Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Romans 1:16, 17 says this.
[00:00:04] For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith. For faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.
[00:00:27] The righteous shall live by faith. And you'll hear me also say, the one who by faith is righteous shall live.
[00:00:36] You can see that if you have at least ESV and possibly other translations, you might see that as a footnote at the bottom of the page. The one who by faith is righteous shall live. There's another way to translate that. The righteous shall live by faith. This quotation originally comes from Habakkuk 2, 4, and it was one of the most important verses in Scripture to the great reformer, the man that I want to present to you tonight, Martin Luther. Now, I hope this isn't a weird thing. I hope you guys indulge me in my nerding out about a historical Christian figure that I admire. I think he is important, and I believe that there are lessons we can draw from his life that are actually relevant.
[00:01:19] But Martin Luther, with this verse, Romans 1:17, as he read and meditated on it for days and even weeks, God gave him a breakthrough, which he later described as a feeling as he was altogether born again.
[00:01:35] And he realized that faith is a gift which comes alongside righteousness. Faith cannot be merited or earned, and therefore neither can righteousness be merited or earned.
[00:01:49] And we need this righteousness. That was the key. He knew we needed to be righteous to spend eternity with a righteous God. And he could not understand how he could attain such righteousness. And the answer was that faith is a gift.
[00:02:04] And this became a central aspect of the gospel he preached the Gospel he helped to recover 500 years ago.
[00:02:12] So here are a few reasons why I'm talking to you about this guy. First, he is known as the Father of the Reformation.
[00:02:22] Now, the reformation happened about 500 years ago. This is when the Protestants recovered the Gospel. In essence, that is the very, very, very shorthand version of what happened. And he was a key figure in initiating and holding forward and thrusting this movement into a mass movement. And he is known as the Father of it all. He recovered the Gospel from the institutions of the Church, especially those in and around Rome.
[00:02:55] Those institutions in and around Rome had obscured the Gospel with error and man made traditions.
[00:03:03] And so God used Martin Luther to purify the Church in mighty ways.
[00:03:10] You know, I wanted to summarize his life, and I Thought, man, this is a lot, there's a lot in his life. To summarize, I did not know how to do it adequately. And so I wanted to know how would artificial intelligence summarize Martin Luther? And I've never done this before, but I really wanted, I was like, I wonder what it'll say. It made a few errors, so I have corrected the errors, but here's mostly what it said. Martin Luther was a German theologian and a key figure in the Protestant Reformation. He was born on November 10, 1483. Initially pursuing a career in law, he experienced a profound spiritual awakening that led him to join the Augustinian order as a monk. That's right, he was a monk.
[00:03:56] Luther's dissatisfaction with the Roman Catholic Church practices, particularly the sale of indulgences, which. The sale of indulgences was a way that people could purchase or by some other means attain forgiveness or the removal of the penalty that they deserved to pay. And this penalty would have been paid according to their beliefs in purgatory. And, and so they could in essence, with the right amount of money, take time off their penalty or take time off their family members penalties. This was not good to Luther, obviously so.
[00:04:35] And this prompted him to write his famous 95 theses in 1517. And this document challenged the church's authority and sparked a theological debate that would transform Christianity Europe. And I want to correct that and say it would transform Christianity in the world. It changed Christianity for the world. Luther emphasized salvation through faith alone and the authority of Scripture leading to the establishment of Lutheranism, but I would add also the recovery of the Gospel and the spread of Protestant churches. Luther's reforms led to significant political and religious upheaval, culminating in his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. That means they kicked him out.
[00:05:19] They kicked him out of the Roman Catholic Church. And after this he sought refuge in Wartburg Castle where he translated the New Testament into German. He eventually translated the whole Bible into German, a translation the German Christians still use. That's right. We think the King James is old, his translation was older and they still use it. He transformed their language going on, it says.
[00:05:45] Over the next few decades, Luther continued to advocate for reforms, engaging in theological disputes and contributing to various Christian denominations establishment. His writings and teachings not only reshaped religious practices, but also influenced social and political structures across Europe. And so nonetheless he has a lasting legacy.
