Reformation Day
Reformation day is Coming! It is October 31 and celebrates the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg igniting the Prostestant Reformation and the recovery of the Biblical Gospel. This a day every Christian should be thankful for.
Since Reformation day is approuching I am thinking about how to celebrate it. A few of my freinds of the Seminary are talking about dressing up as Martin Lurther. I am think a reinactment of posting the 95 theses may be fun. But my seminary buddies tell I might get in trouble if I look for the largest Catholic church in Louisville and try that. So I may use my neighbor's door instead. Although in reality I think I will order pizza and get a bunch of people together and watch Luther the movie and express my thanksgiving to God for men like Luther and thank God for the Reformers and for the doctrines the stood on: Scripture alone, Christ alone, Grace alone,Faith alone, For the glory of God alone. May we thank God in that he always preserves a remnant and for how he used Martin Luther and the other Reformers to recover the beuatiful Biblical Gospel from being obscured by tradion and dogma. Let us not forget how we are deeply indebted to those who came before us on who's shoulders and blessings we stand.
I want to invite you to leave comments on ideas on how to celebrate Reformation Day or how you have previously celebrated Reformation Day.
posted by John @ 2:06 PM
21 comments
21 Comments:
I always celebrate Reformation Day by dressing up as Tetzel and give out indulgences to the kids when they come by looking for candy.:-)
Seriously though, a sermon on justification by faith alone is always a good reminder.
Hi John,
I heard an interesting take on Halloween by Steve Brown from www.KeyLife.org he said something about the reason Christians dressed up was to mock those who truly follow witchcraft. I used to get hung up about origins of certain "holidays", but have come to accept them as part of American culture and tradition. When on earth, do as the earthlings do (within limts). I think a film about Luther is appropriate too. I think I may start that one for my family, Luther and cheese dip.
Happy Reformation Day,
brother J. Wendell
John~
We should celebrate in some way like we do in February for Facial Hair February!!! I say we all shave our heads like the monks! No, but in all seriousness I think it's cool to do the pizza party. Unfortunately I can't be there since I have previous engagements with the Holy Catholic Church. But I'll make sure I pass on that you told them Happy Reformation Day!!!
Dude! How are things? I am thrilled that you are celebrating Reformation Day! I was just teaching my children the history and theology of A MIGHTY FOTRESS IS OUR GOD. We are getting geared up... ideas for celbrating Reformation Day with young kids?? I kinda like Jeremy's idea of handing out indulgences... hmmm... what can I charge my kids for each indulgence?
John, I definitely think you should shave your head like a monk! VERY GOOD IDEA! By the way, do I get an invite to watch LUTHER with you again?
Study hard my friend....
Grace to you!
Dave
Uhh...Do they allow the celebration of Reformation Day at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary? I thought that would be considered a heresy.
How times change.
John,
I celebrate it by either dressing up in a fun costume or passing out candy. On a more serious note, christians need to get over halloween being evil. During college, halloween night was the only night of the year the whole town came out and interacted with one another. It is the perfect oppurtunity to build relationships to witness. Haloween is what you make it. I celebrate halloween for reformation day.
-jason
youth pastor-tusuclum baptist church
Jason,
I must repectfully disagree when you assert, "Halloween is what you make it." As a student of history you certainly understand the historical perpective, and while I do concede that MOST people today do not celebrate Halloween as the pagan ritual it was intended to be (many, however, still do), clearly the overriding principles of Halloween are worldly and narcisitic.
Your arguemnt that "it is what we make it" is illogical. Everything as innate meaning. The pagan claims Christians are silly for claiming Christmas is about Jesus, it is simply what we make it... a day to celebrate family and give gifts of love and joy! NO! Christmas, just like Halloween has innate meaning.
Your other argument, that everybody comes out together on that night, also falls short. The ends never justify the means. There are other methods of creating and encouraging community.
By thew way, since we choose not to celebrate Halloween as a family, it gives us many opportuntites to explain our desire to do all we do for the glory of the Lord to many unsaved people.
But that is my two cents...
Grace to You!
Dave- Nothing would make me happier than to celebrate Reformation watching Luther with you Dave!
My two cents on "Halloween is what you make it". Its funny because I am right now taking a study break from studying for Christian Philosphy exam I have tomorow. And that statement I sounds consistent with a existential world view.
