Three Principles of Protestantism

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Reformation&:evival

A Quarterly Journal for Church LeadershipVolume 1, No.1 Winter 1992


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Three Principles ofProtestantismJames E. McGoldrick

The Protest ant faith originated in a time of scandal whenJohann Tetzel, a Dominican monk, appeared in Germanyand went from place to place selling certificates of indulgence.lt was in the fall of 1517 thatthe scandal began. Tetzelpromised his listeners tha t they could obtain remission fortheir sins and for the sins of their loved ones who had diedand gone to purgatory. Consequently, pious people collected their savings and rushed to Tetzel to purchase hisdocuments, for that seemed to be the requirement of Christian charity-that loved ones might be released from thetorments of purgatory and admitted to heaven itself. In fact,Tetzelled people to believe that they could obtain forgiveness merely by dropping their coins in his box and takingthe certificates he offered. In order to popularize the sale,Tetzel recited ajingle: "So bald der Pfennig im Kasten klingt,die Selle aus dem Fegfeuer springtl" C"As soon as the coin inthe coffer rings, the soul out of purgatory springs.") Peopleseemed to come from everywhere, seeking to liberate lovedones from the flames of punishment. Purgatory, in theteaching of the medieval church, was portrayed as a placeof temporal punishment for sin; the length of time a soulwould spend there was determined by the number andsever ity of his offences. When one had been purged fully, hewould be released to go to heaven.

Word of Tetzel's activities soon reached Wittenberg Uni-versity where Dr. Martin Luther, Professor of Theology,received it with consternation. Rather than react with joyous hope that characterized the people who were purchasing Tetzel's documents, Luther became enraged. He spokeout vigorously and denounced the entire affair as a scandalof immense significance and contended that the churchmust be saved from the wretched traffic in indulgences.Luther went to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg,a document in one hand, a hammer in the other, andfastened to that door a list of ninety-five protests against the

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sale of indulgences.He likewise told thesouls under his carethat they had been deceived cruelly. The certificates ofindulgence didnotpromise the remission of sins and did notassure salvation either for them or for the departed. Thepoor German peasants and common townspeople, however, could not read the Latin language of the certificates,and Tetzel had preyed upon the ir ignorance by encouragingthem to believe that they had obt ained benefits which thedocuments themselves did not promise

According to Roman Catholic teaching, the church hadcustody of a Treasury of Merits which were acquired bygreat saints who had exceeded the good works required fortheir salvation. The excess of merit became a source fromwhich the church could dispense merit to those who weredeficient, and an indulgence became a means by whichneedy sinners could obtain merit from the Treasury. In the1460's, PopeSixtus IVdeclared thatbenefits gained throughindulgences could be transferred t o departed believers whohad gone to purgatory.

Luther, aflame with indignation, challenged the sale ofindulgences and demanded that the entire matter be discussed by the scholars of the University. He invited hisacademic colleagues to a public disputation to consider theNinety-Five Theses, or objections, which he had raised againstthe sale. Luther there by l a u n c h ~ d a protes t which attractedsupporters, and soon those who had joined in his protestbecame known as "Protes tants."

The word "Protestant," according to a dictionary definition, is "a member of any of certain Christian churcheswhich ultimately have split from the Roman Catholic Churchsince the 16th century, Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists,and many others"; or, "one who protests."

It was October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed theprotests to the doo r of castle church. He protested againstthe abuses and corruptions connected with the sale and


