* 2 Kings 22:3–13 — Scripture Alone
* Finding Roots
Under the title “Scripture Alone,” I will proclaim God’s Word. Have you ever looked at your family genealogy? I once visited an elder’s home and saw his family register. He was a descendant of a well-known noble line in Korea, and though he lives in America now, he carried a deep pride in his lineage. Listening to his stories overflowing with that pride, my own heart felt enriched, because he clearly knew where his family belonged and what he could rightly boast in. Have you heard of the actor Samuel L. Jackson? He is a famous Black actor in Hollywood, and in the 1990s he even appeared as Bruce Willis’s partner in the third Die Hard film.
* Restoring Identity
This man appeared on a documentary program called Finding Your Roots—literally, “finding your roots.” As the title suggests, the show traces a person’s family line and roots through genealogy and DNA.
Through this program Samuel L. Jackson discovered many things he had never known about his past and origins: on his father’s side, his lineage traces back to the Benga people in Gabon, Africa, and he even learned that he is directly connected to a patriarchal clan. He also found that his great-great-grandfather, Elias Jackson, escaped slavery, joined the Union Army, and fought for Black freedom. Moreover, his great-great-grandparents founded Mount Zion Baptist Church, which became a center of the Black community.
In short, through this program he was almost remade into a new person. In his own eyes, he was no longer just an actor of unknown origin; looking back through his ancestors, he belonged to a proud tribe, descended from those who fought for liberty, and came from a family that lived with deep purpose. For the first time in his life, by tracing his past, he gained a new identity and a confident pride.
* Where Did Protestantism Come From? (1)
Then let us ask this question: where did Baltimore Church come from? From a modern point of view, our church belongs to the KAPC denomination—the Korean American Presbyterian Church. This denomination was founded by pastors who came from the conservative Hapdong branch of the Presbyterian Church in Korea. They established it to uphold and spread conservative, Reformed, biblical theology here in the United States. Tracing this back, the roots of our denomination go to Presbyterianism itself.
* Where Did Protestantism Come From? (2)
And where do the roots of Presbyterianism lead? They go back to sixteenth-century Scotland, where the theologian John Knox, who had studied under John Calvin in Geneva, built a system of church government that centered on God’s Word and the rule of elders. That is why our church is called “Presbyterian.” The theological foundation of Presbyterianism, then, goes back to John Knox’s teacher, John Calvin. Calvin wrote The Institutes of the Christian Religion, a monumental work that contains the core of Reformed faith and became the foundation of Presbyterian belief.
If we trace our history still further back, we reach the time when the Protestant Church was not yet separate from the Roman Catholic Church but eventually walked a different path. The event that divided them was the Reformation, through which believers came to hold a biblical faith. The term “Protestant” comes from a combination of Chinese characters meaning “newly reformed faith.”
* What Is Our Identity?
As I talk with church members, I sometimes sense that some people carry a subtle feeling of inferiority about belonging to the Protestant Church—especially when they compare it with Catholicism. Think about our time now: how does the media portray the Catholic Church? It often appears dignified and respected in society. So, many believers unconsciously assume that Protestantism somehow branched off from Catholicism, and even many Catholics believe this as well. Then what, really, is our identity? What kind of tradition do we belong to? What kind of faith do we hold? And can we be proud of this faith? That is the very question we will explore together throughout this revival series.
* The Core Spirit of the Reformation
During this revival, we will deeply explore the five “solas.” The Latin word sola means “alone” or “only.” The reason the Reformers used Latin is that it was the scholarly language of Europe and the official language of Rome, both during and after the Reformation. The Reformers and their successors used these five solas to express the core spirit of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), Solus Christus (Christ Alone), Sola Gratia (Grace Alone), Sola Fide (Faith Alone), and Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone). These five are not mere slogans—they represent the very essence of our Protestant faith.
