Reformation Needed Today

In today's church, when the word "reformation" is uttered, "revival" is meant.

What do these people mean by that term, "revival." For many it means having goose bumps, a warm feeling, loud music, jumping around, roaring like lions, and, yes, even hissing like snakes!

For others "revival" means crying a lot, falling on the ground and great, rousing sermons by the latest preaching fad all the way from the wonderful U.S. of A! Here in the South African church, it seems that everything coming from across the Atlantic from North America just must be good! The fact is, that most of these preachers that come to South Africa by invitation are charlatans and even worse... heretics!

Maybe some think that this is "revival?!"



In these circles, whenever the Reformation, started by Martin Luther on October 31, 1517, is mentioned, eyes start rolling as if to say, "There you go again! We don't live there anymore! The church has moved on!"

In reality, the church has moved on! Instead of being reformed, it has become deformed!

The church no longer is making that clarion call to truth that it once did when the Reformation started. The Bible is no longer at the forefront of the church, but rather the latest fad experience that must be imported from elsewhere. Today, it is more important to be relevant (whatever that means) than to actually preach the truth.

It is more important for the church today to have a "reformation of deeds than a reformation of doctrine," according to Rick Warren. How is it that a man of his supposed importance simply cannot see the state that the church is in? The church is ignoring everything that makes it a Christian church, yet he does not think that a reformation of doctrine is needed!

If ever the church was in need of a Great Reformation, it would be now! It no longer knows why it is a Christian church. How many in the church can in any way articulate the orthodox Christian distinctive doctrines?

Why is the church in this pitiful state? It has forgotten its roots! Pastors and preachers themselves can no longer point to history to show the validity and historical significant truth of Christianity. They have no truth-ground to stand on. They have some mystical belief in the Bible, but when they have to explain that belief to a secular audience, they have no historical ground to stand on. To them, Christianity has become just like Hinduism with all its mysticism, completely devoid of true reality. Reality that exists in time and space!

If only the church would return to the Bible! "Oh, but we do preach from the Bible. The pastor reads from it every Sunday for his sermon."

Sure, there are many pastors that actually read the Bible from the pulpit. The problem is that many of them go off on some rant as soon as the Bible reading is done. Their sermons hardly ever interact with the Bible and when they do, then it is a verse here and there completely out of context.

Some pastors go as far as picking themes for several sermons in which they would like to make a point. The problem is, they pick a theme and then massage a string of verses into a nice little train of thought to support their premise, whether those verses really mean what they purport them to say or not.

Pastors no longer allow the Scriptures to speak for themselves. They have become lazy in their study of the Bible and do not want to put in the long hours necessary to prepare for an expository sermon.


The world around us is falling apart and still, many pastors want so much for people to like them in order to draw the crowds. In order for people to like them, these pastors must as a consequence get rid of all the offensive material in the gospel, and end up drawing the crowds with nothing but the elements of the world itself. In the end, what are these people getting saved towards? Definitely not the gospel and Jesus Christ! These preachers simply attract people to "all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions," which "is not from the Father but is from the world" (1 Jn 2:16 ESV).

The church is in need of Reformation and it does not know it. It has become intoxicated with the ways of the world. We all know how an alcoholic reacts to being told that he needs to reform. He denies he has a problem! The church is doing exactly the same. Many are denying that there is a problem and just tend to point the finger back at those that are concerned about the state of the church!

In this day and age we do not only need one Martin Luther. We need hundreds. Also of Calvin and Zwingli and other Reformers. We need someone to stand on the pinnacle of the church's "rooftop" and cry for reformation in the church.

We need to make the Bible the real center of the church before we can have Reformation. It is here that pastors, the so-called spiritual leaders and shepherds of the church MUST stand up and perform the task given to them by Christ. Jesus told Peter to go feed His sheep! If pastors do any less than that, they are NO pastors at all.

Without Reformation, true Reformation on the scale that Luther unleashed, the church is doomed to become completely irrelevant in its search for relevancy.

Yet, Jesus said that He would build His true church,
"and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mt 16:18).

Just thinking...