denounced the teaching that forgiveness of sins could beobtained by "contrition, confession and contribution." Bythat time in history the church had been teaching that theforgiveness of sins came through the sacrament of penancewhen a priest, representing Jesus Christ, absolved thesinner who confessed his sins, expressed sorrow for themand made a contribution to the church as a penance. Lutherspoke out courageously against indulgences and the beliefthat forgiveness could be realized through them or throughcontrition, confession and contribution. In the thirty-second of the Ninety-five Theses he wrote: "Those who believethat they can be certain of their salvation because they haveindulgence lette rs will be eternally damned, together withtheir teachers." 1By this dramatic gesture, Luther began aneffort to reform the church, to bring it back to the biblicalteaching of salvation, to restore the purity of the NewTestament faith. He, of course, did not intend to become thefounder of a separate Protestant church. In fact, Luther, atthat pOint, believed tha t the pope would be grateful becauseone of his monks had risen to defend the church against ascandalous abuse. Little did Luther know that the permeation of this corruption had reached even to Rome. Little didhe know that Pope Leo X and Albrecht, Archbishop ofMainz, had arranged the sale of indulgences and appointedTetzel as their agent. Rather than being grateful, Leo X wasthoroughly chagrined at Luther's actions.

Martin Luther's protest was not entirely negative, andthe word "Protestant" is actually not a negative term. It isderived from the Latin preposition pro, meaning "for," andthe infinitive testare, "to witness." A Protes tant then is onewho witnesses for-a Protest ant witnesses for Jesu s Christand the Word of God. Protest antism then is not merely aprote st against ecclesiastical corruption and false teaching;it is a revival of the biblical faith, a revival of New TestamentChristianity, with a positive emphasis upon the doctrines of

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Scripture, grace and faith. Phrased in the beautiful Latin ofthe 16th century, Protestantism proclaims sola Scriptura,"Scripture only," sola gratia, "grace only," and sola fide,"faith only." These a re the thre e principles of Protestantism.SOlA SCRIPTURA

Where the Bible claims to be the Word of God, trueProtestantism acc epts that claim at face value. Protestan tsbelieve, as did Paul, that the entire Scripture is "Godbreathed," that Scripture is the very charter of our salvation, and that it is through the written Word of God that thebeliever becomes "thoroughly equipped for every goodwork." (2 Timothy 3:17) Protestants ascribe to the Bibleexactly the same authority that Jesus Christ ascribed to theBible of His day. Jesus said,

Do not think that Ihave come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you thetruth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter,not the least stroke of a pen, will byany means disappear from theLaw until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:18)

Because it stands with Jesus on the authority of the Bible,Protestan tism renounces t he authorit y of human tradition.When Jesus engaged the Jewish Pharisees in debate, hereplied to their c riticisms with the charge, "You nUllify theWord of God for the sake of your tradition." (Matthew 15:6)Jesus often contradicted the traditions of men, but hefulfilled, upheld, and defended the Word of God. In theSermon on the Mount Jesus exposed the Jewish relianceupon rabbinic tradition when He said, "You have heard thatit was said to the people long ago ..but I elI you .." (Matthew5:21-22). In this manner Jesus c ontradicted the traditionalteachings of the rabbis who had perverted the Word ofGodthrough false interpretation. Jesus said, in effect, "Forget


what the rabbis have told you and listen to me, for my wordis the Word of God." When it is tested b y he scriptures of theOld Testament, the word of Jesus is, indeed, the Word ofGod.Luther disputed the sale of indulgences and the othersuperstitions of the medieval church be cause he realizedthat they had no foundation in Scripture. He, therefore,became the central figure in an intense and protractedcontroversy. Pope and Emperor turne d against him forcefully, and the princes of Germany were ordered to moveagainst him. The Pope demanded that Luther appear inRome to answer charges against him. Luther, however, hada protector, Frederick the Wise, Prince of Saxony. Frederickcontended that Luther was not likely to receive a fair trial inRome. If a trial were to be held, it would have to be inGermany. The arrangements were made eventually.InApril,1521, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V traveled t o the smallGerman town of Worms, where he had summoned the Dietof his empire to convene.

There, at Worms, were gathered together the bishops,archbishops, princes of the empire, representatives of theFreistadte (free cities); and there, elevated above the others, sat the august CharlesV, King of Spain and Holy RomanEmperor.

