If you own a Bible in your own language, it is a direct result of the Protestant Reformation, and the key figure God used to ignite that worldwide movement of returning to the Bible was Martin Luther: a German monk and professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg.

I grew up attending a Lutheran school until eighth grade. During my time there, I learned a lot about Luther, including studying his catechism. Years later, when I put my faith in Jesus and was born again, I started attending a Calvary Chapel church; and over the years, I have grown in appreciation for Martin Luther and the pivotal role he played in God’s work in the world.

The last day of October is celebrated around the world as Reformation Day, because it was on October 31, 1517, that Martin Luther set into motion the movement now known as the Reformation, by mailing a letter. Yes, you read that right: on the eve of All Saints Day (Halloween = “All Hallows Eve”), Luther mailed, not nailed, a letter.^{1 2}

The letter was addressed to the Archbishop of Mainz,³ and Luther sent it because he wanted to alert the archbishop that plenary indulgences were being sold in the archbishop’s name by a man named John Tetzel. Tetzel had been sent from Rome the year before to sell these certificates promising the release of a soul from purgatory in exchange for their purchase, as a fundraising campaign for the building of St. Peter’s Basilica. Luther assumed the archbishop was unaware that this was going on, and that upon receiving his letter, the archbishop would tell Tetzel to cease and desist. That, however, is not what happened.

As a result of the archbishop’s inaction, Luther, as a professor, decided to organize a scholarly debate on the topic of indulgences: whether they were actually effective in procuring the release of a soul from purgatory. To this end, he wrote up what are now known as the 95 Theses, which he titled: A Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences. This paper, which was posted on the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenberg, was an invitation to a scholarly debate, but in it Luther challenged both the selling of indulgences and the doctrine of purgatory as unscriptural. By doing this, Luther was challenging the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching and authority, and insisting that the Bible, not the church, should be the ultimate arbiter of what constitutes correct doctrine.

The posting of the 95 Theses is considered the spark which ignited the Protestant Reformation: a movement which sought to reform the church by shedding man-made traditions and returning to the faith which had been handed to us by God in the Holy Scriptures.

Today, there are nearly 1 billion Protestant Christians in the world.⁴ In the “majority world,” including Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Muslim world⁵, Protestant Christianity is growing faster than any other religious movement by conversion.⁶

Before Luther, there were others who sought to reform the church and bring the Bible to the people. John Wycliffe (1331-1384) published the first English translation of the Bible. Jan Hus (1369-1415) taught the Bible to the common people in Prague. Peter Waldo (1140-1218) commissioned a translation of the New Testament into the local vernacular of southern France. Each of these people were persecuted for trying to put the Scriptures into the hands of the common people.

Over a century before Luther, Hus had protested the sale of plenary indulgences, pointing out that the idea that God’s favor or blessings could be earned in any way, runs contrary to the message of the gospel and the testimony of the Scriptures, and the concept of purgatory is in conflict with the biblical teaching of the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement on the cross.

Martin Luther had long struggled with feelings of condemnation and inadequacy, until his own reading of the Scriptures led him to an epiphany when he read Habakkuk 2:4: “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.” This led Luther to the other places in the Bible where this phrase is repeated: Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38 – where the message is clear: It is not by our own works that we are justified before God, but it is God who justifies us sinners as a gift of His grace, and we receive that justification by faith. After all, the Bible explains, this is how Abraham, the father of our faith, became righteous: he believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3, 22). We receive God’s righteousness, which he has provided for us in Christ, in the same way.

Luther became convinced that everyone needed to be able to read the Scriptures for themselves, and he took it upon himself to translate the Bible into German, a translation that is still in use to this day. Soon the Bible was translated into other languages, including English, as the Reformation spread.

Martin Luther called people back to a belief that the Scriptures are perspicuous (clear), and can be understood by those who read them. He called us back to a belief in the inspiration and sufficiency of Scripture: that it is the ultimate rule of faith, by which we are to measure both doctrine and our lives.

In April 1521, Luther was brought before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms, at which Luther was commanded to recant his teachings. Luther refused to do so, famously stating:

“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason – for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves – I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant.”⁷

This October, as we celebrate Reformation Day, may we take the opportunity to open the Bible and read it for ourselves, and may we embrace and celebrate the message of the gospel: that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, and that we are justified freely by his grace as we trust in him by faith.