* From the Early Church to Rome’s State Religion
To understand the essence of our faith, we must look briefly at the historical background of that time. Broadly speaking, after Jesus ascended to heaven, the early church began to grow rapidly through the preaching of the apostles and believers. Churches were established beyond Jerusalem—in Antioch to the north, in Asia Minor to the northwest, and further west in Greece and Rome. Yet the early church faced fierce persecution from the Roman Empire, lasting about 250 years—from Emperor Nero in the late first century to Emperor Diocletian at the end of the third. Many believers were martyred for their faith, but their sacrifice only made the church stronger.
During this period of persecution, spiritual leaders arose in each region to care for local churches. These leaders were called bishops. The first bishops were established in four major centers: Rome, Antioch, Alexandria in Egypt, and Jerusalem. Later, something astonishing happened.
Through the passionate evangelism and steadfast faith of Christians, the grace of God was revealed—Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, granting freedom of religion throughout the empire. And even more remarkably, in A.D. 380 under Emperor Theodosius, Christianity was declared the official religion of Rome. In other words, the empire that once persecuted Christians now became a Christian nation that professed faith in Jesus Christ.
* The Flow of the Middle Ages
From that point on, Christianity spread across Europe and throughout the Roman Empire. As the church gained strength and influence, the bishop of Rome came to hold the highest authority and began to be called the Pope. The English word Pope means “father.” Originally, it was simply a title of respect given to spiritual leaders. But the Roman Church began to claim that it inherited the authority of the apostle Peter, and thus only the bishop of Rome could be called Pope. In other words, they sought to make one man the supreme head of the entire church—and eventually, they succeeded.
Over time, the pope not only held spiritual authority but also wielded immense political power. At times he even deposed emperors or influenced who would take the throne. Because of this, the period from roughly the fifth to the sixteenth century is called the Middle Ages—a thousand years during which the church stood at the center of nearly all worldly power.
* Corruption and the Reformation
Yet the greatest problem of the Middle Ages was that the church, holding nearly all earthly power, became deeply corrupted. Church offices were openly bought and sold; with enough money, anyone could obtain a high clerical position. The church began to act like a political empire—collecting heavy taxes and amassing vast wealth. Many priests neglected their spiritual duties, and some even kept mistresses and lived worldly lives. But worse than all of this, the church no longer taught the true gospel based on Scripture.
At that time, the Bible was written only in Latin, so ordinary believers could not even read it. The church also taught that believers could not approach God directly but only through priests or through the intercession of officially recognized saints. Thus, the church chose a few people who had lived “heroic” spiritual lives, called them saints, and taught that the faithful must venerate them to reach God. Naturally, ordinary people were filled with fear and despair, asking, “Can someone like me ever go to heaven?” It was in this darkness and corruption that the Reformation arose—to restore the essence of the church and the true gospel.
* The Indulgence Scandal
What, then, was the decisive event that sparked the Reformation? It was the selling of indulgences. The Roman papacy began selling indulgences to raise funds for constructing the magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica. An indulgence was a certificate that supposedly released a person—or even someone already dead—from punishment for sin, in exchange for money. Although indulgences had existed before, they had never been used on such a massive scale. But when the pope became desperate for funds, he began promoting them aggressively.
The leading salesman was a man named Johann Tetzel. He preached to the crowds, saying, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” The idea of purgatory, however, does not exist in Scripture. The medieval church taught that those who believed in God but were not yet pure enough for heaven could be cleansed in purgatory, and that the prayers—or payments—of the living could shorten their suffering there. This deception spread rapidly throughout Europe, enslaving the people’s faith to fear and money.
* Luther Opposes the Sale of Indulgences
While this absurd teaching was sweeping across Europe and deceiving the masses, Martin Luther emerged as the central figure of the Reformation. Luther had originally studied law but later became a monk and priest. As a priest, he was required to preach about indulgences to the people, but he knew in his heart that they were utterly wrong. He protested, writing letters to church leaders and urging them to stop the practice, but his pleas were ignored.
At first, Luther did not intend to oppose the pope directly or start a great movement of reform. Yet under God’s guidance, he became fully convinced that the indulgence system was contrary to Scripture and the gospel of grace. On October 31, 1517, Luther wrote ninety-five theses against indulgences and nailed them to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Some of the key statements included:
21. “Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error who say that by the pope’s indulgences a man is freed from every penalty and saved.”