[00:06:07] He has a very lasting legacy even in a country like Germany, very far from Christianity. People know his name because of how influential he was. So he was the father of the Reformation. Second reason I'm going to talk about him tonight is that our faith is historic. It is not novel, it is not new. Our faith is historic because it has always been the truth. It is not a new truth. It is not a new revelation. It has always been the only true pathway to God. In fact, the faith that we hold to is far older than 500 years old. When Luther helped recover the Gospel. It is far older than that. Luther and other reformers consistently pointed to the apostles, to the early church fathers, and many, if not most theologians up until the Middle Ages. The faith of Protestants, contrary to what Roman Catholics like to say, is actually older than their faith. It predates what they hold as tradition. And that's important because what we believe has stood the test of time.
[00:07:17] And so, third, I find that Martin Luther's life and ministry has some aspects that should be models for us today, even you. And we can and should look to dead heroes like this.
[00:07:31] So it's only fitting that we discuss him tonight, since tomorrow is, as I said, the 507th anniversary of the event which kick started the Reformation when He nailed the 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. So tonight, this is actually the eve of Reformation Day. I think there's another holiday that people sometimes celebrate tomorrow, but it's Reformation Day to nerds like me, nonetheless. I have five lessons. They should be on your sheet with blanks. I have five lessons from the life of Martin Luther that we will look at tonight, and we'll look at Scripture as much as we can to back up the model that I'm putting forth. So I would encourage you to write down Scriptures as you hear them, even if you can't necessarily flip to them number or let me tell you the main idea. The main idea is that Martin Luther's recovery of the gospel. This is the first blank. Martin Luther's recovery of the gospel ought to inspire young people today to biblical faithfulness and a love for Christ and his bride.
[00:08:38] And the first lesson we can learn from Luther is be a local. Be a local. Now, what does that mean? Martin Luther, he was a local. He was a home body, although not always by choice, as he was hiding in disguise for some years of his life. In fact, he only ever left Germany one time. That's not to say, you know, travel wasn't as easy as it is today, but it wasn't impossible. After all, even before he was born, there were people sailing across the Atlantic to the Americas. So it's not that travel was impossible, but he stayed home and he fought and did what he could to make his home a better place. Now, I must admit it's not the most important lesson that we're going to draw from him tonight, but there's a principle here that I do think is important for you guys.
[00:09:30] It's that you ought to be involved where you are involved, in school, in church, in your community. One of the most damaging ways to live is to live a life in isolation.
[00:09:44] It's just so damaging to live in isolation. You know, having to do school apart from people for however many semesters you had to do it here, I have no idea because I was moving around. But however many years or semesters it was, that is detrimental, that is harmful. And I'm sure very few people have fond memories of the that time.
[00:10:05] Now why is not being isolated so important?
[00:10:10] I think there's a verse that can help us with this, and it's Hebrews.
[00:10:15] Let me flip to it. Hebrews chapter 10, verses 24 and 25, which says and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. So we want to stir up others to love and good works. How do we do this? Verse 25 not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day, that is the day of judgment drawing near.
[00:10:49] So we were intended to meet together. We should be a social people.
[00:10:57] I know this might be hard to hear for introverts, but we need to have at least some time with other people. We're intended for it. And the first reason we need to do it is because it helps us to love others and to do good works.
[00:11:11] When you sit alone in your room doing whatever doom scrolling whatever it might be, you are not being stirred up to love and good works. You just aren't. But that's the point of the people of God. That's one of the points I should say. Titus 2:11 14 sheds some light on this. Titus 2:11, 14 for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, who are zealous for good works. God's grace is working to bring people together as his people. They are not individuals, they are a people, a unified people. And the marker of this people is that they are zealous for good works.
[00:12:21] So we need one another, and it makes sense because we get tired, we need encouragement, we need to be stirred up, as the author of Hebrews says. And so let friends into your life, and let friends into your life that are going to bring Jesus into your life.
[00:12:40] The second reason that meeting together is important is that it encourages us in the face of coming judgment. The day of the Lord is coming at a time that nobody knows. And until then, one of life's biggest struggles is how mundane life is. You get bored, you feel lonely, you feel purposeless. It's just a fact of life. But the word of God says that if you would only be devoted to the church, to other people, then you would be encouraged by them. In fact, this is one of the most vital ways that you can be encouraged in the face of intending impending judgment.
[00:13:21] And so when you are at school or wherever, apply yourself. This is something Luther did too. He worked very hard, as you may have remembered from the summary, he was going to be a lawyer. It was a very respected job. But he went in a completely different direction, even at the disappointment of his father.
[00:13:40] But Luther's skills that he gained in his education, philosophy, law, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, eventually proved to be invaluable to him.
[00:13:52] And so when we see how God used all of that for him to later use in translation works, and being a prolific writer and preacher, how do you know what God will do with the skills you gain in school?
[00:14:05] You don't have to become a scholar, but wherever God has you in this time is important because it's where you are, whatever you do. Colossians 3, 23, 24 says, Work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you'll receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
[00:14:28] Now, I understand it probably doesn't seem super duper glamorous to be fully devoted to being present where you currently are. You know, I've lived in other places and I've known people from other states. And you may be surprised that people think Oklahoma is boring.
[00:14:46] They think it's boring. They call it a flyover state. Nobody knows anything about it outside of the state. People don't know anything about it. I think it's a great place to live. But nonetheless, wherever you are, it's natural to seek greener pastures. It just is. People have that instinct in them. And God might take you elsewhere one day. He might, but he has you here now in school. And so be content where you are, as Luther was content and faithful where he was. And God magnified his faithfulness so much that we're talking about him 500 years later.
[00:15:20] So be local. Second, so this is number two on the sheet. Be Catholic, but with a lowercase c. Put a lowercase C as you write that down. Be Catholic with a lowercase c. Because we do uppercase c. Then it's like, well, isn't that kind of completely what he was saying, not to do B, lowercase Catholic. Luther is, you know, he gets a lot of flack. He's derided as racist, brutish, schismatic, divisive.
[00:15:50] I want to argue that Martin Luther desired unity to an incredible degree, but he was not willing to place unity over truth.
[00:15:59] So be Catholic. Which means. If you're wondering what that means, it means to recognize and support the universal church or the universality of the church. So let's break this down. The word church in the Bible, or when you hear it spoken of, it can mean two things. Two things. First is it could be referring to the church Catholic, like I'm saying now. This refers to all Christians everywhere, across all time. So everyone in heaven is the church Catholic, the church universal. The second way it's used is church the church local. So this refers to local assemblies of that universal church, like Arrowheads Baptist Church, First Baptist Church, Mercy View Church, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Christ Presbyterian Church, and you can name a bunch of others. Those are local assemblies of the universal church all just around us.
[00:16:56] And so we should seek to be Catholic in this way. We should seek to be like the Ephesian local church. Paul says in Ephesians 1, 15, 16, says, for this reason, because I have heard of your faith, Ephesians, in the Lord Jesus, and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. We should be like them, having a love for all the saints, at least in our prayers and our thankfulness and supporting and loving saints across the world, however we can.
[00:17:33] And Luther is a model for this because his heart was not, not to split the church.
[00:17:39] He did not want to do that. That's a misconception if you hear it. He did not intend to start a revolution. He wanted to change the church, make her healthier, make her love the gospel again. He wanted to reform her from the inside.
[00:17:56] The 95 theses, which are credited with being the kickstart of the Reformation, Michael Reeves says they were not a dramatic protest, but a summons to an Academic disputation in the 95 Theses, Luther was being a good Catholic. He wanted to talk things out. He wanted to clarify and correct doctrine without creating a revolution. Because he loved the Church, he loved the saints all over the world, and he wanted us to be unified.
[00:18:29] And as he fought to reform and purify the church Catholic, he often pointed backward to the apostles and theologians that lived well before him, like Augustine, because he believed his faith was an ancient faith. It was handed down from Jesus to the apostles and to those churches that the apostles planted, and so on and so forth. It is not a new faith. It is not a progressive faith. It instead holds to timeless truths which are so, so much more valuable, so much more valuable. Now, speaking of timeless truths, we must also follow Luther's example. By number three on your sheet, Be radically devoted to the Word.
[00:19:16] Be radically devoted to the word.
[00:19:20] Theses 53 and 54, which I have printed on that handout for you. They say this.
[00:19:26] They are enemies of Christ and of the Pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent. In some churches in order that pardons may be preached in others, injury is done the word of God when in the same sermon an equal or longer time is spent on pardons than on His Word.
[00:19:48] So what he's saying here is that it is a shame when in the church there are sermons that are giving more time to passing out pardons to tell people how they can remove the penalty that they owe, which was not by believing in the Gospel, but by meriting it through sacraments and indulgences. He's saying this is happening more than the preaching of the Word. And that's an issue.
