The Reformation Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: The Ordinary Means of Grace

A few weeks ago, we continued to answer the question, what is the significance of the Reformation for yesterday, today, and tomorrow? One way to respond is by considering the Reformation in light of doctrine. In many respects, the Reformation was a fight for right doctrine. But heterodoxy has many benefits. For instance, orthodoxy helps the Christian face suffering. It brings comfort to the soul, especially as that doctrine is received in public worship through the ordinary Means of Grace.

Doctrine and the Ordinary Means of Grace

What are the ordinary means of grace? The Word, sacraments, and prayer. These are the main ways Christ grows and sustains his church. And if we are honest, we need to grow, and we need sustaining. Martin Luther did, and he knew it. He struggled massively with depression and guilt because of his ongoing sins. At times, he felt like he was on a seesaw, going back and forth between hope and despair. And the despair sometimes paralyzed him. He called it Anfechtungen—Overwhelming angst in the soul. One such incident was in 1525 when the Peasants’ War broke out. The peasants took Luther’s opposition to the Catholic church to mean they had the right to attack the state.

Luther called for the German princes to smash the rebellion, which resulted in the butchery of thousands of peasants. Their deaths crushed Luther. He felt like blood was on his hands. Some days he could barely get out of bed. But two things got him through this season. One was his new marriage to Katherine Von Bora. She was dear to him. Luther said of Katy, he would not give her up, “for France or for Venice.” He loved her. And she was crucial to helping him battle depression. A godly marriage can be an encouragement in times of distress.

The other thing that carried Luther through this season was doctrine received through the ordinary means of grace. The Word, sacraments, and prayer were where Luther was taken back to Bible doctrine. They were critical in reminding Luther of the love of God found in the incarnation of Christ. Sometimes the Devil uses our circumstances to try and get us to believe God doesn’t care and has abandoned us. Luther felt that way at times. In these moments, he needed to return to the doctrines of grace, proclaimed through Word, sacraments, and prayer. These were his God-given weapons to help him beat back doubts. When Satan attacked, Luther would yell out, “Get away from me Devil, I am baptized.” In other words, “I am washed through the blood of the Lamb. My sins are forgiven. And I follow Christ.

When we are overwhelmed by the difficulties of life, when the guilt of sin makes us eat the dust, when temptations hit us, we must go back to doctrine, we must come again and receive the primary means of grace. But so often, when people are going through emotional turmoil, feel burdened by their circumstances, are laid low with guilt, or are under serious temptation, do you know what they do? They don’t come to church. They don’t receive the Word preached, seen, and prayed. They stay away from the very things God has given to help them. Staying away from right doctrine proclaimed through right preaching, right administering of the sacraments, and right prayer, only makes things worse. Maybe what we need is to get as much of the Word, sacraments, and prayer as we can. Perhaps we need to ask for a greater hunger for Scripture. It could be that we need to plan our Sunday schedule around the Means of Grace. Not the Means of Grace around our Sunday schedule. The Word, sacraments, and prayer are key for spiritual growth. Without them, we will experience deformation not reformation.

—Pastor Clif