2017 marks 500 years since the Reformation (dating it from Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg Door).
Hopefully, for many Christians, this will reawaken an interest in our heritage. It is time to blow away the dust, if we have allowed it to settle, and read some classics of Christian history. John Calvin’s Institutes, Martin Luther’s Table Talk and later Puritan writings, like those of Jonathan Edwards, will all help remind us of the depths and riches of Reformation theology.
Apologetics?
It may also be the case that we find apolo-getics being given short shrift. Luther took a very low view of human reason and philosophy. Not a man to waste words with pleasantries, he described reason as ‘a whore’, ‘the greatest enemy that faith has’. Luther rejected the attempt to ‘justify the ways of God to men’. How dare we try to defend the things of God with human reason? Only God’s Word carries final authority and only God’s Word can settle disputes over matters of faith. Reason leads no one to God because salvation’s prerequisite is a work of God’s grace in the gospel.
This way of thinking can be very appealing to evangelicals. After all, we know that no one can be argued into the kingdom of God and the church must always be challenged to return to our central calling of preaching God’s Word. But even when we teach and preach there is a need for reason and argument.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones described preaching as ‘logic on fire’, a brilliant summary of his own effective sermons. The Reformers understood this and John Calvin’s theology inspired an entire movement called Reformed Apologetics. Calvin never compromised the authority of God’s Word, but recognised the place of common grace in human thought and witness.
Luther in context
So why was Luther so hostile to philosophy and reason? Is it part of our Reformed heritage to show apologetics to the door? No, and the reason is found by setting Luther’s revolutionary words and dramatic rhetoric in context.
When Luther dismisses reason as an enemy his real targets are the theologians of the Middle Ages. Many of them were more conversant with Aristotle than with the New Testament. They could make a case for the existence of God on the basis of classical philosophy, but barely footnote the Word of God. Sometimes in mission this is acceptable; think of Paul in Lystra (Acts 14.8-20) or in Athens (Acts 17.16-31). When taking the gospel to those who have no knowledge of the Bible it may be better to start with the things they do know. Apologetics is bridge building and can find many points of contact with those outside the faith.
Calvin and Luther were engaging those who should have known better – Bible scholars and Church leaders who had little time for Bible teaching. Their writings were loaded with wit, wisdom and razor-sharp logic. Many may dislike John Calvin’s work, but few accuse him of being irrational.
Servant but not master
But the Reformation provides us with a warning. Reason is a useful servant, but a poor master. Reason, without the content of revelation, can mislead and pollute. Sermons that seek authority in the latest idea, celebrity thinker or blockbuster film are likely to drift further away from the gospel.
A reasonable case, making the best use of evidence, can serve evangelism well. But a reasonable case can also be misleading. Job’s comforters relied on their common sense logic as they sought to explain his suffering. When God shows up they are silenced: ‘Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?’ (Job 38.2).
Explanation and content
Reason can help us explain our faith, but only revelation supplies the content of our faith. In a Reformation anniversary year we can reform our apologetics and evangelism along these biblical lines.
