Series: The Reformation and the Remnant
Message: Why Listen to the Reformers?
Preacher: Nicholas Miller
Daily Walk: Elia King

Refresh: Open with prayer. Read or listen to Psalm 74:1-8.

Read: Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV). Re-read in the English Standard Version for new insights or questions that arise from the text.

Reflect:  In chapter 7 of The Reformation and the Remnant, Nicholas Miller recalls a story of two of the great reformers, Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, both of whom were so committed to their positions on the communion service that they were ultimately unable to come to an agreement. In a famous debate during the Marburg Colloquy, the two theological giants met to urge the church toward a decision. Luther held that the emblems of the bread and wine must somehow literally become the body and blood of Christ, while Zwingli insisted on a purely symbolic understanding.

The irony of Marburg, of course, is that the Lord’s Supper—the ritual we also know as Communion—was meant to symbolize and heighten the unity of Jesus and His church. It was to be a gathering point for fellowship, one in which differences are laid aside and faults confessed and in which we enter into communion with each other and with God. However, rather than creating communion, the debate about the Lord’s Supper actually triggered it, becoming the central point of contention and disunity in the first generation of Reformers.

Miller wonders, all these years later, if the issue of ordination with respect to gender hasn’t caused a similar rift in the Church:

“In light of God’s willingness to accept changes in His plans for His people, wouldn’t it be best, most charitable, and most biblically defensible for the world church to allow local variation on this point? Insisting on uniformity will result in contentious and even ugly confrontations, which will make unity even more difficult to obtain.”

Recalibrate: ​ 

1. A famous Reformation saying is, “In essentials, unity. In nonessentials, liberty. In all things, charity.” What would you consider to be essential and what would be nonessential?
2. Does Scripture help us choose between these two categories? How do Romans 14:1–10 and 1 Corinthians 8:7–10 illuminate these questions?]
3. Whatever your view on gender and ordination, it is clear from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy that women should be involved in paid ministry for the church. How are you implementing this in your church?

Respond: Pray for women in ministry—both locally and all over the world.

Research: Read chapter 7 of The Reformation and the Remnant