No, not that holiday; today is Reformation Day, the day Christians around the world recall God’s grace to his church more than 500 years ago.
October 31, 1517, a German monk sought a conversation with his superiors concerning practices in the church he found inconsistent with the teaching of the Scriptures. On that day, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenberg, igniting the recovery of the doctrines of grace and leading directly to my salvation, and most likely, to yours as well.
A key characteristic of The Reformation was the return to standing of the Bible as the Church’s and the individual Christian’s authority for belief and practice. Today, then, is a good day for me to affirm I am a Bible believing Christian.
As a kid, I recall hearing my pastor, Bill Schroeder, talk about Bible believing Christians and Bible believing churches, as if there is any other kind. He would challenge us to be Bible believing Christians and often declared that our church was a Bible believing church. Seemed pretty standard to me. But we all know that far too many who call themselves Christians do not really believe the contents of the Bible.
I believe the Word of God comes to us in the form of a book, the Bible, the 66 books from Genesis to Revelation.
I believe God created humanity and all that exists in the whole of the universe by the power of his command.
Because the Bible tells me so, I believe all humanity comes from common ancestry – Adam, the man God created and Eve, Adam’s wife.
In creation, I believe God created humanity in binary expression, male and female.
By God’s design, I believe the Bible teaches marriage exists only in the exclusive and lifelong commitment between one man and one woman.
I believe all life comes from God, that human life is created by God in the womb, and is, therefore, to be protected in the womb, and that all children without regard to the conditions of their conception are a gift from God.
I believe all the miraculous events recorded in the Bible happened as the Bible narrates them, including the Genesis Flood, the Red Sea crossing, Jonah and the great fish, Jesus walking on the water, the many miracles of the prophets, Jesus of Nazareth, and of his apostles, and all the rest contained in the Bible.
I believe Jesus was born of a virgin, that Jesus was crucified and died on a cross, that Jesus rose bodily from the tomb, that Jesus ascended bodily into heaven, and that Jesus will return to rule over all that is.
I believe the righteous life and sacrificial death of Jesus are necessary and the only means by which humanity can receive forgiveness of sin and acceptance before God, a salvation without which each will be separated from God for eternity in a real place called Hell.
I believe that the church is loved by Jesus, protected by Jesus, led by Jesus, and consists only of those redeemed by Jesus. And all in Christ’s church, in the outworking of their daily lives, must hold the church in the same position of importance as Jesus does.
There are more statements I could include (and maybe should include), but for the moment, you can probably assume the more you wish I had included are covered by what I have written.
I am by the grace of God a Bible believing Christian. I am committed to a Bible believing church. Are you? I hope so.
Nearly four years after that October day in Wittenberg, April 18, 1521, Martin Luther stood at the Diet of Worms answering before the Emperor the charges of heresy brought against him by the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. When pressed for a recantation of his writings, sermons, and beliefs, Luther responded calmly, fully understanding that his reply would likely lead to the flames.
Luther offered these words toward the end of his reply:
“Since you require of me in simple speech,
Your highnesses, that I retract or not,
I state it now: My faith cannot be bought
By pope or council, for their overreach
Of truth and inconsistency are clear.
It is by Scripture that my faith is wrought.
“If light does not from Scripture’s chandelier
Shine brightly to convince me that I err
And could my faulty judgment not repair
To Scripture, I cannot retract. I fear
To speak against God’s Word. So here I stand;
I have no choice. ‘God help me,’ is my prayer.”
As always, thanks for reading, and I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.