22. “The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God.”
36. “Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.”
37. “Every true Christian, living or dead, has a share in all the benefits of Christ and of the Church, given by God even without letters of indulgence.”
54. “Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.”
86. “Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the riches of the richest, not build the basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with that of poor believers?”
Luther’s bold act directly challenged both the church and the pope. Within two weeks, his theses had spread throughout Germany; within six weeks, all of Europe knew his name.
* Luther Stands on the Word Alone
Naturally, Luther soon received an official notice of excommunication from the pope. It meant that he was formally expelled from the church—that his life as a priest was over. In April 1521, he was summoned to the Diet of Worms, where he stood before the emperor and high-ranking church officials, accused of heresy. His writings were laid before him, and he was commanded to recant. The pressure was enormous.
Imagine the weight of that moment: Luther stood alone against the entire power of the church and empire, simply because he had opposed indulgences based on the Word of God. Overwhelmed by the tension, he asked for one night to think and pray. The next day, he returned to the same hall and spoke these immortal words:
“I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”
When the crowd heard his words, a great cheer rose up. Through this event, Luther showed the world that he was completely held captive by God’s Word. What mattered to him was not his emotions, position, or future, but obedience to Scripture and the will of God. Thus he became a man who changed the course of Christian history.
The Reformers called this conviction Sola Scriptura—“Scripture Alone.” In other words, the Word of the Lord stands above every human authority and is the only truth worthy of our full trust. This is not only how the Protestant Church began; it is the very core of our identity as God’s people.
* The Story of King Josiah
In that sense, it is truly fascinating that this kind of reform—centered on the Word of God—is a recurring pattern throughout Scripture. The passage we read today describes one such reform in the days of the kings. If Luther’s Reformation took place in the 1500s, then King Josiah ruled around 640 B.C.—more than two thousand years earlier.
At that time, the nation of Israel had been divided after Solomon’s reign into two kingdoms: the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Josiah was the sixteenth king of Judah, remembered as one who faithfully served the Lord. According to 2 Kings 22:1, he ascended the throne at only eight years old. Eighteen years later, he gave a remarkable order. Verse 5 says, “Let them give it to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them repair the house.”
What does this tell us? The temple of God still stood, but it had been neglected and left in ruins. Under Josiah’s predecessors—Manasseh and Amon—the kingdom had fallen into its darkest days. Manasseh even set up altars to idols in the temple courts, an act of terrible blasphemy. His son Amon followed his father’s evil ways, worshiping idols as well. For fifty-seven long years, the temple lay abandoned, and true worship ceased. But now, Josiah began a reformation.
* The Discovery of the Lost Book of the Law
During the restoration of the temple, something extraordinary happened: the Book of the Law of the Lord was found. Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly where, but it must have been hidden in some forgotten corner of the decaying temple. For nearly fifty years, no one had cared for or even remembered God’s Word—until now, when it reappeared before His people.
The scribe Shaphan brought the book before the king and read it aloud. Verses 10 and 11 record, “Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.’ And Shaphan read it before the king. When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.”
Which part of this moves your heart most? For me, the phrase “he tore his clothes” deeply touches my spirit. In those days, tearing one’s garments was a sign of deep anguish and repentance. Think about this: what do Luther’s Reformation and Josiah’s renewal have in common? Both men encountered God’s Word with sincerity and were broken before it.
Another similarity is this—those who revered the Word in their times were a small minority. In Josiah’s day, the entire nation had forgotten where the Book of the Law even was. Likewise, in Luther’s day, the Bible had been silenced under the weight of human authority. Yet through a few faithful servants who stood upon the Word alone, God brought revival and reform.
This is what the Reformers meant by Sola Scriptura—Scripture Alone. It is the conviction that the Word of God alone surpasses every human opinion and stands as the ultimate authority in life and faith.
* The People Renew the Covenant Together
In 2 Kings 23:1–2, the story continues: “Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord.”
