4Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.5For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
Newness of life comes through a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. It's a free gift - we cannot do enough good works in and of ourselves to warrant salvation, we cannot cleanse ourselves before we come into salvation. No, we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we repent of our sins, and we depend on Him to make us new on the inside, so that we are changed on the outside - we are new creatures in Christ Jesus, and we act accordingly as we allow Christ's life to flow through us. We do not and cannot deserve this new life; it's simply given freely by God and accepted humbly by us, so that we might enter into that relationship that He desires to have with us through Christ.
In Ephesians chapter 2, we see the principle that we are saved by faith alone through grace alone; not saved by works, by anything we can do, other than to trust Christ as our Savior:
8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9not of works, lest anyone should boast.10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
It was around two o’clock in the afternoon on the eve of the Day of All Saints, October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther, hammer in hand, approached the main north door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenberg and nailed up his Ninety-Five Theses protesting the abuse of indulgences in the teaching and practice of the church of his day. In remembrance of this event, millions of Christians still celebrate this day as the symbolic beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
So writes Dr. Timothy George, founding dean of the Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, highlights this story in church history in a piece at the First Things website. He goes on to say that,
It was not Luther’s intention to divide the Church, much less to start a brand new church. To the end of his life, he considered himself to be a faithful and obedient servant of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. Though Luther renounced his monastic vows and married a former nun, Katarina von Bora, he never forgot that he had received a doctorate in Holy Scripture. His vocation was to teach the written Word of God and to point men and women to the Lord of Scripture, Jesus Christ.
George writes that, "Luther’s teaching that every human being at every moment of life stands absolutely coram deo—before God, confronted face-to-face by God—led him to confront the major misunderstanding in the church of his day that grace and forgiveness of sins could be bought and sold like wares in the market."
News about the content of Luther's proclamations nailed to that door spread far and wide. But, it also created conflict. A sympathetic friend led Luther to the protection of a castle. In a piece at Crosswalk.com, Lucy Neeley Adams points out that:
It was there that Luther reaffirmed the strength and comfort of a mighty God. Within his temporary hiding place, the words of Psalm 46:1 came alive and vibrant for him: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble."
During those days of solitude, prayer and Bible study, Luther began a translation of the Scriptures into German. He firmly believed that "all people must be able to read God's word for themselves." It was the accepted norm of the day that the Bible, written in Latin, was only read by the priest.
Likewise, he believed that church music was for everyone to sing. "The devil who is the originator of sorrowful anxieties and restless trouble, flees before the sound of God's music almost as much as before the Word of God," Luther declared.
From the solitude of that castle, Luther wrote the words to the amazing hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God".
Adams also writes this about Luther:
1) When we see Scriptural violations, expressed through injustice or other activities, we can ask the Lord how He would have us to address them. We don't necessarily have to be silent, and can trust God to give us the words to say or the actions to take when God's truth is not being followed. And, I believe it starts with knowing the truth for ourselves and taking the necessary steps to release the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus in our own lives. It starts in our own hearts, and perhaps God will then use us to speak life and truth to others, with grace and conviction.
2) In the midst of danger and conflict, Luther discovered a mighty fortress in His Lord. His response to trouble was to translate the Scriptures and to write music - and both these endeavors had lasting effects for the church.
3) Luther had his flaws, but even though he was imperfect, that did not disqualify him, and does not disqualify us from use in Christian service. If we have to wait to be totally perfect before attempting to serve God, then we'll be waiting until the end of our lives - God uses flawed individuals to accomplish His flawless purposes. It is amazing how that works, but if we submit our hearts and minds to the Lord, we can depend on Him to show Himself faithful through us.
Not a perfect man, Luther was known at times to be crass, harsh, and he held to many of the prejudices that were prevalent in his day. As the saying goes: the best of men are men at best. We can all be thankful that God raises up and uses unworthy people like us to accomplish His ends.Some commemorated Reformation Day last Thursday, and by reflecting on the life of Luther and what he stood for, we can be challenged to think upon and incorporate certain principles into our lives:
1) When we see Scriptural violations, expressed through injustice or other activities, we can ask the Lord how He would have us to address them. We don't necessarily have to be silent, and can trust God to give us the words to say or the actions to take when God's truth is not being followed. And, I believe it starts with knowing the truth for ourselves and taking the necessary steps to release the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus in our own lives. It starts in our own hearts, and perhaps God will then use us to speak life and truth to others, with grace and conviction.
2) In the midst of danger and conflict, Luther discovered a mighty fortress in His Lord. His response to trouble was to translate the Scriptures and to write music - and both these endeavors had lasting effects for the church.
3) Luther had his flaws, but even though he was imperfect, that did not disqualify him, and does not disqualify us from use in Christian service. If we have to wait to be totally perfect before attempting to serve God, then we'll be waiting until the end of our lives - God uses flawed individuals to accomplish His flawless purposes. It is amazing how that works, but if we submit our hearts and minds to the Lord, we can depend on Him to show Himself faithful through us.
No comments:
Post a Comment