Before that impressive assembly stood the lowly Augustinian, Martin Luther, clothed in his monk's cowl, ushered there to stand before a table on which laythe tracts andtreatises he had written and published. Johann von Eck,associa te of the Archbishop of Trier, who served as interrogator, asked Luther to acknowledge the writings as his own,which Luther did. Eck also asked the theologian if he wouldretra ct the "heresies" that he had published. Realizing theimportance of his position, Luther asked time to com pose aformal reply. He was granted twenty-four hours and on thenext day reappeared before the Diet and delivered a speech


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1which altered the course of history and changed the churchforever. The world and the church have never been thesame since Luther delivered tha t impassioned address.

A lowly monk and obscure theologian, without wealth orforce of arms, Luther stood there in the presence ofGermany's rulers and said,

"Since then your serene majesty and your lordships seek asimpl e answer, I will give It In this manner, neither hornednor toothed: Unless I am convinced by the testimony of theScriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in thePope or in Councils alone, since it Is well known that theyhave often erred and contradicted themselves), I am boundby the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience iscaptive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retractanything, since it is neither safe nor right to go againstconscience." 2Luther must have stood there trembling, for he knew that

he had risked his life for Jesus Christ. Others who had takensuch a resolute stand before him had perished in the flamesof execution. In fact, Bohemian reformer John Hus had beenburned by order of the Council of Constance a centurybefore, and among the crimes for which he had been condemned was his prot est against the sale of indulgences!

In taking his stand a t the Diet, Luther knew his life wouldthereafter be in jeopardy. The Emperor, to his credit, however, kept his promise that Luther could travel to and fromWorms without being molested. The monk was permitted toleave in safety, but he would thereafter be regarded as aheretic in the eyes of the church and an outlaw in the eyesof the Emperor. Luther, nevertheless, had proclaimed aprinciple that was destined to echo down the corridors oftime, the principle ofsola Scriptura. Those who believe as hedid still hold to the Scripture alone and, like Luther, theirconsciences are "captive to the Word of God."


Soon after Luther issued his protest and initiated thereform of the church in Germany, others, in various parts ofChristendom, also turned to the Bible and there discoveredtruths which had been obscured by centuries of ecclesiastical tradition. In the mountains of Switzerland John Calvinemerged as leader of the reform. He, like Luther, became anearnes t student of the Bible, and for him, too, the Scripturewas the supreme authority. Calvin, speaking about theSacred Book, said, "The prophets did not speakat their ownsuggestion, but they were organs of the Holy Spirit to utteronly those things which had been commanded from heaven. 3Swiss Protestants, like their German brothers, were trueProtestants in that they demanded that every issue betested by the authority ofsola Scriptural They, too, had noconfidence in Popes and Councils, for their consciencesalso were captive to the Word of God. Genuine Protestantism everywhere declares the Bible, and the Bible alone, isthe authority for Christian belief and practice, for this is thefaith of our fathers, the faith "that was once for all entrus tedto the saints." (Jude 3)

Among Protes tant declarations of confidence in the truthand trustworthiness of Scripture, that of The New Hamp-shire Confession of Faith is as majestic as it is unequivocal.Article 1 of that Baptist affirmation states:

"We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinelyinspired, and Is a perfect treasure of heavenly Instruction;that is has God for its author salvation for it s end, and truth,withoutany mixture oferror, for Its matter ; that it reveals theprinciples by which God will judge us; and therefore Is, andshall remain to the end of the world, the true center ofChristian union, and the supreme standard by which allhuman conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried."To this ringing affirmation of sola Scriptura all true Prot

estants will assent. Sola Scriptura is an indispensable foun-


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dation for th e Christian faith. If the church in the 20thcentury is no t faithful in proclaiming sola Scriptura, the timehas arrived for another protest, a protest against humandevices and a protest for the Word of God.SOIA GRATIA

