Happy Reformation!
In honor of Reformation Day, here's my article for St. Mark's October newsletter. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I received several compliments on it! (Special thanks to Max for the quote!)
For me, October has always marked the true beginning of fall. The trees are turning colors and losing their leaves, students and teachers have fallen into the daily routine of school, and the weather begins to cool down from the summer heat. The month also has one of my favorite dates of the year: October 31.
That’s not because it’s Halloween (though I will admit the child in me still wishes I could dress up and go around the neighborhood with my friends!). It also marks an event that all Protestants, specifically those of us who call ourselves “Lutheran”, should remember: Martin Luther is said to have posted the 95 Theses for debate on this date in 1517.
Luther was concerned with practices in the church of the time, specifically with the practice of “indulgences” (which allowed people to pay their way into righteousness). He did not want to break with the church; he was simply interested in refocusing attention on the Gospel. He recognized the importance of the Gospel message: that we receive justification solely through the grace of God, and not our own doings.
Martin Luther brought forth the revolutionary idea that there is nothing that we can dot hat will earn us our own salvation, that we are justified - put into a right relationship with God - through Jesus Christ. This is what Paul was speaking about in Romans 3:23-25a: “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.”
A favorite saying of one of my classmates is “We are not bound by the law!” (usually spoken when doing something such as driving the wrong way down a parking lot lane). We are not bound by the law to deed that lead to our own righteousness, but we are still bound by the law of faith - the faith of Jesus Christ, into whose death and resurrection we are baptized.
This October 31 (and every day), our “treat” is this: “We are not bound by the law!” Let us take comfort that it is through God’s grace that Jesus has done all the work - all the deeds - necessary for our justification. We may not be bound by the law, but we are bound by faith. And to that faith, we should be glad to be bound.
For me, October has always marked the true beginning of fall. The trees are turning colors and losing their leaves, students and teachers have fallen into the daily routine of school, and the weather begins to cool down from the summer heat. The month also has one of my favorite dates of the year: October 31.
That’s not because it’s Halloween (though I will admit the child in me still wishes I could dress up and go around the neighborhood with my friends!). It also marks an event that all Protestants, specifically those of us who call ourselves “Lutheran”, should remember: Martin Luther is said to have posted the 95 Theses for debate on this date in 1517.
Luther was concerned with practices in the church of the time, specifically with the practice of “indulgences” (which allowed people to pay their way into righteousness). He did not want to break with the church; he was simply interested in refocusing attention on the Gospel. He recognized the importance of the Gospel message: that we receive justification solely through the grace of God, and not our own doings.
Martin Luther brought forth the revolutionary idea that there is nothing that we can dot hat will earn us our own salvation, that we are justified - put into a right relationship with God - through Jesus Christ. This is what Paul was speaking about in Romans 3:23-25a: “Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.”
A favorite saying of one of my classmates is “We are not bound by the law!” (usually spoken when doing something such as driving the wrong way down a parking lot lane). We are not bound by the law to deed that lead to our own righteousness, but we are still bound by the law of faith - the faith of Jesus Christ, into whose death and resurrection we are baptized.
This October 31 (and every day), our “treat” is this: “We are not bound by the law!” Let us take comfort that it is through God’s grace that Jesus has done all the work - all the deeds - necessary for our justification. We may not be bound by the law, but we are bound by faith. And to that faith, we should be glad to be bound.