Happy Birthday, Protestantism!

1 John 1:9 (NIV)  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

This week is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation is the birth of Protestantism, when people began to split away from the Catholic Church. The Reformation started with a priest named Martin Luther, posting 95 Theses that criticized specific beliefs and practices within Catholicism.

There is tremendous value in this Reformation, as it led to the renewed understanding that forgiveness comes from God alone and thus limited practices inhibiting each believer from going to God without the need to go through a human intermediary. Isn’t it great to know that we can bring our weaknesses and failings to God with Jesus as our only intercessor?

Over the next couple of days, we will walk through some great changes brought about by the Reformation and dwell on the amazing freedoms we experience in our relationships with Jesus.