Sermon Title: 500 – Celebrating the Reformation Passage: Romans 1:16-17; Galatians 1:6-7 Preacher: Dan Weyerhaeuser Date: 10.29.17
This Bible is something I treasure because 34 years ago, my dear friend, Jimmy Crank, gave this to me as he invited me into a discipling relationship. Because I love my brother, this Bible reminds me of him. (If God has used me to encourage you, you owe a word of thanks to Jimmy!) It also reminds me of my first days of tasting God’s goodness in THIS Bible. It feels fitting to show you this today.
I hope by the end of our time today, you will treasure a bit more THE most value physical possession that has ever been given to you: God’s Word. Because as we remember the Reformation today on its 500th anniversary, the treasure that it gave us all was the Bible and through this book, we can encounter God. Interact with the Message “Something God’s Word has given me is…(1 word)” God’s Word IS a treasure, “more valuable than much pure gold” Solomon says. I want us to treasure it today and the God Who gave it to us. Its because of the Reformation that we have it. Here’s the story. October 31, 500 years ago, a piece of paper was nailed to the door a Church, Germany. Perhaps no single piece of paper in all of history has had more of an impact than that one. Before the dust would settle, the entire fabric of the Christian church would be permanently changed and a movement would emerge that would sweep across the earth. Literally because of that day, the Word of God would find its way into the hands of the hundreds of millions of the people of God who would be transformed by the Spirit of God into growing sons and daughters of God. You HAVE a Bible today because a piece of paper was posted on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. That piece of paper was Martin Luther’s, “95 Theses” which sparked the Protestant Reformation. The Oxford Dictionary of Christian History begins its article about the Reformation by saying, “Next to the advent of Christianity itself, the Reformation is the most important event, not only in Church history, but in the history of western civilization.” Luther would later say, “I never suspected that such a storm would rise… over one simple scrap of paper.” He didn’t post them in defiance against the church. As a pastor, Luther saw his own people believing in practices not in the Bible that denied God’s grace and were destroying their faith. And since posting a document publically was the way someone invited public discussion and debate, Luther posted his document because he wanted to talk about it. As Christians, we are helped to know this story, and the texts of Scripture God used to transform Martin Luther, so that we value what God has given us. I think we are also helped to understand a little of the sacrifice that brothers and sisters endured so that we could GET this book into our hands. Many people lost their lives so that we could have God’s Word. This is the 18th fairway of the Old Course at St. Andrews’ Scotland where golf was born. Irony… just behind the Royal Ancient Clubhouse stands a moment dedicated to protestants who were martyred by Catholic persecutors for their faith. Just to name two, Patrick Hamilton was burned at the stake in 1527 after he promoted the doctrines of Martin Luther. H enry Forest was executed in 1533 for owning a copy of the New Testament in English. Yet eventually Scotland became protestant, which meant the people had the Scriptures in their own language and possession.
This reformation of the church began when God’s Word transformed Martin Luther’s heart, and set him on a collision course with the Roman Catholic Church of the 15th century. Today I’m going to share this history, and a few of the passages that spoke to Luther. Let’s start with…
The setting of the Reformation Martin Luther was born November 10th, 1483 to Hans and Margarethe Luther in Eisleban, Germany. Luther’s father, a copper-smith, was a harsh man who had a fierce ambition for Martin to become a lawyer. Martin would live most of his life under the shadow of his father’s disapproval, which was an area of his brokenness. (I’ll come back to the importance of that). Dutifully, Luther went to the University of Erfurt at age 18. Luther earned his BA, his Master’s degree and was one Law course away from finishing law school. 1.
2 But then in 1505, the plague came to Erfurt. In the 100 years before the Reformation, the Black Death killed almost ½ of Europe’s population. So when the plague came to a town, everyone ran. Luther left for home. Truth: He was a conflicted young man. He didn’t really want to become a lawyer, but he lived under the fear of his father’s disapproval. On top of that, 3 of his close friends had died from the plague. Terribly conflicted as he headed back to Erfurt to finish law school, he was caught in a massive thunderstorm that terrified him. Just after nearly being struck by lightning, he cried out, “St. Anne, help me! I will become a monk!” After surviving the story, Luther took his pledge seriously. Later he said, “Suddenly surrounded by the terror and agony of death, I felt myself constrained to consecrate myself to God.” He was looking for peace. But he didn’t find it as a priest. Luther the Monk True to his word, 2 weeks later and against his father’s wishes, Luther showed up at the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt to enter training to become a priest. Because Luther was an “all in” kind of guy, he joined the strictest of the order of Augustinians in Germany. This order encouraged its monks to live harshly ascetic lives so that, by their devotion, they would s how themselves worthy of heaven. Luther took this to the extreme. On more than one occasion, Luther’s fellow monks found him sleeping in the snow without covering. He later would say, “If I kept up that way of living, it would have ended my life.” But Luther’s studies to become a priest did NOT bring peace to his heart. His devotion increased as he had a growing sense that he would never achieve salvation. He was in the confessional all the time. (“I didn’t want to sin, but I’m afraid I might have wanted to want to do it”. Legend has his confessors saying, “Would you go commit a real sin and come back?”) But he took seriously that if God is actually holy and in him there is no darkness at all, then we must be perfect to approach Him as Jesus said, and Luther knew he wasn’t. We all know being human means, “nobody’s perfect.” But if there really is a God who IS completely holy, CAN we just say, “Oh well… I’m better than some people.” How WILL we stand before Him Who IS just?
On the day Martin led his first mass, he came to the moment in the service where he consecrated the elements of the Eucharist to the Lord, at which time Catholic doctrine teaches the elements become the body and blood of Christ, and he trembled at his unworthiness to call upon God. (Has father responded, “You will never be a priest!) 5 years passed in this agony when he was given the assignment to go to Rome on the business of the monastery. For a man struggling with his devotion this assignment thrilled him. Luther hoped that this pilgrimage to the capital city of the Church, where martyrs died, where Peter died, and where the Pope resided, would help his spiritual struggle. He and a friend walked across the Alps for two months. In October of 1501, they arrived in Rome. These days were during the height of the Renaissance. Michael Angelo would paint the Sistine Chapel within 5 years. St. Peter’s Church was under construction. Luther was THRILLED and, awed… for about a day. But, the awe of Rome did not last long. Almost immediately, Luther encountered priests so drunk they could not finish the mass. He found priests disregarding their vow to celibacy. One biographer says Luther heard a priest who was blessing the bread and wine (which Catholics believe transform INTO the actual body and blood of Christ) say, “Bread it was and bread it shall remain.” He didn’t believe the doctrine of transubstantiation, and Luther heard this. Above all, Luther was astonished at the practice that Catholic pilgrims were promised they could have their sins remitted if, out of devotion, they paid a huge sum to view the remains of martyrs. (Catholics teach that if you are going to hell, you are going to hell. But if you are going to heaven, you have to stop first in purgatory where you “pay for your unforgiven venial sins” until you can enter heaven undefiled.) This deeply disturbed Luther because this doctrine would mean that the papacy had the power to remit sins, but they only will do so when you paid money for it. In the 95 theses he asked, “W hy does not the Pope liberate everyone from purgatory for the sake of love (a most holy thing) and because of the supreme necessity of their souls? This would be morally the best of all reasons. Meanwhile he redeems innumerable souls for money.” Luther’s trip to Rome was incredibly disillusioning. When he returned to his monastery, he was more troubled than ever.
3 But all this changed in 1511, Luther was sent to a small university in Wittenberg. In a newly formed university, Luther was given the task of studying and teaching the Bible. He had not done this before. (He was a Doctor of Theology and had not studied the Bible). Rather than “wallow” in his own self-focused devotion, Luther was responsible to teach Romans, G alatians, and Hebrews to students. As Luther studied these texts, he was struck by a dramatic revelation. Paul (another former legalist himself) writes… Rom. 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 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.”
He writes…
I greatly longed to understand Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and nothing stood in the way but that one expression “the (righteousness) of God” because I took it to mean that justice whereby God is just and deals justly in punishing the unjust. My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him. Therefore, I did not love a just and angry God, but rather hated and murmured against him. Yet I clung to dear Paul and had a great yearning to know what he meant. Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that “the just shall live by his faith.” Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sincere mercy God justifies us through faith.
Luther realized the good news that because of the victory of Jesus over sin on the cross and resurrection, God doesn’t judge OUR righteousness (or lack of it). He COUNTS us righteous. Because Christ died for our sins, God credits Christ’s righteousness to us when we believe. God accepts us through Christ if we repent and believe. Luther discovered grace!
(Suddenly) I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into Paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning. Whereas before “the justice of God” had filled me with hate, now it became inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven. (Roland Bainton, Here I Stand, 49-50)
This is where the 5 “solas come from. When you start to study t he Scriptures alone, you come to the doctrine that we become a Christian by grace alone through faith alone. As Luther read Galatians, he found enormous application to his circumstance in Paul’s writing to Christians who had stopped relying on God’s grace. They began to act as if their goodness or heritage was the reason God accepted them. Gal. 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — 7 which is really no gospel at all.
While the details of Paul’s letter and Luther’s context differ, in BOTH times God’s people had lost this gospel of grace. Gal. 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
The gospel tells us that when we repent and believe, we are free from the obligations of the law as if our salvation is earned or kept by our behavior. It's not that we are free to sin, we are free to love God. Luther says,
I must listen to the gospel. It tells my not what I should do but what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has done for me.”
One man years earlier had said, “Love God with all of your heart, and then live however you please.” YES! These discoveries RADICALLY changed Luther and his mission to the church and the world.
If that’s the setting for the reformation, we come now to… 2. The spark of the Reformation Not long after this, Leo X became the next Pope. Leo was a man of extravagant and grossly immoral tastes. He quickly emptied the Papal treasures in his lavish living to the point that work on St. Peter’s Church was halted. To raise more funds, Leo turned to the practice of selling, “Indulgences,” a paper that when purchased, promised to provide remission of sins. MORE, Leo promised that indulgences could not only remit your sins, but also other’s sins, including those in purgatory. He offered forgiveness at a financial price.
4 Leo sent Johann Tetzle, a Dominican friar, to sell these indulgences all over the empire. Tetzel was quite the salesman. After going on about the fires of purgatory, Tetzel would offer an indulgence for money. He coined the phrase, “When the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.” Tactical error… Tetzel went to Germany to sell these. This got on Luther’s radar because many of his own congregation starting buying indulgences from Tetzel. They were subjecting themselves to the very life-killing legalism Luther had escaped through the gospel. It was in response to THIS that Luther posted his 95 Theses. As a pastor, he wanted his people to know through Christ, God welcomes people by GRACE. However something remarkable happened without Luther’s planning. 70 years before, Guttenberg had invented and perfected the printing press. Someone took Luther’s work and without Luther’s knowledge, printed and spread it all over Germany. The document set the world on fire. Apparently the general population of German Catholics were already chafing under the indulgences and taxes of the church. Luther’s document resonated with them and unleashed a firestorm. Many believe Luther, at this point, assumed the Pope was unaware of Tetzel’s activity. But in Rome, Luther’s document caused an outrage. It was not just that Luther was attacking the practice sponsored by the Pope, but now the church in Germany was in outrage. The church had a name for people who did things like this: “Heretic.” 100 years before, John Huss had criticized the church for similar things. He was politely invited to Rome to present his view. Upon arriving, though, he was asked 2 questions. Q: “Are these your books?” A: “Yes.” Q: “Will you recant of what you have written?” A: “No.” He was immediately burned at the stake. The Pope sent a cardinal to interrogate Luther. Luther was not only unswayed by the visit, but began to realize these teachings (and corruptions) went all the way to the top. The Pope’s efforts to silence him only made him more convinced of his mission. Finally, the Pope branded Luther a Heretic and wrote a Papal bull excommunicating Luther. Leo loved to hunt, and wrote it from his hunting lodge: “Arise O Lord, protect yourself. A wild boar of the forest is seeking to destroy your vineyard. We must proceed against this Martin Luther to his condemnation and damnation as one whose faith is notoriously suspect and is in fact, a true heretic.”
Now, according to the Pope, Luther would spend eternity in hell and be an outcast in this life. This also freed anyone to take justice into their own hands against him without fear of recourse. This document began to circulate towards Germany and finally got to Luther, who burned it. Throughout this time, Luther kept writing and publishing! He was the first person to exploit the print medium to speak to a larger audience than he would ever address personally. During this time Luther wrote a pamphlet entitled, “An address to the Christian nobility of the German Nation.” In it, he described the lavish waste of Rome’s excesses and the immorality in Rome. And then he wrote, “German money flies over the alps to Rome,” and the German nobility became infuriated and resistant to the Pope. Rome responded by sending a polite invitation to Luther to come to Rome to present his views (just like Huss). What this REALLY meant was that Luther would be required to recant or die. At this point, someone I have not yet mentioned, came to play a crucial role in Luther’s story. Frederick III of Saxony was the man responsible for the launch of the University in Wittenberg where Luther taught. Luther was bringing a lot of recognition to his little University and Frederick was proud of his young theologian. He became a crucial and strategic ally of Luther’s. In 1520, Frederick received a visit from the most powerful man in Europe, The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Charles is 19 at the time. He is going to host a “Diet” (not exercise but formal, religious assembly) and it will happen in the city of Worms. Charles wanted to talk to Frederick about this, but he ALSO wanted to bring an end to the Luther scandal so he came to talk to Luther’s employer. Frederick, however, convinced the Emperor NOT to hand Luther over to Rome but to give him the chance to argue his case at the Emperor’s next Diet, in Worms. Frederick also argued that it wasn’t right that a German citizen would be judged by Italians?” Charles agreed! During the 5 months before the Diet of Worms, realizing the church’s heresy was systemic to the core, Luther wrote a work that didn’t only criticize Rome, but c alled for a completely new structure of Religion. “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church” was Luther’s effort to offer an alternative to Roman Catholicism because he was now convinced that the church has been taken over by “Babylon” (“Babylon” is a
5 symbolic city in Revelation for “the worldly city.”). In this book, Luther challenged the Biblical grounds for the Catholic’s 7 sacraments.
Many of us have a Catholic background. Some may still be Catholic. I am not saying that a Catholic cannot be a Christian (some have said that). I have close friends who are. TRUTH: There is only 1 church and it has been bought by the blood of Christ and regenerated is regenerated. However, we are NOT Catholics, for a reason. When you start with the church and have the church take you to the Scriptures to show doctrine, you end up Catholic. But when you start with the Scriptures, and let them take you to the church, you DON’T end up Catholic.
Examples: 1) Authority: The Catholic church then (and today) taught that there were 3 sources of authority. They are the Scripture, the Pope, and the Tradition of the Church. Of course all three were taught to be in agreement with each other. But doctrines like Purgatory and marital annulments, and mortal vs. venial sins are not in the Bible and therefore Protestants don’t believe them. MORE, Catholics and Protestants can use the same language, but mean something different. We both say, “You are saved by grace through faith.” But Catholic theology means by this, “By grace you are saved because you are MADE righteous when you believe. You are judged based on your righteousness given to you.” That is fundamentally different than Protestants who say, “You are COUNTED righteous by God when you believe.” God looks at you through the blood of Christ and SEES you as clean, even while you aren’t fully. He welcomes you as He welcomes Jesus.” 2) The sacraments: The Catholic Church practices 7 sacraments through which grace is confider to worshippers. When Luther looked to the Scriptures, though, he found only 2 sacraments (baptism and Lord’s supper) and understood those 2 differently: He argued baptism brings justification but only if joined with saving faith in the recipient. 3) The Priesthood: The Catholic church taught that only priests may administer sacraments which confer the grace of God to worshippers. But Luther is reading Hebrews which says CHRIST is our final High Priest and through Him alone, people become Christians by faith. Luther saw the Bible say that all Christians are priests. These were some of the things Luther’s study of the Scripture led him to understand. THE CRITICAL MOMENT: With a bounty still on his head, April 2 1521, Luther set out on 2 week journey, with Charles’ V’s imperial guard, to speak at the Diet of Worms. As Luther travelled from town to town, he was welcomed like a celebrity! Luther began to see the popularity of his cause and works. In Erfurt, the city threw a huge party for him. In Frankfurt, he was showered with gifts. By April 16, he arrives in Worms, the whole city filled the streets.” 4-5x the population was in the city. The Pope later learned the streets were filled with people and 9 out of 10 of them were chanting “long live Luther!” This was very different than a trial in Rome Leo had envisioned. Luther enters the church in Worms and knows no one but Frederick. But IN the room were the Princes of Germany, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V., and the Papal Nuncio, Johannes Von Eck. Eck is there to confront him. Eck laid out on a table, a number of Luther’s books and asked, “Are these your books?” A: “Yes they are.” Q2: “Will you recant of what is written here?” There is a little drama I’ll get to later about how Luther answered, but in the end he said… “Since your Majesty and your Lordships ask for a plain answer, I will give you one without either horns or teeth. Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by right reason, for I trust neither in popes nor in councils, since they have often erred and contradicted themselves—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. To go against conscience is neither right or safe. I cannot, and I will not recant. Here I stand, I can do no other! God help me.”
Luther was then told to await the verdict of the Diet. He fully expected to be arrested, handed over the inquisitor, and then to the executioner and be burned at the stake that day. However something unexpected happened. The counsel was not able to come to the unanimous verdict that the Diet required. One voice would not agree… Fredrick III of Saxony. And Luther was released. Kidnapped & German NT Luther was granted safe passage back to Wittenberg. On the way back, though, Fredrick staged a kidnapping and abduction Luther to the castle of Wartburg. Everyone assumed that Luther had been abducted and killed. This provided safety for him. Under a different name, Luther undertook the most important works of his life. He translated the New Testament into German, which was then published. For the first time in history because of this effort, the Bible became accessible to the common man. This was then
6 published, and the Word of God came to be in the hands of the people of God and the Word did the work that the Word of God does. The last part of this story I’ll tell is this. In Luther’s absence, beginning in Wittenberg, some of Luther’s followers took Luther’s call to freedom beyond the religious level. Against the Roman church and then the civil government, Peasants rose up in riots and revolts. During the 10 months of Luther’s hiding, 100,000 people were killed by the nobility to put down the revolt. It was this revolt that brought Luther out of hiding where he tried to renounce it as nothing of his work. Luther would spend the rest of his life in public, writing and preaching, under the force of an existing Papal Bull, meaning vulnerable for anyone to kill. It was at this point that he married Katrina. They would have 6 children. He would labor in ministry until 1546 where he would die. By then, though, Protestantism had spread to Switzerland (Calvin), England (Lady Jane Grey & Cromwell), and a group of people known as Pilgrims who discovered you could know God through Christ outside of the state church… religious freedom drove them. The Reformation and you These were the efforts of THAT generation of our brothers and sisters to bring God’s Word to us. Three areas for us to consider today in our own lives… 1) Our need for reformation: One of Luther’s arguments against indulgences was that, though they were costly, they promised forgiveness without repentance. Indulgences “dulled men’s consciences.” That’s why the first of his 95 theses read, “When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said “Repent”, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” God is looking for us to not simply obey certain commands grudgingly. God WANTS us to obey them, that LOVES Him. Q: Has this work happened in your heart? It can if you turn to God and repent (instead of trusting in yourself as king of your life, you trust HIM to be King. Your hand Him the “steering wheel” of your life.) Do it today! He reaches out to you today. 2) Our treasure in the Bible: I am amazed at my own capacity undervalue the treasures that are in my life. Do we remember what we take up when we take up the Word of God is… the Word of God. Friends, do we remember what our brothers and sisters who went before us have gone through in order to get to us the Word of God? Do we recall that through it God speaks to us? And therefore is it in the place in our lives that is fitting as the Word of God? 3.
A devout father was sending his son to study for the ministry. The Son decided to go to a school in Europe for an advanced degree, but the father was worried that his simple faith would be spoiled by sophisticated, unbelieving professors. “Don’t let them take Jonah away from you,” he admonished, figuring the swallowed-by-a-great-fish story might be the first part of the Bible to go. Two years later when the son returned, the father asked, “Do you still have Jonah in your Bible?” The son laughed. “Jonah, that story isn’t even in your Bible!” The Father replied, “It certainly is!” The son laughed again, “Go ahead and show it to me.” The father fumbled through his Bible, looking for the Book of Jonah, but he couldn’t find it. At last he checked the table of contents for the proper page. When he turned there, he discovered the three pages comprising Jonah had been carefully cut out. “I did it before I went away,” said the son. “What’s the difference whether I lose the book of Jonah through studying under non-believers, or you lose it through neglect?”
This word is a gift to us, but if we neglect it, we might as well not HAVE it. When you have to decompress at the end of the day, is it the remote of the Word of God that will most help you? If I asked, “What is your biggest challenge when it comes to reading the Bible?” I am guessing some would say, “It's confusing.” Others would say, “I don’t make the time.” THIS is why we preach the Bible on Sundays. THIS is why we gather in groups throughout the week to study the Bible and help each other follow Jesus in our lives. THIS is why we offer SS for your kids and ABC’s for you. If you struggle, join a group. 3) Our vigilance to obey and hide in God: Romantic views of Luther and the Reformers picture them as being without fear, but Luther is a living example that the Reformers were people just like you and I, gifted in certain ways by God for their ministry, but absolutely people in need of grace. (He became a monk out of terror). At The Diet of Worms this was obvious. Actually the first time Luther was asked by Eck to renounce his books, he froze. He fully expected that, in answering “no,” he would have been burned that very day. In the face of that prospect, Luther said, “May I have another day to think about it.” The next day, indeed, he did “make his stand.”
7 But my point is that Luther faced an overwhelming situation, but did it by trusting in God and hiding in Him as he obeyed. His prayer that night was recorded and this is what it was…
“My God, stand by me against all the world’s wisdom and reason. Not mine, but yours is the cause. I would prefer to have peaceful days and be out of this turmoil. But Yours, O Lord, is this cause. It is righteous and eternal. Stand by me you true eternal God. In no man do I trust. Stand by me my God, in the name of you dear son, Jesus Christ, who shall be my defense and shelter, yes, my mighty fortress, through the might and strength of Your Holy Spirit. Amen.1”
Christian, you are never alone! He stands by you! He is your defense and shelter and mighty fortress by the might and strength of His Holy Spirit! Christian, this is where you are today. Let’s live like it.
Sources helpful in my study of Luther’s Life: “Reformation Profiles” by Stephen Nichols, (5 lectures about the reformation which can be found at www.thegospelcoalition.org”, “The Reformation & Modern Church History” by David at Covenant Theological Seminary, Oxford Dictionary of Christian History, Here I Stand by Rolan Bainten, The Life of Martin Luther Calhoun by John Frederick & William Tischer (Abridged), Commentary on Galatians by Martin Luther as well as Commentary on Romans by Martin Luther. Also, the documentary, “Empires: Martin Luther” which can be found on NetFlix was helpful to me. At several points, this message uses the language of that film. 1
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October 29, 2017
Small Group Leader Notes
From Pastor Dan… Hello Small Group Leaders and anyone else using these notes, Because today was the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, it seemed good to spend the day talking about Martin Luther in history, and the texts that God used to transform his life. While far from a perfect man, Luther did face an overwhelming challenge. Through his faithfulness, and that of other “reformers,” God brought His Word to His people. I actually would suggest that for your group, you watch “Martin Luther and the Reformation” which can be found on YouTube under that name, or “Empires: Martin Luther” which you can find on Netflix. These questions could augment that viewing, though you could use the discussion below for a more regular study if you’d prefer. FYI, this is my last Sunday before our Sabbatical. We are “pausing” on our walk through 2 Corinthians for a couple of months. Next week, Joe Boerman, our “Visiting Sr. Pastor” ☺ will begin a series on the topic of Thanksgiving. He will be publishing SG questions for the bulletin, as I do typically. Thank you for your prayers as I take these days to rest, connect more deeply with my family, meet often with Jesus, and aim to hear from Him freshly for the days ahead. It is a great joy of my life serving you. Warmly, Dan Our Scripture Study… Series: Message #: Sermon Title: Passage: Preacher: Date:
500 1 of 1 500 – Celebrating the Reformation Romans 1:16-17; Galatians 1:6-7 Dan Weyerhaeuser 2017-10-29
SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS
Getting to know each other: Name a treasure in your life.
Personal Study: As you study (read, reread, consider, ponder, reread) the passage, list observations you make from the text. What is the main point of this passage? How is the theme developed? What “Aha’s” come to you as you read? What questions come to mind? How do you respond to the God seen in these verses? Bring your observations and questions to your Small Group this week! —————————
DISCUSSION Below are a few questions related to the texts we reviewed briefly, as well as significant doctrinal “recoveries” that came to the church through the Reformation.
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1. As a group, can you retell the storyline of the life of Martin Luther, especially 1) his life leading up to his posting of the 95 theses and then 2) what unfolded from that point all the way to his drafting of the New Testament in German. I would encourage you to see my manuscript for details. In bulleted form: ● Birth ● Father wanted Luther to be a lawyer ● At age 25, while terrified in a lightning storm, Luther vowed to become a monk ● Luther becomes a monk where he faces more and more despair about being saved ● Trip to Rome that is disillusioning. ● Assignment to Wittenberg and subsequent assignment to teach the Bible ● Discovery of the meaning of Rom 1:16-17 and Galatians. ● Leo becomes Pope and sends Tetzel out on “Indulgence” selling spree. ● Tetzel comes to Germany and begins selling to people including Luther’s parishioners ● Luther posts his 95 theses, which are taken to a printer, published, and distributed all over Germany. ● The Pope issues a Papal Bull against Luther, excommunicating him and releasing any person from legal consequences for killing Luther. ● Luther publishes, “An address to the Christian nobility of the German Nation” which encourages German Nobles to consider how German money is “flying over the Alps” to Rome and being used wastefully and excessively. ● Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, visits Fredrick III (Fredrick the Wise) in Wittenberg, Luther’s protector. Instead of this meeting resulting in Luther being handed over to Rome, Charles agrees to have Luther state his teachings at the Diet of Worms in a few months. ● Luther writes, “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church,” attacking the sacramental system of the Catholics and setting forth a different order for the church. ● Diet of Worms, Luther does not recant, but by one vote is not condemned as a Heretic (Frederic III voting). Luther is released, (though the Papal Bill calling anyone to punish Luther remains). On the trip back to Wittenberg, Luther is “kidnapped” by men in the service of Fredrick III who take Luther to the Castle in Wartburg. ● During 10 months, Luther writes the New Testament in German. ● Luther comes out of hiding in order to stop rioting being done in his name. 100,000 peasants are killed by the nobility, trying to put down the revolt carried out in Luther’s name. ● Luther Marries and lives to 64. 2. Rom 1:16-17, Luther had taken “the righteousness of God” to mean “the righteous justice of God whereby He judges sinners.” The notion of the righteousness of God was terrifying to Luther. What did he discover this text to actually say? How is that different? Where Luther saw God’s “righteousness” as God’s justice whereby He condemns guilty sinners, Luther realized that it was by God’s righteousness that His grace and mercy flow to us, that by faith, God counts his righteousness to our account. Theologians call this, “Imputed righteousness.” This explains how God can see us today as holy and pure, when we are not yet… He sees us through Christ. 3. Galatians 1:6-7 Does anyone know what Paul means by saying that his readers have “abandoned” the gospel? In the province of Galatia, Jewish “legalists” taught that their readers needed to practice Jewish ritual to be acceptable to God. This either meant that by practicing these things, they were identifying themselves with God’s saved people in which case their confidence is in that superficial identification (i.e. we are circumcised like Abraham was circumcised, therefore we are the people of God) or they are somehow relying upon being good to increase God’s reward to you. Either way, Paul’s writes to the Christians challenging them to not be tempted to abandon the free message of the gospel, that their ground of salvation is the grace of God.
10 4. How might this book have been life-giving to Luther in his time? This call to “freedom” in Christ, not freedom to sin, but freedom to let God be God, freedom to accept the forgiveness and adoption of God by grace, was exactly what Luther needed (and every person who has ever lived) needed. While the issues in Galatia and in Luther’s day, on the surface, were different, at core they were the same – it is by grace we are saved and in this we must hide. 5. Can your group name the 5 “sola”s of the Reformation and the meaning of each? Scripture alone – not Scripture + Pope + Counsel as sources of authority. Christ alone – not Christ + priest + sacrament to be saved. Grace alone – God’s salvation is His gift of grace, not purchased by merit. Faith alone – What God requires alone is faith. God’s glory alone – In response to the abuses of the Church which called attention to many except God, this final statement is important. 6. Practically, how did the Reformation change the world of the church? What impact does that have upon us today? This is a group discussion and personal application question. 7. The more you get to know Luther, the more amazing the story is and the more you realize that God uses ordinary people in remarkable ways when they trust God fully. Luther struggled with fearfulness, bigotry, and many other things. What does it tell you that God could use a man like this? This is a personal application question.