[00:20:14] And Luther, he was a monk. His life was devoted to reading, studying, meditating on the Word of God. And in fact, it was meditating on the Word of God which would finally seal him as a new man.
[00:20:30] He talks about this experience reading Romans 1:17, which we opened with. And this is what he says. He said, at last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night. I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, in it, the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, he who through faith is righteous shall live. There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely, by faith. And this is the meaning. The righteousness of God is revealed by the Gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith. As it is written, he who through faith is righteous shall live. Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.
[00:21:23] Luther was able to hear this from God and have this experience because he approached the Word with a heart open to what it said.
[00:21:33] He was not bogged down by what the Pope had declared, but he wanted to know what God says in his Word.
[00:21:41] And when the papists or the followers of the Pope went after him, it confirmed. This is Michael Reeves. He says it confirmed Luther in his thinking. Nobody tried to refute him from Scripture, prove to his mind that Rome was not interested in God's Word, but only in silencing any threats to her supremacy. Setting herself up against God's Word, she could only be a tool of Satan.
[00:22:06] So when discussing doctrine, Luther was interested in God's Word and what it said. But the Church, the Roman Church, seemed interested in their own ideas, and this was the issue.
[00:22:18] But we shouldn't be surprised. We're told, that this sort of thing would happen. Back in the Bible, Paul writes to Timothy, the pastor. This is second Timothy, 3, 16, 4, 4.
[00:22:33] All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training and righteousness, that the man of God may be complete equipped for every good work. I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing in his kingdom, preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke and exhort with complete patience and teaching.
[00:23:00] Hear this, for the time is coming when people will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
[00:23:13] So be devoted to the Word. Be radically devoted to the Word.
[00:23:20] I want you to think, if the Word was made less prominent in our church, whether in here or when we worship with the church body, would you be bothered? Would you notice if it was less central, if we had less Bible in a service?
[00:23:39] Let's think on that question.
[00:23:41] I just want you to reflect. Are you radically devoted to the Word? And are you actually radically devoted to the Word?
[00:23:51] Fourth, utilize the Law and the Gospel. That's number four on your sheet. Utilize the Law and the Gospel.
[00:24:01] Flip to Romans 3 and I'll flip there too. And I'll give you a second to get there. Romans 3. We're going to start in verse 9. Romans 3. 9.
[00:24:17] What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks are under sin.
[00:24:26] As it is written, none is righteous. No, not One no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin and misery. In the way of peace they have not known there is no fear of God before their eyes.
[00:25:01] Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
[00:25:12] For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
[00:26:07] Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also. Since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means. On the contrary, we uphold the law. So I'm going to stop there.
[00:26:45] Luther is well known for his law gospel distinction. See, basically what this means is Luther read the Bible and he saw all the Bible, every single part of it, as either being a command or a promise, at least in some sense. Or law and gospel, command, promise, law, gospel. Each of these have their importance in his mind. Luther writes, for the law has its terminus, defining how far it is to go and what it is to achieve, namely, to terrify the impenitent with the wrath and displeasure of God and drive them to Christ.
[00:27:20] So the Law is held and preached so that people who hear the Word will see their sin and its ugliness.
[00:27:30] It will show us that we need the promises, we need the gospel. We need Christ.
[00:27:37] That is how he viewed the law.
[00:27:41] Because only the perfect keeper of the law to the only perfect keeper of the law will be the one who is saved. Only the perfect keeper.
[00:27:52] And there was one perfect keeper of the law. There was only one.
[00:27:57] And we need him to give us faith.
[00:28:00] The one who by faith is righteous shall live.
[00:28:04] So if you by faith are righteous, you shall live. And so we see it in Romans 3 so clearly, by works of the law, none of us will be justified. That means none of us will be made right with God. We will all be declared guilty before God.
[00:28:19] Because the law makes us accountable to God. We have no excuse. We are held to account. And we have all sinned. We have all transgressed the entire law. Therefore, we turn to Christ through faith to be. Verse 24. Justified, declared righteous by a grace. By grace as a gift.
[00:28:42] It is a gift. And though we need the gospel, we don't throw away the law and the Old Testament. We uphold it because it serves this critical point. I think it has other uses as well. But Luther is right that it at least has this purpose to slash us, to break us, to drive us to Christ in the gospel. It drives us into the ever loving and ever accepting arms of the Savior. This is what Luther needed. He was one of those people that had one of the guiltiest consciences. Maybe that's you. Maybe you have an active conscience. Luther would say, run to the Savior. You will never be good enough. Your conscience will always be able to nitpick and find things that you have come short in. But that's because you cannot fulfill the law. You need to have faith in the One who did.
