Happy Reformation Day!
This is sort of a follow up to my last post. I am sorry to those of you who read this blog, but recently my health has not been good and I have had several pressing family matters to attend to. Things are returning to a state of normalcy (for me anyway), so I will be able to devote the attention to this blog that it deserves.
Anyway, much of the secular world, at least in the United States, is caught up in Halloween celebrations. Parents are dressing their children up in costumes so they can go out and collect candy from their neighbors. But Halloween has a much more significant place in history then simply the day when people dress fully and get candy.
It was on October 31st, 1517 that the Augustinian priest, Martin Luther, nailed his 95 Thesis to the castle church door in Wittenburg, Germany and touched off the Protestant Reformation. Rome has become corrupt at the time. Church offices were bought and sold, the faithful, even priests were often biblically illiterate. Salvation was sold for a coin to help build Saint Peter's basilica in Rome. Superstition ruled except where money had more power.
But one man thought to challenge the corruption of the Church and it's powerful leaders. One man who has studied what the Bible taught and compared the Church to scripture and found the Church coming up short. One man had a vision to re-form the Church according to scripture, putting every practice, belief, council and pope under the authority of the scriptures. One man who exalted scripture because it led him to the God of the scriptures. One man whose "conscience was captive to the word of God."
Martin Luther's challenge to the Church opened the door to the others who would come after him. Men like Calvin, Zwingli, Knox, and many others. One man led others to take up his challenge and so change the course of history.
We live in dark times as far as Christianity goes in North America. We could use men (and woman) like Luther again. People who are zealous students of scripture and who are not afraid to order their lives and their churches according to the word of God. We should ask ourselves where such people can be found. They are rare. Great, visionary leaders usually are. But I believe they are out there. Maybe one is sitting in your chair right now, reading these words? Maybe it is worth thinking about. Maybe.
This is sort of a follow up to my last post. I am sorry to those of you who read this blog, but recently my health has not been good and I have had several pressing family matters to attend to. Things are returning to a state of normalcy (for me anyway), so I will be able to devote the attention to this blog that it deserves.
Anyway, much of the secular world, at least in the United States, is caught up in Halloween celebrations. Parents are dressing their children up in costumes so they can go out and collect candy from their neighbors. But Halloween has a much more significant place in history then simply the day when people dress fully and get candy.
It was on October 31st, 1517 that the Augustinian priest, Martin Luther, nailed his 95 Thesis to the castle church door in Wittenburg, Germany and touched off the Protestant Reformation. Rome has become corrupt at the time. Church offices were bought and sold, the faithful, even priests were often biblically illiterate. Salvation was sold for a coin to help build Saint Peter's basilica in Rome. Superstition ruled except where money had more power.
But one man thought to challenge the corruption of the Church and it's powerful leaders. One man who has studied what the Bible taught and compared the Church to scripture and found the Church coming up short. One man had a vision to re-form the Church according to scripture, putting every practice, belief, council and pope under the authority of the scriptures. One man who exalted scripture because it led him to the God of the scriptures. One man whose "conscience was captive to the word of God."
Martin Luther's challenge to the Church opened the door to the others who would come after him. Men like Calvin, Zwingli, Knox, and many others. One man led others to take up his challenge and so change the course of history.
We live in dark times as far as Christianity goes in North America. We could use men (and woman) like Luther again. People who are zealous students of scripture and who are not afraid to order their lives and their churches according to the word of God. We should ask ourselves where such people can be found. They are rare. Great, visionary leaders usually are. But I believe they are out there. Maybe one is sitting in your chair right now, reading these words? Maybe it is worth thinking about. Maybe.
posted by John | Friday, October 31, 2008
1 Comments:
I also believe there are those out there who would be the "Luther" of our day, one of which i'm sure you could guess.I feel it would be pride to say "oh that it would be me", but say it i must, oh that it would be me...not for my sake, but His NAME'S SAKE!
Post a Comment
<< Home