Posted on 06/30/2017 4:43:54 PM PDT by Gamecock
The year 2017 is the year of Martin Luther—or at least it should be. Nearly 500 years ago on October 31, 1517, Luther nailed (or “mailed,” for some historians debate this point) his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg Castle Church.
Even so, Luther didn’t become a full-fledged protestor of the church in that single moment. It took him about eight years (1513-1521) to challenge and hammer out a more robust understanding of the gospel.
Have you ever wondered what Martin Luther was reading during this crucial time in his life? Maybe I’m just a nerd, but I thought at least someone else might be interested in what Luther was reading during his slow, but steady, transition out of the medieval church and into the world of reformation.
Remember, Luther’s goal wasn’t to invent or start an entirely new church. His goal was to reform the church and call her to repentance and faith in the abiding Word of God.
Here are four books Martin Luther read that made him question everything:
1. The Psalms Luther spent time studying and lecturing through the Psalms in the Bible. He began to realize that the Bible teaches we are not generally sinful, we are totally sinful. Here, Luther had the beginnings of what theologians later would refer to as “total depravity,” meaning that we are sinful in our thoughts, words, and deeds.
2. Romans After that, Luther lectured through Paul’s letter to the Romans. He came across Romans 1:17, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” The last part of this verse is a direct quotation from Habakkuk 2:4.
Luther began to see something that he never saw before. He began to see the doctrine of imputation—that we are declared right before God not by our own righteousness, but by the righteousness of another. He began to understand that the righteousness of God that was such a terror to him as a priest (because it told him that he was unholy and unworthy), was actually the righteousness from God that told him he was holy and worthy. God gives this right standing by faith alone. It is a righteousness that is received as a gift and not earned.
3. Galatians It wasn’t until Luther started lecturing through Galatians that he began to realize that faith does not justify us before God. Faith is merely an instrument that God uses. Faith is a tool by which we embrace Jesus Christ as he is offered to us in the gospel.
Faith is, as John Murry once said, “extrospective.” It looks outward—not inward—to embrace the God who gives himself. In other words, faith is only an empty hand. It justifies because it grabs hold of the Jesus who justifies (Rom. 3:26).
4. Hebrews The last book that turned a medieval priest into a true Reformer was the letter to the Hebrews. Luther began to embrace an entirely different understanding of how the Old and New Testaments relate to one another. He realized that the law is not simply the Old Testament and the gospel is the New Testament, but that the gospel of God can be seen as preached throughout both Old and New Testaments.
The same Jesus of the same gospel was offered freely to both Jew and Gentile alike, throughout the whole Bible. Sure, there was a greater and fuller proclamation of that message, such that it went out to the whole world instead of only Israel and their close neighbors—but the gospel was preached nonetheless!
In short, reading and studying the Bible is what ultimately made Martin Luther “protest” the medieval church. Luther was convinced that the Bible was worth listening to. So this year we celebrate the anniversary of a “recovery of the bright light of the gospel.” To God alone be all the glory (Soli Deo Gloria).
Argue your beliefs from Scripture.
Luther did.
The fact that you continue to refuse to do so says a lot more about you than it does about anyone else.
On whose say so, yours?
Yawn.
Look at what the Catholics did and you’ll see far, FAR worse.
If you really want to start comparing, I think your so called church is FAR ahead on atrocity count.
I can tell you that certain beliefs are based on Scripture and or Tradition only on the basis of Church teaching.
No one individual is the final interpreter of Scripture on their own authority, other the one Church Christ commissioned.
I think to argue as you wish would end up as a mini version of the fragmented Churches of the Reformation.
The fact people do not seem to understand that there cannot be hundreds of differing interpretations of Scripture and all be true just boggles the mind.
Why is your opinion better than the pastor’s at the little independent church on the corner?
We need an authority and unity. Christ told us so.
I am very sorry, I got involved in this thread and hope my statement of belief has not offended anyone.
I will leave the discussion to you all.
Peace.
This leaves only two possible options, the first is that the teaching was never claimed from God and thus only part of a tradition. If this is true it means that the Church by its own selfish choice chose to withhold the Sacrament, which the RCC believes is part of the Salvation plan, thus condemning a whole group of people to hell, or at the very least purgatory.
The other option is that the Church at one point was lying by claiming their Holy Tradition came from God. If this is true the penalty for the people who put this in there and propagated the lie is death, as all false prophets must be put to death.
“So, what do you propose should be done with sinners in a given denomination?”
We should follow Scripture and do what it teaches us.
The Vatican has no excuse for tolerating a gay mafia.
“Sorry. Legitimate argumentation cannot be made on basis that one rejects the original Canon nor because they differently interpret historical interpretations.”
Oh really?
I’m excited to see you prove your claim with facts, evidence and logic!
Go for it friend - or is that just your own private interpretation??
Second, it is a calculated deception to constantly conflate The Ekklesia with the Org known as the catholic church.
Since you remain clueless, what does your Org tell you that passage means? we can read a lengthy explanation, if you can find one. Let’s see if your chosen Org can rightly divide the Word.
The scripture passages claimed by your Org do not teach what your Org tries to claim with them.
Your Traditions are the fabrications of men seeking to strengthen your Org, not the Gospel message.
The 'logic' of your purported Purgatory is demonic in origin since it openly denies that the Crucifixion and our faith in His Sacrifice for us is insufficient to transform us to the righteousness of Christ in the spiritual plane.
I would go so far as to accuse Catholicism of blatant heretical teaching, serving not the Gospel of Grace but satan's gospel of 'works to earn'.
If you wish to refute my accusation, post Scriptures which plainly do so. I'll wait ...
Thank you.
Now answer Romans 3, Ephesians 2, Galatians 3, and John 6.
Or do those just not matter because they don’t match the talking points?
Do you believe what Jesus and Paul plainly said or not?
I have answered your quotation many times before in earlier threads. I have written essays to you in fact.
You have yet to answer my challenge on this thread or any. I find that quite disrespectful.
Running away, huh?
Can’t even muster up a single line of the Word?
I suppose that means I win this debate. Overwhelmingly.
Running away, huh?
Can’t even muster up a single line of the Word?
I suppose that means I win this debate. Overwhelmingly.
Your posts are really weird and bizarre, and full of awkwardly disjointed non sequiturs. I'm through talking with you. (And I will never, ever be your sweetheart.)
“an estimated 2.2 billion Christians in the world (and probably at least 3 billion different interpretations of Scripture). So whose interpretation of Scripture should be used in all those denominations, to determine what to do “
Red herring.
There are many denominations of people who are not believers.
Paul says to exercise church discipline. No interpretation necessary. Do it. Separate the believing congregations from those we speak of - as Paul commands.
A Gay Vatican can’t be found in Scripture.
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