[00:29:39] If you were here right now, I'm sure that's what he would say to do. He would implore you to run to the city Savior. And so utilize the law and the gospel when you read and when you share with others.
[00:29:50] The fifth lesson we can get from Martin Luther is to have a big God theology.
[00:29:58] Big God theology. God is big. A big God theology teaches us that Christ alone saves theses 36 and 37, which I have written. This is what Martin Luther wrote. He wrote, every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even with letters of pardon. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church. And this is granted by God, not by pope or bishops, by God, even without letters of pardon. So what he's saying here, in short, is that God does the saving. God saves the repentant sinner. And when they are saved by God, their penalty and their guilt is wiped away. See, that was something that was not occurring in the minds of Roman Catholics at the time. Your guilt was washed away by the death of Christ, but your penalty still had to be paid.
[00:30:58] That is why they have purgatory. And they offer penance for their sins and confess their sins to a priest. Because their guilt may be gone, but their penalty must be paid. This is not the gospel.
[00:31:12] And this is why the breakthrough he made with Romans 1:17 was so important. He who through faith is righteous shall live. Not who through confession and penance and indulgences, is righteous, but he who through faith is righteous shall live.
[00:31:27] When God is big, when he is completely sovereign and in control over all things, especially salvation. Righteousness is a result of faith which is given. It is not something that we have earned or done.
[00:31:41] Righteousness is that thing we so desperately need, because the righteous will be saved. The righteous will inherit the promises of God.
[00:31:51] So if the righteous will be saved, and if the only way to be righteous is through faith given by God, then that means God is a big God. He is in total control. And so Luther was correct to argue that your will is a slave to sin. And we need God to help us. He agrees with Paul. Romans 6, 6 and 7. Paul writes, we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
[00:32:30] So before salvation, every person makes choices and decisions, but our will is not completely free. You cannot please God because you are what, Enslaved to sin.
[00:32:42] The chains we cannot break. We cannot get loose on our own. We are chained up to the devil. There's no way of escape unless Christ frees you and breaks those chains. But for that to happen, you must die with Christ, turn from your sins and have faith wholeheartedly in the Savior. And if you have trusted in Christ, then your will will be freed. You will be free to sin no more and obey Christ freely.
[00:33:15] And so we must thank God that He saves sinners from slavery to sin. And I hope that the example of Martin Luther inspires you in at least a couple of ways. Maybe five ways, but at least a couple. You must remember this, too. And I think that this is the cherry on Top. When I think of Martin Luther, he was not a perfect man. He wasn't.
[00:33:43] He often used filthy language. He had some areas of doctrine that weren't quite as reformed. He was very difficult to work with if you didn't agree with him perfectly.
[00:33:58] As well as other areas of sin that can maybe clear or less clear, depending on how much we know about him.
[00:34:05] But who of us is perfect?
[00:34:10] Michael Reeves writes, Martin Luther was shock therapy for the world and somehow his personality seems fit for the gospel he uncovered. He inspires no moral self improvement and would be disciples. Instead, his evident humanity testifies to a sinner's absolute need for God's grace. So in this man we see an example of a sinner who did incredible things for the gospel and for Christ and the church.
[00:34:40] And so us, when we look in the mirror at our own sinfulness, we can think of Martin Luther, who was a sinner too. But Christ used him mightily.
[00:34:51] And ultimately it is not your squeaky clean spiritual resume that saves you. You need instead the squeaky clean righteousness of Christ imputed, given to you through faith. And so trust on him today and happy Reformation Day. Let's pray.
[00:35:14] Father God, we thank you for men and women of the faith that are inspirations to us. God, we praise you for those who live and die and we get to look into their lives and study how they loved you in the Word. God, we ask that you would help us to apply something we have learned tonight. Lord, thank you for the Gospel. We know the truth that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church, that your gospel will be true. Your word will not go out and come back void, but it will accomplish its purposes. And God, we have faith that those things are true. And we have faith that your Word says that if we by faith live according to your word, that you will rescue us, that you will not abandon us. So God, I pray that for any in the room that have not turned to you wholeheartedly in faith, that you would convict them and call them to yourselves. Tonight we pray this in Christ's name, Amen.