_Notes

_{¹ Marshall, Peter. 1517: Martin Luther and the Invention of the Reformation. OUP Oxford. 2017.}

_{² Little, Becky. “Martin Luther Might Not Have Nailed His 95 Theses to the Church Door.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, October 31, 2017.}

_{³ “Luther’s Letter to the Archbishop of Mainz (1517).” Historyguide.org, 2002.}

_{⁴ “Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population.” PewResearchCenter. Accessed December 2011.}

_{⁵ Miller, Duane A., and Patrick Johnstone. Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census II (2015): 2–19. academia.edu}

_{⁶ Melton, J. Gordon (22 October 2005). Encyclopedia of Protestantism. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9780816069835 – via Google Books.}

_{⁷ “Here I Stand: Martin Luther’s Reformation at 500.” Abilene Christian University Special Collections, March 11, 2019.}

Augustine radically changed the way the world saw the light and darkness. He boldly proclaimed that darkness was not a quantifiable material or substance but was simply the absence of light. In the absence of light, darkness begins to exist. An easy concept to understand with the physical world, but what of the spiritual world? I have experienced darkness in the brightest white marble room in a Church of Scientology. I have experienced darkness in the presence of Hindu idol worship while in loving conversation with a dear Hindu friend. In the presence of candles all giving off warm light in a Wicca shop, I could best understand what the “absence of light” really was.

Spiritual darkness surrounds us in the world.

And as we enter into Halloween, we might notice things grow less discerning as the world gets even darker. To call Halloween a season of darkness is true both spiritually and physically. With the impending time change, our days are thrown off-kilter by circadian arrhythmia and the sun being in a different place seemingly than it was the day before. During fall, Seasonal Affective Disorder begins to plague those whose mental health acts as a testament to the importance of light in our lives. As natural light becomes more scarce, our bodies sometimes react physically the way our spirit reacts in the absence of light. The often prescribed treatment for SAD is called “light therapy,” in which people sit in the presence of bright, artificial light to bring about hormonal balance.

The spiritual climate begins to grow colder too, as our attention is diverted from the light and consumed with darkness. Studios save their most gruesome horror movies for release in conjunction with the Halloween season. In 2021 we saw the 12th installment of the Halloween movie series. Horror films will make millions of dollars, where it is all but certain people will watch dramatized versions of murder at the hands of a maniacal serial killer.

In this season of darkness, even the Church turns its mind toward death. Counteracting the pagan holiday Samhain, which is full of rituals commemorating the dead, the Church historically celebrates All Saints Day to remember the lives of the martyrs and saints that have come before us. It seems that as sighting the sun in the sky becomes rarer during this season, it is natural that humans ponder death and darkness in the absence of light.

So then, what is the Christian to do at this time of year? Are we to retreat to safety in hopeful wishing for the light of spring and Easter? Do we refuse to participate in Halloween, and yet not search out the opportunity to voice the reason that our Gospel has no place for the fascination of death and the demonic?

The Church has often missed its true calling in the face of darkness.

The Biblical contrast of darkness and light is impossible to miss. In Genesis, we read that darkness at one point hovered over the formless void until the fateful moment when God said, “Let there be light.” 1 John says that God is light and that there is no darkness found in Him at all. Jesus taught His disciples that they were to be like a city on a hill whose light could be seen for miles surrounding it. Those lost and wandering should find their way in the darkness because of the light of the Church. If we were able to ask Jesus face to face what to do, He would likely encourage us with some parable that teaches us that darkness stays dark until light goes into it.

A life of following Jesus is a life of following Jesus into the dark. It is the foundation of who Jesus is to His creation. In the introduction to his Gospel, John wrote, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” It is what Jesus does.

He dared to walk into Gerasene, a place marked by spiritual darkness where the demon-possessed man was living among tombs of the dead and healed him. We understand better what He meant in Matthew 5, when He told His disciples about the city on a hill and followed it up by telling them how ridiculous it would be to light a candle and then hide it under a basket.

Imagine being the Son of God and not venturing to the darkest places, dealing with those who have fallen into the abyss of evil found there. What then is the call of the Jesus follower in the face of evil? Well, it certainly is not to stay in Galilee. Rather, it is to cross the sea and enter into the place where all others are afraid to go because they do not serve a God of victory, life and light. Most others have no reason for boldness, but those of us who follow Jesus of Nazareth have every reason to proclaim. To not simply withdraw during seasons of darkness and evil, but to persevere and advance, knowing that the presence of light is not an accident but is something to be fueled and stewarded. The sober-minded and courageous Church shines its light for all to see that the lost and wandering will come in from the darkness to the rest found in its welcoming warmth.