Anyway I need to get back to studying.
hey all,
Just to clear it up, I meant "it is what you make it" not a relativistic sense, but in a pratical sense. For example, Christians choose to celebrate Christmas on the same that day a pagan holiday, Saturnalia, was celebrated. Today we choose to worship our Creator's birth on Christmas. We celebrate Christmas, not Saturnalia. All I am saying is that halloween, could be an amazing evangelistisic, relationship building, and fun holiday if we let it be. This is about what we DO, not what we think, and hence not relativistic.
Also, if I choose to ignore the community-orientedness of halloween, then at least for me, I am sinning. God commaned me to take every oppurtunity to share the gospel. A night were everyone is going around as families is perfect for that. By ignoring it, I am sinning because I am disobeying God's commands.
I believe this is a spiritual battle. I imagine Satan loves it that he has a night were all Christians either stay at home or have a church orineted activity. I won't let Satan win on this halloween deal. Through Christ, I will take the evangelistic oppurtunites of halloween and teach my kids to do the same.
-hehe thats all
Jason
ps Dave good to hear from you
Jason, It is good to hear from you as well. But again, I must disagree. I submit that you are being completely relativisitic. You can package it however you'd like.
Many people gather at strip clubs every night of the week. Am I supposed to go there to evangelize? Does Satan take equal delight in Christians all gathered in one place on Sunday morning as well? If so, then should we stop that and be out and about instead gathered?
The Scriptures do not require us to take "every" opportunity to evangelize. We must live a life marked by a passion for the glory God demonstrated ont he cross of Christ. This does not mean that I eschew times of family, times of chrisitna worship, times of study to be out and about "evangelizing."
To separate what we do from what we think is biblically innappropriate and practically impossible. Your thinking determines your actions. Just as the Scripture teaches. That is the essence of the "self control" teaching of Scripture. Control your thinking - i.e. let your minds be ruled by the higher thoughts of Truth - and your actions will be the fruit!
As far as the straw man of Christmaas falling on Dec 25 - that is an apples to oranges comparison. When I choose to celebrate Christmas with my children by reading the Christmsa story, attending a worship service and having an extended time of prayer and thanksgiving to God for incarnating himself to appease his own wrath to offer salvation to his own, I am doing exactly that - celebtrating Christmas - regardless of the date on the calendar. When, however, I dress in a costume, put lights in pumpkins, trick or treat (all customs specific to the pagan holiday) I am celebrating a pagan holiday. That is not the same a worshipping God on the same calender day that coincides with a pagan holiday.
For example, if you choose to worship God in the specific context of giving thanks for His grace and mercy demonstrated in Martin Luther's passion for Truth, which happens to coincide with a pagan holiday, then your worship has nothing to do with the pagan holiday, it simply coincides on the calender with the pagan holiday of All Hallow's Eve.
This is obviously not a point of separation, it is however, one more example of how the Church has aquiesed to our culture. We (the Church corporate) give the pagan culture in which we live the greatest compliments when we adopt their practices and attempt to Christianize them. The most prolific of all is when we take a worldly event and call it "evangelism."
Read from the puritans, who were arguable the most evangelistic culture the Church has expereinced - maybe with the exception of the early church - maybe. How did they evangelize? read Spurgeon, Baxter, Mueller, even the arminian Finney. The all emphasize the greatest asset for the evangelist is his pure life (Be holy as I am Holy). Trying with al our might to be like God will go farther in winning souls than trying with all our might to be like the world.
Sorry to be so wordy on your comment section, John. But I had these thoughts on my minds given the date on the calendar. Jason's thoughts just pulled them out of me.
Grace to you!
No need to apologize Dave. I enjoyed reading the discussion especially since I kinda anticipated Jason's responsw then yours. It was fun to watch play out. You guys can keep it going it you want.
Dave,
In regards to the night club, I knew a friend who went to bars to witness to people. He was very sucessful and people got saved and lead very new lives through it. It works, not everyone can do it, but it works. As I recall, Jesus hung out with sinners and tax collectors. If Jesus was physically around now, I bet he would wander around on Halloween and talk to people.
I don't really see how comparing Sunday worship has anything to do with what I am talking about, but I am very glad you brought up Satan. Many people call Halloween "The Devil's Holiday." The truth is God is the sovereign Creator over all. God doesn't give up on one day for the people of America and say, "oh no, its halloween, I have to let Satan have this one." One day is not Satan's day and I believe Chrstians choosing to honor God through halloween pleases him more than Chrisians hiding under the table and celebrating "harvest festivals" at church or stuff like that. We are supposed to be in the world and not of it. In the world = celebrating halloween. Not of it = doing it for God's glory.
