By Grace Alone, By Faith Alone, By Scripture Alone

By Grace Alone, By Faith Alone, By Scripture Alone

As a Lutheran Pastor, I cannot but associate the month of October with the Reformation. Even as a child I can remember how in St. Louis the Reformation was every year celebrated in a big way with large services involving most of the Lutheran churches assembling together at places like Kiel Auditorium for a massive and exciting Reformation service. It was a city-wide event!
Too many of us today forget the importance of what Martin Luther did when he nailed 95 statements (theses) to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517.

The 95 Theses were simply a list of things Luther wanted theologians of his church to discuss concerning the sale of indulgences that, in essence, were payments to receive forgiveness of sins.
But, it opened the door to how we are reconciled to God, thus affecting our salvation. The final summary of what Luther and other theologians in our church taught, based completely on God’s Word, the Bible, can be summed up in the words of our doctrinal statements found in The Augsburg Confession: “Our churches, also teach that man cannot be justified before God by his/her own strength, merits or works, but are freely justified through faith in Jesus Christ ….. who by His death made satisfaction for our sins.”
We want to always remember to be grateful to God for what He did through the words of Luther, but it is the message he pointed out from God’s Holy Word - and not man’s - that assures us of eternal life.

God, in His wisdom chose the time in which the Reformation in the church would be most successful. The people, the politics of the day and the circumstances were all right for the message to be again proclaimed in its truth and purity.

It seems that as we look at the world today and the conditions in society that there is need to witness our faith as Christians to the world around us. Yet as we pray for the Holy Spirit to work through us in our world, we continue to put our trust in God through Christ to work all things in accordance with His will to our good and to His glory