It's Not About the Reformers, It's About Being Biblical

It's very common for Roman Catholics to immediately label someone as a Protestant even if the said person didn't belong what classifies as Protestant. It's really something when some sources actually tell us that cults like the Jehovah's Witness, Mormon, and the Iglesia Ni Cristo as "Protestant" but these groups do not stick to the Five Solas of the Reformation. Did Sola Scriptura cause the division or was it not sticking to what the Bible says for the final authority in faith and matters that did? Rather, it was the rejection of Sola Scriptura - not affirming it that caused the great division and gave birth to one heretical sect after the other. Then there was the damning false accusation I got that said, "You don't know how to pray because your god is Martin Luther." Then I remembered a recent quote by Pastor Paul David Washer saying, "The Reformers didn't want to be Reformers, they just wanted to be biblical." 

What was the whole reason behind the Protestant Reformation? It's the same reason why pre-Reformation martyrs existed. It's the same reason why some pre-Reformation Christian groups such as the Baptists and the Waldenses emerged during the Dark Ages. It's the same reason as to why pre-Reformation heroes such as Jan Hus and Girolamo Savonarola came to be. Savonarola renounced the corruption of Alexander VI Borgia. Yet today, the Borgias are hardly mentioned because it's a big blot to Rome. Luther had a similar experience to the pre-Reformation heroes too. 

Luther's tower experience could be stated as follows:

The expression "righteousness of God" was like a thunderbolt in my heart... I hated Paul with all my heart when I read that the righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel [Romans 1:16-17]. Only afterward, when I saw the words that follow - namely that it's written that the righteous shall live through faith [Romans 1:17] - and in addition I consulted Augustine, I was cheered. When I learned that the righteousness of God is His mercy, and that He makes us righteous through it, a remedy was offered to me in my affliction. (Martin Luther, Table Talk)

Luther's contribution was that he decided to finally translate the Roman Catholic Latin Bible (which I believe is the Latin Vulgate) into German. Meanwhile, William Tyndale was also martyred for translating the Bible into English. The French Reformer, John Calvin, also prepared the Geneva Study Bible and other commentaries to help in the exposition of the Scriptures. The Reformation affirmed what the other "Protestant" groups didn't - the five Solas. The five Solas are sola fide (faith alone), sola gratia (grace alone), sola scriptura (Scripture alone), sola Christus (in Christ alone), and soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God alone). All these were focused on being biblical - that is to stick to what the Bible says and that's where church authority is derived from.

The big problem during the Reformation was the battle for the truth. The Reformers believed in salvation by faith alone which results in works. Roman Catholicism believed in salvation in faith plus works. That is, Rome said that you must do good works to stay saved which is still salvation by works. It's a very different scenario that the Reformers wanted to uphold. Yet, the Council of Trent had condemned the biblical idea that salvation is by faith alone but this faith will result in works. Once again, the problem is rooted upon the idea of pride as to why the Reformers were shunned - it's because their message doesn't appeal to the pride of man. 

I don't go against Roman Catholicism because of who Luther is or who Calvin is. I don't consider myself a Protestant. But I embrace any Protestant who shows any genuine signs of conversion as a brother or sister even when I don't consider myself one. Why I can't accept Roman Catholics as brothers and sisters because they really don't trust Christ alone for salvation. It's really where the distinction is drawn.