If you donate to our church today, then your past, or future sins can be forgiven!! If you are unsure of the eternal destiny of one of your family members, then an even greater donation will take care of this. 500 years ago, a man named Joseph Tetzel wandered around Europe selling salvation. His words echo throughout the generations: “A coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.” Called indulgences, a gift to the church’s building program when free your loved one from misery in the afterlife. Then on October, 31, 1517 a young Augustinian monk named Martin Luther, nailed a piece of parchment against the Wittenberg church door.1
History has called this act – the nailing of the 95 theses. It should have been nothing more than an ecclesiastical debate among Catholic clergy, after all, the words were written in Latin … hardly the language of the people. Luther went downtown, to the front doors of the church, which acted like a community bulletin board, and nailed his 95 theses to the door. Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the Wittenburg Church doors, was essentially a group of men from Boston, throwing a bunch of Tea off an English Ship. It was the first step to not to Revolution, but Reformation.
I want to tell you the story that explains why thousands of churches all over America, celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in just a few weeks. In fact this is where we will be the next several weeks, leading up to the 500 year anniversary of Martin Luther’s act that began the Protestant Reformation. You may be asking yourself, why does this matter?
How does something that happened 500 years ago affect me? Think with me about the Copernican Revolution - Nicolaus Copernicus formulated a model of the universe that place the Sun at the center, rather than the Earth. And who would doubt the relevance of the American Revolution - July 4, 1776 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence? And every time we fly, we recognize that history matter because of the First Manned Flight - Wright brothers made the first controlled powered airplane, the Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. And more comically for baseball fan, remember that the Designated Hitter - April 6, 1973, Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees became the first designated hitter in Major League Baseball history, facing Boston Red Sox right-handed pitcher Luis Tiant in his first plate appearance. And lastly, basketball fans may remember the Three Point Line - Chris Ford of the Boston Celtics is widely credited with making the first three-point shot in NBA history on October 12, 1979.
Why do we care about these? Because they’re game changers! Why does the Reformation matter? Because it was a church, spiritual, political, game changer! WHY DOES THE REFORMATION MATTER?
Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation gave us... Bible - translation in common language; authority of Scripture over Pope; back to the basics and example in Scripture. Worship - Well, pretty much everything changed, seeing as congregational singing had been banned by the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther re-established congregational singing to the center of church life, which gradually took root over the next century. It was one of the ways he made the church service an active experience, as opposed to a passive experience where the congregation had no voice. Denominations - options of churches with different theological beliefs and then Martin Luther also focused eternity - kick started evangelistic fervor, indulgences and purgatory are really confusing for most people in this time. I want to be very clear, there is a heaven and a hell, and evangelism is important for all of us to do it… rediscovery of the Gospel - most important!!!
FIVE SOLAS
Christ Alone - Atonement
Scripture Alone - Authority
Faith Alone - Justification
Grace Alone - Merit
God’s Glory Alone - Worship
Turn with me to Acts 4. And I want to tell you the story of Peter who spread the gospel in ancient Jerusalem when few wanted him to share his message. We’ve skipped ahead a couple of chapters in Acts. We’ll circle back in the days to come and fill in more of the details of the birth of the church in the coming weeks. For now, know these were the early days & there were very few disciples, about 5,000. The gospel has not expanded very far as it was still localized to one city, Jerusalem. The story of a lame beggar’s healing is told in Acts 3. The fledgling church is about to face its first opposition.
Today’s Scripture
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.” (Acts 4:1–22)
This is the first time the young church has faced persecution after Jesus’ resurrection. Notice that Peter and John are arrested in verses 1-4. There’s an examination before the religious leadership in verses five - twelve. Peter and John are in trouble because essentially they are practicing religion without a license.
1. Salvation in Jesus Alone
This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:11-12).
Now a lot of you don’t buy into this… you have doubts, and questions. How could a good and loving God be so close minded as to only make one way to salvation? “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given fat the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
This is a big sticking point for many. Let’s look at the Mount Rushmore of salvation. I was able to visit THE Mount Rushmore this summer. You have George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson. And like our patriotic tourist spot out west, a lot of people want to erect a religious Mount Rushmore. In our religious Mount Rushmore, we will have Muhammad, Buddha, and Jesus. So let’s walk down the aisles of the religious supermarket and let’s “thump the melons,” if you will.
Muhammad
Surely, the biggest competitor to Jesus is Muhammad. The Qur’an teaches that all men and women are assigned two angels, one to record good deeds and another to record bad deeds. Each will appear before God, and their deeds will be literally weighed, as judgment. It’s moving to hear a Muslim mention Jesus and say, “Peace be upon him.” Very often when Muslims write about Jesus or they speak about Jesus, they say, “Peace be upon him.” They believe Jesus was a great prophet, but at the very essence of Islam is the idea that no human being could be God. There can be no image of God. There can be no representation of God. There certainly can be no human being who is God. Jesus is only a prophet. He couldn’t be God. That would be blasphemy. At the very essence of the Islamic religion is no human being could be God.
