology proved to be the driving force of the Reformation, particularly in West Germany, France, the Netherlands, England, and Scotland.

Jude in his book reminded us – “I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people.” (1:3)

It is imperative for us to defend the faith, which was once delivered to us, in the generations to come.  A false gospel cannot save you and it leads to eternal hell. We should endeavour to defend the faith with our lives so that God’s truth concerning our salvation can be passed on from one generation to another.

We have to zealously guard and defend our pulpit to ensure that the undiluted truth of God’s word is upheld with the highest regard.  We are instructed in the bible to speak the truth in love.

We thank God for Martin Luther and the reformers who risked their lives to pass down the heritage of our faith.  It is our duty then to ensure we continue to defend and pass down this heritage in the generations to come.

Today, we have the bible that has been translated into many languages, and is now readily available, in printed pages, on the internet and even on mobile devices.  The call today is not only to defend our Christian faith, but more importantly, to read the bible and live out the faith which was once delivered to us by the Reformers.

We commemorate Reformation Day, so that we will treasure the Word of God and not forget the pain that our forefathers went through to preserve it and pass it on to generations to come. It recovered the wonderful truth of the good news of God’s salvation grace through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus our Lord.

“This is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!” (1 Pet. 5:12b).