Pastor’s Post #33: “500th ANNIVERSARY REFORMATION DAY TRIBUTE” (10/28/’17)

On October 31, 1517, a then obscure German monk posted 95 statements – called theses – on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg – something of a community bulletin board for the city. They were a call for academic discussion and debate about the sale of indulgences – pieces of paper that promised release from years in purgatory for either the buyer or the buyer’s loved ones.
Little did the German monk realize that this would become the spark that would ignite the refining fires of a reformation that would not only affect the entire Christian church of his day, but also alter the religious, social, political, economic, and intellectual life of the entire Western world. Today that influence of what we commonly call “The Protestant Reformation” reaches every nation on earth.
The Protestant Reformation that began in the 16th century began as a challenge to a corrupt Church and a false system of religion. In that system:
• The love of God had been eclipsed by a religion of fear.
• The Gospel of God had been adulterated by a religion based on human works and supposed human merit.
• The assurance of forgiveness promised by God to repentant sinners was replaced with a religious treadmill that could never bring a person to peace of soul.
• The freedom that God gives in Jesus Christ was replaced with slavery to religious tradition and rituals.
• The truth of God given in the Bible – Holy Scripture – was put under the feet of “The Holy See” – a succession of popes who had become corrupt substitutes for the only King and Head of the Church, Jesus Christ.
In its challenge to the Christendom of its day, the Protestant Reformation brought a revival of the proclamation of the good news of the self-giving love of God in Jesus Christ. His perfect obedience, His cross, His resurrection, His ascension, and His reign from heaven became the focus of Gospel preaching. Under the blessing of God, this brought the fresh winds of religious life, Christian freedom that became the impetus for civil freedom, a life-changing view that all people are called to serve God in their callings in life, and a world-changing view that all things are to be done to the glory of God, under the final authority of the Word of God, by a people reconciled to God by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone.
Of course, no religious movements are perfect. They’re led by people who are very human and very imperfect. So, we should never gloss over the excesses, the errors, the strife, and the unnecessary divisions that have come about in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. At the same time, we should remember this work of God in human history – second only to the work of God in the age of the Apostles for its transforming influence in individuals, families, regions, and entire nations.
That then obscure German monk was named Martin Luther.
His bold act of nailing the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517 is the event we remember on this, its 500th anniversary.
And it is his life and legacy that we reflect on in today’s Visit to the Pastor’s Study.
I’m honored to have Dr. Carl Trueman as my guest today. British by birth, Dr. Trueman received is Master’s Degree in Classics from St. Catherine’s College, University of Cambridge and his Ph.D I Church History from the King’s College, University of Aberdeen. He has extensive teaching experience in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America. He currently serves as the Paul Woolley Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He’s also pastor of Cornerstone Presbyterian Church – a congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Ambler, Pennsylvania.
To say that Dr. Trueman is a prolific writer would be a huge understatement! Along with any number of scholarly articles, he has authored or co-authored eight books – including The Claims of Truth: John Owen’s Trinitarian Theology, The Creedal Imperative, and Grace Alone.
But the focus of our time with Dr. Trueman today on this 500th Anniversary Reformation Day Tribute is on Dr. Trueman’s favorite Reformation figure: Martin Luther – the Elijah of the Reformation. And – specifically – we’ll be looking at themes from one of Dr. Trueman’s most recent books: Luther on the Christian Life: Cross and Freedom, published by Crossway in 2015.
Dr. Carl Trueman, welcome to A Visit to the Pastor’s Study….

Here’s a link to the full program: https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1028172026444
Yours in the King of Kings,
Pastor Bill