10-31-2020

 Good Morning All, 

          Ephesians 2: 8-9; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

    Today, we observe Reformation day.  It is the day that Martin Luther posted the 95 theses which he wanted to debate.  Corruption, abuse of power and false teachings led to these theses.  As the Reformation moved along, the reformers began to speak in the slogans of the Reformation.  There were five of them.  There is Scriptura Sola, this means “Scriptures alone”.  Only the Bible is the final authority for a Christian, if it goes against the Bible; it is wrong.  There is Christus sola, this means “Christ alone”.  Christ is our only avenue, our only hope to get into heaven.  There is soli Deo Glorias, this means that all the glory belongs to God and that we live to His glory, not ours.

    The last two are the ones that had a great influence on Luther.  They are sola gratia and sola fide.  These mean by grace alone and by faith alone.  When the Scriptures opened to Luther, this is what sung to his heart, this is what lifted his soul.  For all his life, Luther was taught that he had to perform “good works” to offset his sins.  Luther recognized that he sinned more than he did good things.  In other words, Luther knew he was losing ground and fast.  There was no way he could ever measure up.  Then he read our verses.  Paul clearly and pointedly tells us the truth, in its simplest form.  We are saved from our sins by God’s grace and God’s grace alone.  It is not the result of our good works or our efforts; it is all a gift from a loving God who desires that all men be saved.  We receive this great and wonderful gift by faith, by simply trusting in the promise of God.

    This is the freeing truth of the Reformation.  God’s love is not earned, it is freely poured out upon us even when we sin.  It is poured out because of the loving nature of God and not because of the nature of man.  We can take great comfort in this truth; it is fresh air to a stale soul.  All my efforts to please God fall short, way short.  Yet that does not stop God from loving us.  All my faults, foibles, weaknesses, failures, and sins do not cause God to turn his back.  Nothing causes God to walk away from us.  He is continually inviting us back into his loving kingdom and family.  You do not have to earn God’s favor; he loves you and brings you into his loving arms to keep you safe from all the devil throws at us. 

    The death and resurrection of Jesus is the purest form of love ever to exist.  Jesus did it for us, for you and for me.  He willingly paid our debt so that we could have his righteousness for our own.  His loved freed us from the tyranny of sin, death, and the power of the devil.  He willingly, lovingly gives to us life eternal with him and all we do is believe and hold onto it and never let go.  For by God’s undeserved love, you have salvation.  Hold onto that truth, see that truth as the hope in a broken world.  Life eternal is ours; thanks be to God!

 Father of all mercies, your love is new to us each morning.  Keep us safe in your arms.  Strengthen our faith that we may always cling to you.  When the storms rage, keep us sheltered in your presence.  This we ask in the precious name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret