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Reformation: Rediscovery of the True Gospel

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Reformation: Rediscovery of the True Gospel

6 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the few first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16&17).

Rev. J.B. Zippro, Grand Rapids, MI

October 31,1517, was Reformation Day. This day was a most memorable day—the beginning of the blessed Reformation of the church on earth. It is a good thing to remember this date every year. Reformation Day reminds us of God’s wonders in history. It is worth remembering how the Lord led His church out of the house of bondage of Rome. Reformation Day reminds us what God has given in the life of Martin Luther and what He has given back to the church, namely, the true gospel of Christ. That gospel reveals how a sinner is saved by free and sovereign grace only. That gospel exalts God to the highest and causes man to be abased to the lowest. That gospel was hidden and covered by traditions of men. It was not a new message but the same old message of the apostles and the church fathers.

The Reformers returned to the fountains of life. God opened their eyes, and they were led back to the Scriptures in which the way of salvation is revealed for the greatest of sinners. God used the epistle to the Romans in the life of Luther to lead him to the way of salvation. This eminent epistle gives a summary of the whole Christian doctrine.

Its main theme is the justification of the ungodly by the blood and righteousness of Christ. God applied the words of the Aposde Paul which we find in verses 16 and 17 of chapter 1, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth... for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” This word of the apostle became very precious to Luther after a long wrestling in the monastery. Day and night he spent his time studying the Bible and church fathers, but he could not find rest for his soul. How he sought peace with God. In great distress he cried out, “Oh, my sin, my sin, my sin!” Darkness was all around him. Constantly, he felt the anger of God because of the transgression of the law. The great question for Martin Luther was “How do Ifind a gracious God?” Luther wrestled further with the words of Scripture: justice, righteousness, mercy; what do they mean? They were all secrets to him. How can justice and mercy be brought into agreement? It was a riddle to him how God can be just and at the same time be gracious for sinners, but it was not only a theological issue for him; above all it was a personal and experiential matter.

This also becomes the question of a sinner when God opens his eyes in true conversion. The same questions rise in his heart: “How do I find a gracious God? How shall I ever be righteous before God? How can I appear before the judgment seat of God?” In true conversion we first come to know our sins and misery. The sinner comes under a heartfelt conviction. Sin becomes sin, and guilt becomes guilt. He realizes life is short and eternity is approaching. He becomes unhappy in the world and cannot find pleasure in things of time and sense anymore. He sees his lost state and the breach between God and his soul. He must die and cannot die.

Discovering grace shows that he has sinned not only against a holy and righteous God but also against a good-doing God. This causes godly sorrow and grief in his soul. Day and night he bewails his misery and mourns about sin until it pleases God to pass by and visit the soul as we read in Ezekiel 16. The love of God is shed abroad in his heart, and that breaks and melts his heart. For the first time he experiences that God is a merciful God. Then this love causes a love in return. The sinner will try to bridge the gap between God and his soul. He will try to find a way to escape judgment. If he could, he would love to pay what he owes to God. The sinner has to come to an end with all his own works and prayers.

This was also experienced by Luther. Although the first light had come into his heart while teaching the Psalms since 1512, he had not yet come to full deliverance. He tried hard to satisfy God’s justice, to give a perfect compensation, and to please Him by his works. In spite of all his fasting, mortification, self-chastisement, confessing, and doing good works, he could not find peace with God. This brought him almost to despair in an ongoing struggle with the insufficiency of his religion. When have I fasted enough? When will I be holy enough to meet God? When will God’s justice finally be fully satisfied? Sometimes he was visited by Dr. Staupitz, leader of the monastery, who said, “Martin, Martin, don’t forget the Article of Faith: I believe in the forgiveness of sin!” Then he pointed him to the blood of Christ. This gave Luther some encouragement and relief, but it did not come to a breakthrough yet. All his duties and performances were weighed in the balance of God’s justice and were found wanting. Luther came to an end with all his works.

It pleased the Lord to reveal the way unto salvation when He opened Luther’s eyes especially for Romans 1:17, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.” Suddenly, it became light in Luther’s soul, and the darkness fled. The hour of full deliverance had come. It became clear for him that this righteousness of God is not the righteousness by which God punishes sin but the righteousness of Christ, imputed by God to the sinner—a breakthrough. Luther’s testimony, “...Now it was like the gates of paradise were opened to me, and I entered in...” showed how sweet the word righteousness was for his soul.

There is only one gospel, and that is the gospel in which the sinner is saved by free and sovereign grace. All works are excluded from salvation. There is no other gospel. The Reformation has rediscovered it. Shall we as sons of the Reformation neglect and trade this gospel again for a mixture of works and grace? Until the present day there is a great difference between Rome and Reformation. With Rome it remains—grace and works. The Reformation learns—sola gratia, only by grace. May God give such a Reformation in our dark and evil days, but the following personal questions come to us: have we already learned something of that great wonder? Has it been discovered to our soul? Have we become a beggar at the throne of God’s grace? Has the Mediator become precious to our soul in the night of sin and guilt? May God grant us an unforgettable Reformation Day.

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van donderdag 1 oktober 2009

The Banner of Truth | 24 Pagina's

Reformation: Rediscovery of the True Gospel

Bekijk de hele uitgave van donderdag 1 oktober 2009

The Banner of Truth | 24 Pagina's