What an astonishing moment! When Josiah heard the Word of God and the warnings of judgment, he did not keep them to himself. He went to the temple, gathered all the people—young and old, leaders and citizens—and had the Word read aloud so that everyone could hear it.
Verse 3 continues: “And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.”
This “covenant” simply means a promise. Together, before the Lord, the entire nation promised to obey God and to keep His commandments. After fifty long years, the people of God experienced a true revival—a renewal of heart and community centered on the Word.
In other words, the essence of the Christian faith is that we realize our sin through the Word and are transformed by it. But this transformation does not stop with an individual—it spreads throughout the entire community of God’s people. That is what true revival is.
* Luther Translates the Bible for God’s People
Now let us return to Luther. After he declared that he would stand on God’s Word alone, what happened next? On his way home from the Diet of Worms, Luther was suddenly seized by a group of armed horsemen and taken away. Many thought he had been kidnapped by enemies—but in fact, the soldiers were acting under the orders of Frederick the Wise, a prince who admired Luther and sought to protect him.
Hidden away in Wartburg Castle, Luther began a new and remarkable task: translating the Bible. In the Middle Ages, Scripture existed only in Latin, a language ordinary believers could not read. Luther, however, wanted every person to have access to the Word of God. During ten months in seclusion, he translated the entire New Testament into German. By 1534, the complete Bible was published.
Why did Luther labor so passionately to translate Scripture? Because he understood, more than anyone, the necessity of Sola Scriptura—Scripture Alone. The greatest tragedy of the Middle Ages was that the Bible had been ignored and forgotten, allowing human greed and pride to rule the church. The only way to restore truth was to return to the Word of God.
In the end, both history and faith show the same truth: people are changed by the Word of God, and communities are renewed through it. This is the most powerful spiritual principle that runs through all of Christian history.
* The Servant of the Lord Desires His Word
Psalm 19:9–12 beautifully describes the power of God’s Word:“The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults!”
These are the words of David. How does he describe the Word of the Lord? He says it is perfect, pure, and more precious than the finest gold—sweeter than honey itself. Two expressions especially move me: “more to be desired” and “your servant.” David shows that reading the Word is not about intellectual understanding alone. What matters is his attitude toward it—his longing, his love, his humility. He says, “Your servant is warned by them,” confessing that even as a king, he stands before God as nothing more than a servant who listens to his Master’s Word.
* Do You Humbly Desire the Word?
When I was in seminary, I had a wonderful professor of homiletics who had studied preaching in England and came to teach his first class at our school. He said to his students, “If you meditate on the meaning of God’s Word with deep longing, the truth will rise before you like the sun breaking over a dark horizon.”
At first, I honestly didn’t understand what he meant. But through years of training and prayer, I came to realize that such a level of insight truly exists. A preacher must be utterly humble before the Word—never relying on his own ideas or experience, but praying, meditating, and longing to understand until the Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth and gives inspiration.
And I have learned through ministry that this principle applies not only to preachers but to all believers. God grants His grace to anyone who sincerely loves and longs for His Word. The key is earnestness and sincerity. If we read Scripture carelessly—like glancing at a road sign—our hearts will not change. But when we love God’s Word, long for it deeply, and seek to meet Him through it, God Himself meets us, fills our hearts with grace, and transforms our lives and communities.
Therefore, a humble heart that bows before the Word and follows it alone is the true spirit of the Reformation—the faith of Sola Scriptura that we must continue to live by.
* Conclusion
As we trace the roots of our church, where do we ultimately arrive? We arrive at Luther’s Reformation. When the medieval church lost the power of God’s Word and was overtaken by human greed, confusion, and darkness, God raised up Luther and the Reformers to restore His church. The Reformation was not merely a division from the Catholic Church—it was the greatest renewal in human history, restoring the church to a biblical foundation.
And the driving force behind that great movement was none other than the Word of God. Therefore, my earnest desire is that we, too, hold firmly to this precious identity. May each of us draw near to the Word, be transformed by it, and allow it to renew our lives. And may the Word of the Lord govern and shape our community, so that together we may move forward, holding fast to Scripture Alone.
In the name of our Lord, I bless you all. Let us pray.
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