A Hammer, a Door, and a Reformation
On October 31, 1517, a German monk named Martin Luther walked up to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg and nailed a list of 95 Theses—statements meant to spark theological debate. He wasn’t seeking fame or revolution. He wanted renewal.
What troubled Luther was the corruption of the gospel. The Church had traded the free grace of Christ for a system of indulgences and works. It had buried Scripture under layers of tradition and elevated papal authority above the Word of God. Luther’s protest was not against the Church per se, but against the Church’s departure from the gospel.
That hammer strike in Wittenberg echoed through Europe—and through time. It gave birth to what we now call the Protestant Reformation, a movement grounded in five great truths that continue to define biblical Christianity:
Scripture alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.
The Modern Drift Back to Rome
Five centuries later, many thoughtful evangelicals are looking back toward Rome. They are disillusioned with a fragmented, shallow, entertainment-driven evangelical culture.
They see denominations multiplying endlessly, churches dividing over minor doctrinal or political issues, and worship services that feel more like concerts than encounters with the holy God. They long for depth, beauty, and unity—things they believe they can find in the Catholic Church.
And truthfully, their concerns are not wrong. Modern evangelicalism is in desperate need of theological depth, historical awareness, and reverent worship. The evangelical church has often traded substance for style, discipleship for decisions, and reverence for relevance.
But while I understand the attraction, I cannot follow them back to Rome. The problems in evangelicalism are real—but the solution is not retreat, it is reformation.
Why I’m Still Protestant
1. Scripture Alone
The Reformers taught that God’s Word is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice—not popes, councils, or traditions.
Rome still teaches that Scripture and Tradition are equal sources of divine revelation, interpreted by the Magisterium. But when anything rivals Scripture, Scripture soon becomes secondary.
I remain Protestant because the Word of God is sufficient. The Bible needs no supplement, no human interpreter standing above it. It is clear, authoritative, and alive.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching…” (2 Timothy 3:16)
2. Faith Alone
The Reformers rediscovered that justification is by faith alone—a free and final declaration that sinners are righteous in Christ.
Rome still teaches justification as a process that includes human cooperation and sacramental participation.
But Scripture is clear: we are justified not by what we do, but by what Christ has done.
“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:28)
I remain Protestant because the gospel of faith alone leaves no room for boasting and no fear of condemnation.
3. Grace Alone
Grace is not a divine boost to help us earn heaven. It is the free and sovereign favor of God toward the undeserving.
To mix grace with merit is to destroy grace entirely.
“If it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” (Romans 11:6)
I remain Protestant because grace is not a wage—it is a gift.
4. Christ Alone
Rome’s veneration of Mary and the saints, and its teaching on priestly mediation, obscure the sufficiency of Christ.
The Reformers proclaimed what Scripture declares:
“There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5)
I remain Protestant because Christ’s work is finished, His intercession complete, His sacrifice once for all. There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
5. To the Glory of God Alone
Salvation—from beginning to end—is for the glory of God, not the exaltation of man or of the Church.
The Reformers sought to pull down every idol that distracted from the glory of God, whether human authority, relic, or ritual.
“From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.” (Romans 11:36)
I remain Protestant because all of life, salvation included, must point upward—to the glory of God alone.
Where the Church Still Needs Reformation
While I remain Protestant, I must also confess: the Protestant Church needs reform again.
The Reformation was not meant to create endless division or shallow consumer Christianity. It was meant to restore the Church to biblical faithfulness and spiritual vitality.
Today, our danger is not indulgences but indulgence—a self-centered, entertainment-saturated spirituality that seeks experiences more than truth, and personal feelings more than reverent worship.
If Luther’s generation needed reformation from papal abuse, ours needs reformation from evangelical apathy.
Here is where we must reform again:
1. Unity Over Tribalism
Evangelicalism has splintered into thousands of tribes—each convinced they are the faithful remnant. We divide over secondary doctrines, worship styles, and political affiliations.
But Jesus prayed for His people to be one (John 17). True gospel unity does not require uniformity—it requires humility.
We need a reformation of charity, where conviction and kindness coexist, and where we unite around the gospel rather than fracture over preferences.
2. Reverence Over Entertainment
The Church was never meant to compete with the world for attention but to display a different kind of beauty—the beauty of holiness.
Worship that is loud but empty, emotional but shallow, is no improvement over ritualistic formality. We need worship that is word-centered, sacramental, participatory, and reverent—not a performance to consume but a sacred encounter to share.
The answer is not to imitate Rome’s pageantry, but to recover biblical liturgy: Scripture read, sung, prayed, and preached. We must rediscover the awe of approaching a holy God.
3. Formation Over Consumerism
The Reformers gave us catechisms, confessions, and habits of discipleship. Many evangelicals have traded those for branding, programs, and slogans.
We need a return to doctrinal depth and spiritual discipline—training believers to think theologically, pray biblically, and live missionally.
Reformation must begin in the pulpit, but it must continue in the home and the heart.
Reformation Day Is Still Relevant
Reformation Day is not about nostalgia—it’s about renewal. We don’t celebrate division; we celebrate the rediscovery of the gospel.
Yes, the Church today is flawed, fractured, and often shallow. But the solution is not to go back to Rome—it is to go back to Scripture, to grace, and to Christ.
Luther once declared,
“My conscience is captive to the Word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand; I can do no other.”
Five hundred years later, I stand there too—not to defend Protestant pride, but to defend gospel truth. And I pray for a new Reformation—one that revives the Church, reforms our worship, unites our hearts, and restores all glory to God alone.
Doctrine and Mission 
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