Buddha
A lot of the Eastern religions had a view of God that’s very Eastern. God is a life force; therefore it’s possible for people to come along and say, “I am God,” like Buddha. In Buddhism, the ultimate goal is the cessation of the obstacles & the attainment of the sublime state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices. If you can just be good enough, eventually, saved from suffering...
Jesus
The first and most important gift the risen Lord can give you… … is only because Jesus is not a dead teacher the way the Buddha is and the way Muhammad is and the way every other founder of every other world religion is… … but Jesus is alive now and as a result of that, he can come and give you faith. Think about the religious Mount Rushmore for a moment. How could that be if at the heart of the different religions there are certain claims that contradict one another? And the contradictions are at the very essence of the religions, not on the periphery?
Only Good People Get In Well-meaning people say this to me relatively often: “I just don’t think you have to believe in Jesus to be saved. I believe all good people can find God.” I want you to listen to what I’m about to say carefully, and I do not want you to think this is rhetoric. I do not want you to think this is exaggeration. I want you to take me seriously, please. When you say, “Oh, I don’t believe Jesus is the only way. I believe all good people can come,” what you’re really saying is, “The good people find God, and the bad people do not.” In your effort to be more inclusive by saying all good people can find God, you’ve just left me out, because I am a moral failure. Jesus Christ will not sit in a row with the other founders of world religions. He won’t sit in a row because none of the rest even began to claim what Jesus claimed. If I believe in Jesus at all, then I have to believe He’s the superior way. If I don’t believe He’s a superior way, it means I can’t believe in Jesus at all.
1. Salvation in Jesus Alone
2. There is Always a Response to the Gospel
When Defending Your Faith, Remember three items: Church family, don’t you wish you could have some of Peter’s courage?
2.1 Be Bold
I’ll tell you more about Luther in the weeks to come, but Luther had Peter’s boldness. We need more Martin Luthers to take a stand against spiritual corruption. We need more believers to be bold in defending their faith, and defending their God!
2.2 Use the Opportunities You Are Given
Christianity was birthed in place that was very hostile to the claims of Christianity. There is something here that was just as repugnant then as it is revolting now. The Roman Empire was every bit as religiously pluralistic as our society, if not more. They were committed to the idea of religious relativism, that every religion is equally valid, even more than we are today. Here’s the million-dollar question: If they were as revolted by it just as many Americans are, why did so many believe it? What overcame their revulsion where so many claimed to believe in Christ? What caused millions of Romans to embrace Jesus Christ over the next few centuries despite their revulsion?
2.2 Use the Opportunities You Are Given
2.3 It’s Dangerous But Worth the Risks
Peter’s COWARDLY response just a few weeks earlier (Luke 22) where He denied Christ three times in one night, because he was concerned with what others though and how it might negatively affect him. That is all gone. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)
1. Salvation in Jesus Alone
2. There is Always a Response to the Gospel
3. Live Only for God’s Approval
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Look what has happened. They had extraordinary courage. They were undaunted. They had an extraordinary, what you could call, self-image. They had an extraordinary poise. They were absolutely secure. They were absolutely confident.
How does anybody build an identity? How do you build an identity? Our identity depends on the way you perform. If you have an ordinary record and ordinary accomplishments, you have an ordinary amount of confidence. If you have an extraordinary record and extraordinary accomplishments, then you have extraordinary self-image, extraordinary confidence. Right? Get this … these guys had ordinary performance and extraordinary confidence. They had a self-image as big as if they were world-beaters, but they weren’t. They had a poise and they had a joy. They had a confidence that was independent of their accomplishments. It didn’t arise out of their accomplishments because they were ordinary. It didn’t arise out of anything they had ever done. They were as excited and poised as if they were world-beaters, but they weren’t world-beaters. Nobody could figure that out.
Only Good People Get In
Well-meaning people say this to me relatively often: “I just don’t think you have to believe in Jesus to be saved. I believe all good people can find God.” When you say, “Oh, I don’t believe Jesus is the only way. I believe all good people can come,” what you’re really saying is, “The good people find God, and the bad people do not.”
Invitation
500 years ago, Martin Luther’s 95 theses wasn't the first time that Salvation through Christ Alone was nailed to a piece of wood! 2000 years ago, Christ was nailed to a wooden tree as God declared to the world that salvation is through His Son, Jesus the Christ, and through Him alone!
EndNotes
1 Luther wrote, “Out of love for the truth and the desire sire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the oversight of the Reverend Father Martin Luther ... [who] requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.” Stephen J. Nichols, Martin Luther: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2002), Kindle Locations 225-227.