Protestantism,because t stands upon Scripture, teachesthat sinful man has no hope for salvation by his own efforts,for Protestants know that the Bible states clearly: "I t is bygrace you have been saved, through faith-and this no t fromyourselves, it is the gift ofGod-not byworks,so that no onecan boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) Protestantism, therefore, denies all schemes of salvation which promote human worksand religious ceremonies as th e means of eternal life andforgiveness. It insists that salvation comes by the pure,unmerited favor of God, by grace alone. Sola gratia is acardinal teaching of the Protestant faith. Protestants knowthat man is deficient in both the will and th e abilityto pleaseGod an d to earn salvation. Luther described man's sinfulstate as being a condition of De ServoArbitrio (Bondage ofthe Will).4

Man, in his foolishness,thinks he is free, but he is actuallyin bondage to sin an d Satan. Jesus said, "Everyone who sinsis a slave to sin." (John 8:34) Man does possess a type offreedom, to be sure. In fact, he is free to do as he pleases, bu the pleases to sin! Sinful desires lead him ever deeper into sinand farther from God,living in sin, loving sin, and, bu t for thegrace of God, dying in sin. Man's bondage is so complete thathe is blissfully unaware that he is a slave.

Luther reflected upon man's tragic fallen condition anddescribed it this way:

'" believe that ' cannot bymy own reason or strength believein Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him; bu t the Holy Spirithas called me through the gospel, enlightened by His gifts,and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith; in like


manner as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies thewhole Christian Church on earth, and preserves it in unionwith Jesus Christ in the true faith . . . 5This is the gospel of sola gratia. This is the teaching

that, upon hopeless, helpless Sinners, to whom he owesnothing, God has taken pity and bestowed his favorgraciously. Sinners who do not deserve it, who haveearned nothing but the wrath of God, have the inestimable privilege of enjoying the favor of God, becauseGod, from the sheer goodness of his heart, has chosen tobe kind to those who deserve only his judgment.

True Protestantism takes its doctrine of salvationdirectly from the Bible and thereforedeclares that salvation is the unmerited, undeserved and unsolicited gift ofGod. It is "the grace of God that brings salvation" (Titus2:11), and therefore true Protestants declare sola gratiato the whole world. What man could no t do for himself,God has done for him freely by His grace in Jesus Christ.If he church in th e 20th century has neglected to declareth e gospel of sola gratia, the time has come for anotherprotest. Protestants now, as in the 16th century, mustinsist that the question of salvation be settled by appealto Scripture, which proclaims that it is th e gift of God, no ta reward for human endeavor.SOIAF1DE

Protestantism affirms the Bible as its only authority andgrace as the only means of salvation. That, however,leavesone question still unanswered. How maya person receivethis salvation? Or, stated in other terms, how maya personbe right with God? This was the question that perplexedLuther and drove him to the brink of despair.

Luther did no t become a monk willingly. While a youngstudent preparing for a career in the practice of law, Lutherwas traveling through a forest in Germany and suddenly

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found himself engulfed in a ferocious storm. Thunder roaredoverhead, and bolts of lightning crackled the trees. Theyoung man feared that he would be struck at any moment,and in his anguish, he prayed. Luther prayed, bu tnot to God.He implored the aid ofSt. Anne, the patron saint of miners.Luther's father had been a miner, so Luther probably re-membered childhood instructions which directed him toseek that saint's intercession with God. Martin promised St.Anne that he would become a monk if his life were spared.He survived the frightening storm, and, true to his vow,Luther entered the monastery of the Augustinian order atErfurt. He eventually became a priest, and, while in themonastery, he devoted himself to the responsibilities ofcommunity life with unusual vigor. Luther spent sleeplessnights in prayer and protracted periods of fasting. He con-fessed his sins every day, as he sought to achieve rightstanding before God.

Father Johann Staupitz, Luther's monastic superior, real-ized after a while that his new monk was a man with anunusually sensitive conscience. Luther was so burdenedwith a sense of sin and guilt that he could not confess oftenenough, and finally Staupitz told him to leave the confes-sional and not return until he had something really sinful toconfess! Luther had been scraping his conscience in aneffort to relieve himself of a horrible burden of guilt andshame, but confession to a priest had brought no help.

