ON MARTIN LUTHER
Church history illustrates that if a church quits being renewed and refreshed every day then they slide into apathy -- this leads toward man made religion and deadness. In essence the people of God lose their anointing and their transformational power to see lives changed.
The Protestant Reformation is a case in point. Luther set out to see renewal come to a church which had drifted from the truth. The following is taken from Christian History Vol. XI, No. 2 and Vol. XII, No. 3)
i. His favorite verse: Romans 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
ii. His favorite quotes: To understand Luther's message to the church lets listen to a few of his most famous quotes. In these quotes we can see an individual who was not a man of fear but a man of faith.
1. On the Bible: "The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me."
2. "I'd like all my books to be destroyed so that only the sacred writings in the Bible would be diligently read."
3. On Church Practices: "A simple layman armed with Scripture is to be believed above the pope or a cardinal without it."
4. On human nature: "Nothing is easier than sinning."
5. On music: "The devil should not be allowed to keep all the best tunes for himself."
6. On Prayer: "Oh, if only I could pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope."
7. On Himself: "If I rest, I rust."
8. His three main themes were:
a. Scripture alone
b. Faith alone
c. Grace alone
d. Christ alone
iii. If you look at many Lutherans churches and denominations today you see that they have drifted away from the truths that Martin Luther lived and preached.
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