Thank you, Martin Luther!

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Sound doctrine, strong faith”

Our Bible verse for today: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God – which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord …” Romans 1:1-3 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Thank you, Martin Luther”

Let me be clear upfront that I am not one of those Baptist preachers who bashes Catholics. My mother was a lifelong Catholic and she was one of the finest women I have ever known. I was raised as a Catholic and it was because of that that the seeds of the Christian faith were planted deep in my heart and where there, ready to bloom into strong faith many years later. I am not a practicing Catholic, I’m a Baptist, but I am grateful for my Catholic roots.

To some extent, you should be grateful for Catholicism too. In fact, it’s probably not too much of a stretch to say that were it not for the book of Romans, we would all probably be Roman Catholics, if we had faith in Jesus at all.

But the book of Romans is responsible for a massive shift in Christian understanding. The reason I say that is because all evangelical Christianity has grown out of what is called the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was a major movement that took place in Europe beginning in the early 1500s. At that time the Catholic Church, under the authority of the Pope, was really the only major denomination there was. Almost everyone was a Catholic.

But there was so much abuse of papal authority, and so much corruption among church leaders at all levels, and so many teachings that went beyond what the Bible itself actually says, that more and more church leaders, theologians, and everyday people in the pews were getting increasingly exasperated with it.

Although there had been rumblings and minor rebellions before this, the big shift started in 1517 with Martin Luther, an ordained Catholic priest. Luther was grieved over the abuses in the church, but as a well-educated theologian and Bible scholar he was especially vexed by all the extra-Biblical rules and practices that the Catholic church had invented to go along with the Bible. Over the centuries church officials had done to the New Testament essentially what the scribes and Pharisees had done to the Old Testament for the Jews – they created all sorts of beliefs and practices that went beyond what the Bible itself requires of us.

Luther agonized over this and finally came to the realization that salvation is by means of faith alone, in Christ alone, and by no other means. So, he wrote what has been called his “Ninety-five theses, which were 95 inditements, abuses, or errors being promoted by the Catholic church, and it was widely distributed and embraced by many.

In 1521 the pope excommunicated Luther and put him on trial. The court demanded that Luther recant and retract his document, which Luther refused to do. That’s when he reportedly made his famous statement “Here I stand, I can do no other.” Out of this, the Protestant Reformation gained steam and took off. This is, in my opinion, what helped to get Christianity back on track in terms of pure doctrine and right focus.

It was primarily Luther’s study of the book of Romans that formed his thinking and drove his convictions. He said, “Romans is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul. It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes.”

If you are an evangelical Christian today it is in part because of the revelation and insight God gave to Martin Luther through his study of the book of Romans. Join with me in saying, “Thank you, Martin Luther!”

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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