Although the medieval church encouraged people toadopt monasticism as the best way to win the favor of God,Luther's experience in the monastery did not enable him tolove God. By his own admission, Luther' s alienation fromhis Creator actually increased at the very time that he waspursuing his monastic duties so faithfully. As he put it,"I...was perpetually in torment." 6

Luther's studies in the monastery and the university, aswell as during his childhood upbringing, had encouraged


him to regard God as a grim judge, so he was terrified at theprospect that he might not be among God's chosen people.He confessed his doubts to Father Staupitz, and the wisecounsellor urged him to cease dwelling on the wrath of Godand begin meditating on the love and mercy ofGod. Staupitztold Luther to look upon the wounds of Christ and believethat Christ had been crucified for him, for in that way thedistressed monk would find assurance of God's love andfavor. Luther took that advice to heart, but doubts contin-ued to assail him, because he could not discard his image ofGod as a wrathful judge ..

The study of the Bible was p art of Luther's responsibilityas a priest and theologian, but even this sacred exercise atfirst seemed only to deepen his s ense of woe.As he encoun-tered the biblical emphasis on the righteousness of God,Luther realized that the perfectly righteous God demandsrighteousness in men. But, tryas he might, Luther could notachieve the righteousness that his Creator required; thetroubled monk continued sinking into mental and spiritualmisery because he could no t satisfy the divine demands andcould not appease the wrath of God against whom he hadsinned. The righteous God whom Luther met in Scriptureremained in his thinking the accusa tory magistrate whoselaws he had broken. 7

At the University of Wittenberg Martin Luther was en-trusted with the responsibility of . ecturing through por-tions of the Bible, and, in 1515, two years before the postingof the Ninety -five Theses, he initiated a series of lectures onthe Epistle to the Romans. In this great treatise of Paul,Luther discovered the heart of the gospel in chapter 1,verses 16 and 17:

"I am not ashamed of the gospel. because it is the power of Godfor the salvation of everyone who believes; first for theJew, thenfor the Gentile. For in the Gospel a righteousness


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from God is revealed, a righteousness that is thro ugh faith fromfirst to last, just as it is written: 'He who through faith is righteouswill live. " 8The righteousness which Luther needed, but was pow-

erless to produce, he found revealed in the gospel of Christ.He discovered that it is a righteousness that comes from God!The righteousness that God requires is a righteousness thatGod Himself supplie s, thr ough faith in His Son. Here is theheart of the Christian faith-sinful man is justified, that is,obtains right standing before God, sola fide, through faithalone.

When Luther made the discovery of justification throughfaith alone he exclaimed,

"I felt that I was altogether born again and had enteredparadise itself through open gates. There a totally other faceof the entire Scripture showed itself to me." 9Yes, a miracle had taken place in th e heart and soul of

Martin Luther. As he studied the Word of God, the Spirit ofGod granted him spiritual life, regenerated him and gavehim faith to believe and to und erstand that the righteous-ness that he needed so desperately had been granted to himby the Son of God. Protestantism proclaims that faith, andfaith alone, justifies the sinner, that is, declares him right-eous in his standing before God.

The Heidelbe rg Catechism is one of the great statementsof the Protestant Reformation, and its definition of savingfaith is especially pertinent:

"True faith is not only a sure knowledge whereby I hold fortruth all that God has revealed to us in His Word, bu t also afirm confidence which th e Holy Spirit works in my heart byth e gospel, that no t only to others, but to me also, remissionof sin, everlasting righteousness and salvation are freelygiven by God merely of grace, only for the sake of the meritsof Jesus Christ." 10