Also, the world celebrates halloween. We won't change that. They like it. I guarentee you most people who are trick or treating with their kids are thinking thoughts of family and togetherness. What a great time to approach them about having a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Using the excuse, the world does it so it must be bad and evil and never done is not Biblical or logical. We drink water, they drink water. We drive cars, they drive cars. We honor our country, they honor their country. We celebrate halloween, they celebrate halloween. The difference is that they don't do it to give God glory, but we do. That is the sticking point for me because celebrating halloween is not a sin. There is no sin in walking around door to door asking for candy. There is no sin in dressing up as something fun. There is not sin in talking to people and building relationships. There is no sin in doing any of this stuff on any given day of the year, including October 31.
-Jason
It sounds like someone has been reading too much Walt Mueller!!
And of course, the obligatory "Jesus hung out with sinners" approach was inevitable. I am not making fun of you, Jason. It is just the easy go to answer when you don't want to debate your point.
What does that even mean, "Jesus hung out with sinners." Give me some for instances (Chapter and Verse please). Jesus interacted with sinners, but it was always in calling them to repentance. There is no record of Jesus "hanging out" at the brothals of his day. In fact, when Jesus DID show up at a worldly "hang out" of the day he yelled, called names and threw things to make his point (temple porch -a very popular hang and cultural practice). That was not a "let's hang out with sinners and do the things they do" approach to evangelism. How did Jesus "hang out with sinners?" He had a meal at Matthew's house - and called on them to repent! he talked to Zachias from a tree and went to his house and called for his repentance. He had a late night meeting with Nicodemus and told he had to be born again. He didn't take these guys to the brothal aroudn the corner or go celebrate a pagan eevnt with the rest of the city! He called them to repentance from a position of holiness. Just as we are called to do.
Consider the following verses that speak of how a Christian should interact with the world.
Matt 5.10-16 - Be light in a dark world. That measn we cannot hide in a Christian homes and churches, but it also has to mean that we must be very different. Light looks nothing like darkness. This deals with more than simply motive "to the glory of God" but identity.
Matt 28.18-20. A person endowed with the Holy Spirit has a differnt apporach to life. Out task is to make disciples. The only way to make disciples is the systematic teaching of God's revelation.
2 Cor 6.14-7.1. God expects a clear difference int he lifestyle of one who is identified with him over against one who is identified with the world. Again, this is not simply dealing with the motive.
1 Peter 1.13-16. We are cllaed to be holy. We are never given permission to compromise our own holiness/separateness for a "greater good" (namely evangelism).
1 Peter 2.11-12. We are called to live our lives in such a way that people see us and do not in anyway, identify us with the the world, but rather immediately glorify our Father.
Understand... I am not that concerned about Halloween specifically. I really don't care that much if you get all dressed up and beg at someones door for their candy. Although I would have a HUGE PROBLEM if you were encouraging my children to do it!
My greater concern is your overriding thought that
"evangelism" means we have to be like the world to win the world. It means exactly the opposite. It means we live a life of holiness. It means we stand and boldly proclaim how wrong the world is and how God calls them to repentance. That is the pattern of Jesus, the Apostles, the early church, the Reformers, and the Puritans. It is exactly the element sadly missing in the church of our generation's attemtp to "make disciples."
Do you ever wonder why this generation's "church" is so utterly ineffective in making disciples? My assertion is simple that they are not calling from a position of holiness to come. The are trying to go into the muck and pull people out, in the process, they start to like the muck and refuse to give it up. So they put a Christian twist on it - usually by calling it "friendship evangelism" and "bridge building."
John, can you get more traffic to this, I would like to hear other peoples take on this as well. Maybe you could repost it or put a new post linking back to this one and ask people to share their thoughts.
I really am enjoying this. One quick thing before I get into this is that if someone really has a problem in their own conscinece with halloween, dont celebrate it or use it to evangelize.
That being said, Jesus did hang out with sinners. Not only that, but he was a friend of sinners. He had actual relationships with people who were not saved. In Mt 11:19 and Lk 7:34, one thing that annoys the pharisees about Jesus is His friendship with sinners. It is true that Jesus' ultimate goal in his relationships with sinners was to get them to repent and follow Him. I fail to see how that means I am not supposed to use culture, and its tools to reach to sinners. If anything it means I do use them.
