Luther held up his Sword and said, “You can get forgiveness of sins alone through the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ..Then all Germany was aflame, and all France, and Spain, and Holland, and England, and that flame came across the seas to America in the Mayflower, and with the followers of Luther himself, until today we have in all the world living seventy million Lutherans, to say nothing of the other Protestants who are living and enjoying the liberty which that man of God, by the help of his Master and the holy angels, brought into existence three hundred and eighty-seven years ago.
In the great Reformation of the 16th Century, Melanchthon stands next to Luther alone. Yet he is unknown to many intelligent Christians.
“The brilliant intellectual gifts of Melanchthon elicited the unqualified admiration of Luther, Erasmus, and in fact of all his contemporaries.
The origin and the content of this hymn emphasize its meaning and value.
“Rome boasts that she never changes; the Turk has not improved, new and diverse enemies have risen round about us, so that there are numerous occasions when sincere Christians, realizing their environment, can enter with appreciation into the singing of this old Luther hymn, recognizing that though some conditions vary, the real dangers are the same, and the need of every influence and protection and guidance of the Triune God prayed for in this remarkable Luther hymn is needed today and every day that the Christian lives.
Many people have opinions about Martin Luther, but few have actually read his words. This small volume includes the Address to the Nobility of the German Nation, Concerning Christian Liberty and On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church.
The Reformation is 500 years old this month. Does it matter?
Yesterday I spoke with a friend who had just returned from Berlin. He visited a large church which advertised an exhibit on the “Lutheran Reformation”.
Is the Reformation “Over” as Pope Frances declared? Many evangelical Christians think so. To know for sure, solid knowledge is needed of what happened back then and why, if only to show respect for those brothers and sisters in the faith who gave their lives to uphold their consciences.
In this passage from great Christian teacher Theodore Schmauk, we see a large part of the underlying conflict going on around us in America.
The false choice between authoritarianism or romanticism is no choice at all.
As they were studying chapter three in the book of Malachi, a group of women came across the verse that says, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.
It may be that William Tyndale gave more to the English Reformation than any other Reformer, for without his translation of the New Testament into the clear English of his day, so that the common man could read and understand, such great preachers as John Colet, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and others could have preached until doomsday, yet there would have remained little understanding of the Scriptures.
“During all his life, Huss distinguished himself by constant application to duty and tireless devotion to preaching according to the Scriptures. His conduct has been termed exemplary, his life blameless, and his personality winning.