The practical questions still abound, though. “Should I take my kids trick-or-treating? Can I watch horror movies?”

The issue of “celebrating” Halloween is more nuanced than just how your children secure candy or what particular movies you choose to watch. Not that every child’s costume has to be a Biblical figure, but perhaps we haven’t realized just how pervasive horror and evil has become “ok” to observe during Halloween. The more important question to address first is perhaps, “What has my attention?” It seems so easy to dwell on those things around us that evoke feelings of fear and sadness in us during this time. If we are what we consume, what are we during the month of the year when fear is commercialized? If what has our attention is what sets the direction for our life, where is our Christian walk heading when fixated on the demonic? As the days grow shorter and less sunny, reflect on life and ask, “Is this making much of the darkness?” Some families will choose not to celebrate Halloween, replacing it with something like All Saints Day. Some parents will do their best to navigate Halloween while shepherding their children away from the more evil aspects of the culture that surround it. No matter the choice, teach your children why it matters for Christians to live differently than the world around them. To not be “of” the world is not to be the same substance, which should be the natural conclusion for a group of people who the Creator has proclaimed they are made new.

Living differently does not imply that you are superior; instead, it is demonstrating what you believe. In this case, a Christian’s caution regarding evil is not out of arbitrary morality but stems from the belief that there is a spiritual world we should not take lightly. In an attempt to live differently than the world, in seeking to honor God, ask yourself, “What would make much of light?”, and live accordingly.

So as we navigate this season where horror, fear and evil seem to confront us at every turn, we ask ourselves difficult questions about just how much we participate in Halloween. The God we serve looked at His creation and saw it in its darkest times, and He still chose to involve Himself. He was not overcome or overtaken by the sheer evil He found in the darkness, and He never will be. Take courage and follow Him as He ventures into the dark looking for lost sheep, and know that wherever you go in His name, there will be light because you’ll be there.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (M​ark 12:30-31​).

IT’S HALLOWEEN!

On this day, kids will be hurrying home from school, dressing up and heading out to get candy from their neighbors. I grew up doing this, and I loved it every year.

When I got saved, I became aware of some of the other elements of Halloween – its history and some of the pagan practices. I realized that many Christians have strong views against this holiday and what it represents for some. This is my feeble attempt at helping us see this from a different perspective.
Try and see this holiday for what it is today: The one day of the year when many of the families in your neighborhood take their little ones and come up to your door.

It’s the one day of the year when it’s not creepy to slowly meander through your neighborhood while your kids beg for candy from everyone. It’s community.

TRY AND SEE THIS FROM A MISSIONAL PERSPECTIVE.

It’s an opportunity to engage in our community rather than oppose it.

You do not have to compromise the gospel to be kind and friendly on Halloween. And compromise is what this is all about isn’t it? It’s the concern that, by celebrating Halloween, we are promoting evil and paganism.

Consider this: Instead of becoming overly agitated with the fringe elements of Halloween, let’s see it for what it is today for the large majority of people- a day for communities to come together and show some love to our kids (and candy, lots of candy!)

CONSIDER HALLOWEEN FROM SOLOMON AND JESUS’ PERSPECTIVE

“Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works. Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil” (Ecclesiastes 9:7-8).

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20 NLT).

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon encourages his readers to consider this one fact: We are all going to die. This will either depress you or motivate you to listen to God’s wisdom on how to live. If death is a reality, then what is this life all about?

And Solomon exhorts us to GO. It’s a command. Get off the couch, eat, drink and put on a nice outfit, maybe even some cologne! Why? Because God wants you to live while we are here on earth.
In Matthew, Jesus also commands us to GO. Go and make disciples of all nations. Go live out your faith in this world.

In both passages, we see the Trinity at work in our lives. I believe it is symbolized in Ecclesiastes and made plain in Matthew. The symbols are these:

Bread/wine = symbols of Jesus’ body and blood oil = symbol of the Holy Spirit

Solomon says partake of the bread and the wine and put on the Holy Spirit for God approves of this. Jesus says partake of My death and resurrection and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And as I am transforming you, GO make disciples of all nations.

This Halloween, GO- eat and drink, put on some cologne (and maybe a fun costume) and make disciples of all nations by living out the life of God in you.