If my overiding though was communicated to be "be like the world to reach them" then I apologize. I said in my last thingee that we should be in the world and not of the world. But I do think that we should not ignore the whole "in" the world thing. This is personally why I think the conservative world is being uneffectve in reaching the lost. We talk about doing anything for Jesus, but then we won't go everwhere. We won't talk to those people. We won't do it this night or that day. But somehow that's all ok....It's not ok. Rather than saying, evangelize, just not on halloween, not in bars, not in that neighborhood. I say lets go do it right now and stop thinking when, where and how we can't.
One other though about it while I am here. I think the other major reason that conservative churches are less effective in evangelism today is pride. I am a terrible rotten no good sinner. I am the world's worst hypocrite. No one is good except God alone, including me. It's Jesus' righteousness and Jesus' holiness that the unsaved world sees. Pretending I am better then them is fake. I am not better than them. I am just as bad and just as sinful. I can't call them to holiness based on my life. I'm not good enough. It's prideful for me to do so. It was God's grace then and it's God's grace now. I can tell people about Jesus Christ and how He can make them Holy before God's eyes. The appeal is a relationship with Jesus Christ, not my holiness. I don't have to sell myself and live avoiding anything thats not church related. I can go in the world, and not be of it beacuse of Jesus Christ and I can show others what I found in a relationship with Him.
Jason, you still did not give me examples of how the Jesus had "actual relationships" with sinners. The verses you quoted are in the context of Jesus comparing the false accusations that the false teachers were making about John the Baptist and Himself (Jesus). They said he was a friend of sinners because he ate and drank with them... Just like they said John the Baptist had a demon because he didn't eat and drink. That herneuetic would imply that you also think John the Baptist was possessed. If one is true than they must both be true.
Of course Jesus ate and drank and talked with sinners - everyday... Just like I do. I have a conversation everyday with my neighbors (mormons on one side and unbelieving steel worker on the other). We have their kids into our home and yard all the time. I have meeting with unbelievers at restaraunts all the time. Tomorrow one will be baptized that I meant with regularly for a period of time until God gave him the gift of faith. My own parents are unbeleivers, I eat, drink, have relationships with them! This is not bragging, this is to simply show how I do in fact have relationships with unbeleivers, which exisit expressly to lead them to Christ.
I do not do that by dressing like them, acting like them, going to the bar with them. I attempt to do that by living 1 Peter 2.11-12. Letting them see my "good deeds" (Which I understand means the righteousness of Christ being worked out - Phil 2.12,13) and glorifying the Father. If my deeds look just like theirs, how are they going to glorify the father? They won't even think about the Father.
You have also not interacted with the texts that I put forth or the historical practices of our much more effective forefathers. Any thoughts on those?
You continue to say "I say..." "I think..." I do appreciate your perspectives, but I am much more intersted in your interpretation and application of the texts I mentioned in the above post.
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? ... to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. (Romans 14:4-6)
See also Titus 3:9 in your copy of the Bible.
That's my two cents ... the fourtynine cent version is too long.
Happy Reformation day!
brother John
John, thanks for your two cents... I did ask for them, afterall. However, I must say that the present discussion should not be included in the Titus 3.9 thought of "foolish controversies." We are not discussing exactly whether or not to "celebrate" Halloween. But rather, the role of the Christian in the world. I know you have more thouhts on that... I kow you can ionteract ont he verses and texts that I have reference in the above comments...
Thoughts?
To quote one of my favorite psychiatrists and vegetables (from Veggie Tales), "Oooh my, look at the time!"
Sorry, I realy don't have time, but you're right, Dave, I could opine, if I didn't have so much to do today.
Let's just say that I don't go along with Pink or Hyslop on this one.
Is it wrong since I have gained weight to tie strings to my fingers and toes and go as a ballon from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade for Halloween? Just curious what the theological implications would be of doing that. I mean, it was either that or a float and I just don't have that much paper mache for the float thing. Please let me know as my time is running out!!!
If you want to appeal to the Puritans, then we must add: Read the Puritans. They also didn't care to much for the holiday of Christmas either.
But right, anything that doesn't fit is apples to oranges by default.
Help post your thoughts here:
http://www.theopedia.com/Halloween
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