There it is! The sinner, with no merit of his own, presen tsto God the untarnished merits of Jesus Christ, who isheaven's supreme benevolence reaching down to sinnerswho cannot reach up to God. As Jesus ph rased it, "the Sonof Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Q..uke 19:10)He came to seek men who, bynat ure, would never seekHim.He loved lost sinners so much that He pursued them in theirflight from God, overtook them as they were fleeing, and bythe gentle touch of His grace turned them around anddirected them toward heaven. Paul described this salvationbeautifully: "when the kindness and love of God our Saviorappeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things wehad done, but be cause of mercy. He saved us through thewashingof rebirth and renewal by the HolySpirit" (mus 3:4-5)

Martin Luther knew that he had received the precious giftof God, justifying faith in Jesus Christ. How about us? As weconsider the three great principles of Protestantism, do webelieve the Bible? Are we standing firmly on sola Scriptura ,on Scripture alone? Have we abandoned all foolish efforts tosave ourselves? Do we stand before God saved by Christ,sola gratia? Have we confes sed our sin and realized our lostcondition? Do we, as Luther did, feel hopeless and helpless?Do we, through faith, believe that Christ died for our sinsand rose again? If so, we too have been born again; we toohave found the "open gate of paradise"; we too have re-ceived that righteousness which comes from God, which is"from first to last th rough faith," for we, "who through faithhave been declared righteous, shall live!"

In the last decade of this century, over 500 years afterLuther's birth in 1483, the contemporarychurch must pro-claim the gospel ofsola fide. If the church of our generationis not doing so, it is time, once again, to protest! Let ourchurch become truly Protestant onc e again. Let it witnessfor Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Let us protest againsthuman devices and false traditions. We need a revival of a


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1genuine Protestant witness, because these principles arebeing discarded, although they come from the Bible and arewritten in history with martyrs' blood.

Let us protes t, lest real Protestantism be lost b y default.Here is the faith of our fathers, the faith bywhich they lived,and the faith for which they died. This is the faith thatenabled Luther to stand resolute before both church andempire to declare, "my conscience is captive to the Word ofGod." This is the faith that sustained the English Protestan tmartyr Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, whoperished at the stake during the reign of the infamousBloody Mary. In an earlier moment of weakI!ess Cranmerhad recanted in order to save his life, but he recovered hiscourage at last and paid the ultimate price of loyalty to hisSavior. As the flames were ignited at his feet, ThomasCranmer thrust his right hand into the flames and cried out,"Forasmuch as my hand offended in writing contrary to myheart, it shall be burned first. " 11

Like Luther, Cranmer and other marty rs believed in thethree principles of Protestantism and knew that they couldnot renounce them without renouncing Jesus Christ. MayGod give us courage to live by the same faith and to die inthat faith.


Eternal GodandFatherofourLord Jesus Christ, give us yourHoly Spirit who writes thepreached word into our hearts.May we receive and believe itand be cheered and comfortedby it n eternity. Glorifyyourwordin our hearts and make it sobright and warm that we mayfind pleasure in it, through yourHoly Spirit think what is right,and by your power fulfill theword, for he sake of esus Christ,your Son, ourLord. Amen.

Martin Lutfier


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END NOTFS

1 Harold J. Grimm, ed., Luther's Works, p.28.2 George W. Forell, ed., Luther's Works, Vol. 32, p.112.3 D.W. Torrance, ed., Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. 10,p.330.4- Lewis W. Spitz, ed., Luther's Works, Vol. 34.5 Martin Luther, Small Catechism, p.12.6 E.G. Schwiebert, Luther and His Times, p.153.7 Spitz, Luther's Works, Volume 34, p. 337.8 New Internationa l Version, modified slightly by

author.9 Spitz, Luther's Works, Vol. 34, p. 337.10 Heidelberg Catechism, p. 6.Il John Foxe, The Acts and Movements of he Christian

Martyrs, Vol. VIII, p. 88.

AuthorDr. James E. McGoldrick is professor of history at

Cedarville College, Cedarville, Ohio. He is a serious studentof Reformation history. This article, in a slightly differentform, originally appeared in The Banner of Truth, No. 232,January 1983, and is used with their permission.

Three Principles of Protestantism

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