Why the Reformation Still Matters Today

By Dave Jenkins

Contending for the Word | The Weekly Watch

More than 500 years after the Protestant Reformation, the church still faces questions about biblical authority, the sufficiency of Scripture, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The circumstances have changed, but Christians continue to face pressure to place other voices above God’s Word.

In this episode of The Weekly Watch, Dave Jenkins explains why the Reformation still matters and how its biblical concerns speak directly to the church today. Scripture must govern what we believe, how we evaluate spiritual experiences, and how we understand salvation in Christ.

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Why the Reformation Still Matters for Biblical Authority

The Reformers insisted that Scripture is the final infallible authority for the faith and life of the church. Sola Scriptura does not dismiss pastors, church history, creeds, or confessions. It places every other authority under God’s Word.

Second Timothy 3:16–17 grounds Scripture’s authority in its divine origin and describes its work in equipping God’s people. Christians must therefore evaluate every teacher, tradition, and spiritual claim by what God has revealed.

We can affirm biblical authority with our words while allowing experience, feelings, cultural expectations, or influential personalities to govern our decisions. Faithfulness requires both confessing Scripture’s authority and submitting to it.

Confidence in the Sufficiency of Scripture

Scripture is sufficient for revealing God’s saving truth and equipping His people for faithful Christian living. It does not answer every technical question, but Christians do not need secret revelation or spiritual techniques to supply what God has supposedly withheld.

Claims of deeper spirituality must be tested by God’s Word. First John 4:1 calls believers to test the spirits. The power of an experience does not establish its truth. God’s Word must govern our understanding of what we experience.

Guarding Justification by Faith Alone

The Reformation addressed a question every sinner must face: How can we be made right with a holy God? Our justification rests on Christ’s righteousness and finished work. We are justified by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

Good works, obedience, and growth in holiness matter in the Christian life, but they are not the ground of our justification. Gospel clarity requires keeping Christ’s saving work central and distinguishing justification from sanctification.

Standing Faithfully in Every Generation

Church history helps Christians recognize recurring errors and learn from those who stood faithfully under pressure. Remembering the Reformation should deepen our commitment to Christ and His Word.

Know your Bible. Biblical discernment begins with biblical knowledge.
Test every teaching. Evaluate claims by Scripture rather than popularity or influence.
Trust Scripture’s sufficiency. Use the ordinary means of grace God has provided in the life of His church.
Guard the gospel. Understand justification and rest in Christ’s finished work.
Stand with courage. Remain faithful when conviction brings pressure.

The church continually needs to be reformed according to God’s Word because we are continually tempted to drift from it. Know the Word, trust the Word, guard the gospel, and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ.