Worship God Alone

I’ve spent the last three weeks writing about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation that he is credited with initiating. There have been untold millions, if not billions of people positively impacted because of one sarcastic monk. But I want to make one final point about Luther before moving on; he should not be idolized or worshipped.

For all his strengths, Luther had many weaknesses. He was short-tempered and thin-skinned, a dangerous combination for such a prolific writer. Anyone who remotely crossed him or differed on a minor point would feel his wrath in his next booklet. He was offensive and crude even on his best days. Worse yet, Luther hated the Jews with a passion that Hitler would have envied. In his 1543 tract brazenly titled On the Jews and their Lies, Luther argued for the destruction of synagogues, as well as Jewish books, schools, and even homes; their property should be confiscated, and Jews themselves forced into hard labor. He concluded that it was not a sin to kill a Jew.

Years later in Germany, where Luther remained a hero, Hitler was sure to furiously copy and distribute Luther’s tract, using it to rally support for his own twisted ends. The same man who inspired Protestants in Germany was now posthumously inspiring them to approve of the Holocaust. Luther is rightly remembered for his contributions to Christian history, but he is a classic example of why we worship God and not man. People will always let us down because even the best of us is still imperfect.

The same can be said of Protestants in general. With five hundred years of history now in the books, some has been commendable, but some regrettable. While Protestants were the loudest voices against the Nazis in Germany and the slave trade in England and America, there were many who quietly looked the other way or justified the evils for their own gains. We cannot worship churches or denominations, because they are composed of imperfect people.

Like John on Patmos trying to worship an angel, we may need to be reminded that we should worship God alone.

And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then he said unto me, “See that you do not do that… worship God.”

Revelation 22:8-9

The First Thanksgiving

Over the last few weeks I have been writing about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. If you are wondering why I care so much, it is not just because I am a history nerd (which I am), but because our understanding of salvation is directly traced back to it; indeed, the greatness of this country is traced back to it.

Luther’s reformation spread throughout Europe, giving rise to many smaller groups striving to reform their respective homes. One group in particular, the Puritans, left England and ultimately settled in the New World, believing it to be a place where they could worship God the way the Reformers taught, free from the corrupted influence of the papists and the state-run churches. Their leader, John Winthrop, referred to their Massachusetts colony as a “city on a hill,” invoking biblical terminology; he warned, “If we shall deal falsely with our God in this work…we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” They are much more than that today.

But didn’t they come here and kill the Native Americans and steal their land? No, not the Puritans. The Puritans developed relationships and partnerships with the locals, including Squanto and Samoset. The Puritan plan was to evangelize the Natives, whom they recognized as “the rightful owners of the country.” It was the traders sent from their respective monarchies that brought harm to the “savages,” a position widely condemned by the Protestants at that time.

The Puritans, and later the Pilgrims (more Protestants) wrote that “the propagation of the gospel to the Indians” was what they “profess above all.” They desired to teach them “the knowledge of the true God.” This led to the first Thanksgiving (a holiday not so titled until the days of Lincoln), as the Native Americans and Christian settlers worked together to bring forth a great harvest.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, I am thankful for the brave Protestants who came to this new land with the desire to spread the gospel; that mission statement that was “above all” is what paved the way for our enduring religious liberty in this great country.  

Luther’s Five Solas

After Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the Castle Church door he became a marked man in all but his hometown of Wittenberg. The dangers he faced afforded him the time to devote himself to the study of Scripture and the writing of his books and commentaries. As the Reformer continued to grow in his understanding he ultimately developed his “five solas (sola means only or alone in Latin).”

Sola Scriptura. Luther concluded that everything a person needs to know in order to be saved is be found in Scripture alone. As Paul noted in Romans 1:16, the gospel “is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes.” As the English Reformers would later declare in their Thirty-Nine Articles, if something is not written in Scripture, it “is not to be required…or necessary for salvation.”

Sola Gratis. Martin Luther realized that salvation is by grace alone, as clearly stated in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you are saved…” Were it not for the grace of God no human could ever have the opportunity to be saved. No saved person can boast of their salvation unless they are boasting in God’s grace.

Sola Fide. Ephesians 2:8 continues, “you are saved through faith…” Luther learned that grace is God’s part, but we must respond in faith alone. Buying indulgences, confession before a priest, making pilgrimages, and observing the mass cannot save a person; it is only by grace through faith.

Solus Christus. Neither grace nor faith would be possible were it not for the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Acts 4:12 says, “There is salvation in no other, for there is no other name [than Jesus] under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Soli Deo Gloria. Everything must be done for the glory of God alone (1 Corinthians 10:31). Even our salvation brings God glory, but the warped actions of the priesthood glorified man in place of God. Luther fought to put the focus on God alone.

If Martin Luther could speak to you today, he would want you to make sure your salvation is founded on Scripture alone, because of grace alone, with you responding in faith alone, based on the work of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone.

    

95 Theses

When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church he started a reformation that has changed the world. Five centuries later we still reap the benefits of the writings of the discontented monk of Wittenberg. What was so important in these writings? Why did they anger the entire priesthood, including the pope himself?

Luther began by hammering the selling of indulgences. The idea being presented by the priests was that purchasing indulgences brought forgiveness of sin on earth and could speed up the release of a soul from purgatory (purgatory is not mentioned in the Bible, but the common person did not have access to a Bible in his own language at the time). The selling of indulgences became the first pyramid scheme; a man would get a personal loan, purchase his way into becoming a priest, then sell indulgences to pay off his loan. The victims in this were the people scrounging up money in belief that they were getting grandma out of purgatory, or worse, thinking they were securing salvation for themselves. Here are some of Luther’s theses on this matter:

“The pope neither desires, nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority…Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences…They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory. It is certain that when money clinks into the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased…Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.”

Luther continued with more biting language and stinging rebukes. It is no wonder he was excommunicated by the pope (another non-biblical invention that the commoner was duped into believing). His point was clear: man is forgiven of sin without buying indulgence letters, which was good news for the poor who could not afford them. Salvation is a free gift. If you think you can earn it by being a good person, you are just as deceived as those who thought they could buy it. The only way to have your sins forgiven is to accept the free gift of Jesus Christ. Ask Him to forgive you and save you, and you can rest assured that He will.

“For by grace you are saved through faith, and not of yourselves. It is a free gift of God.”

Ephesians 2:8-9