About Luther
Here I Stand: A Life Of Martin Luther By Roland Bainton
Martin Luther: A Guided Tour Of His Life And Thought By Stephen Nichols
Luther On The Christian Life By Carl Trueman
The Legacy Of Luther Edited By R.C. Sproul & Stephen Nichols
Collected Works
Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings Edited By Timothy Lull
Martin Luther: Selections From His Writings Edited By John Dillenberger
By Luther
The Bondage Of The Will
Commentary On Galatians
Monday, July 25, 2016
Monday, July 18, 2016
After Darkness, Light
"After darkness, light" was a motto of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500's. The Reformation was led by men like Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli. Darkness referred to the time of the Middle Ages when the Bible was kept out of the hands of the people. The Roman Catholic Church would not allow the the Bible to be translated into the language of the people. It was only in Latin and had to be interpreted by the Pope and the Bishops.
The Reformers put the Bible back into the hands of the people. They believed that the average person could understand the basic message of the Bible. The Reformers proclaimed Scripture alone as authoritative and not the Pope, Bishops, or church councils. The Reformers held to the sufficiency and clarity of Scripture. In fact the clarity of Scripture was part of the great debate between Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus. Luther argued for the Protestant view that Scripture is clear because it is from God and he is capable of clearly revealing his Word to his people. While Erasmus argued for the Catholic view that the Scripture is not clear and needs to be interpreted by the Pope and Bishops.
In the Protestant Reformation, Biblical Christianity was recovered. The Bible began to be translated into the languages of the people. The true gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone was recovered. And the glory belonged to God alone. The lives and thought of people were greatly affected. The Protestant Reformation had an enormous effect on Western Civilization leading to much human flourishing. The Bible changes people because it is the Word of God. As Martin Luther said, "the Bible is alive."
But in our time the Western world has turned away from the light and has headed back into the darkness. Liberals long ago abandoned the authority of Scripture and many evangelicals seem determined to follow them down that path. Many evangelicals now deny the authority, inerrancy, sufficiency, and clarity of Scripture. We have rejected the source of truth and gone after lies. We need another reformation with a recovery of confidence in the Bible as the literal Word of God. If we return to belief in the authority of Scripture then we will eventually be able to say, "after darkness, light."
The Reformers put the Bible back into the hands of the people. They believed that the average person could understand the basic message of the Bible. The Reformers proclaimed Scripture alone as authoritative and not the Pope, Bishops, or church councils. The Reformers held to the sufficiency and clarity of Scripture. In fact the clarity of Scripture was part of the great debate between Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus. Luther argued for the Protestant view that Scripture is clear because it is from God and he is capable of clearly revealing his Word to his people. While Erasmus argued for the Catholic view that the Scripture is not clear and needs to be interpreted by the Pope and Bishops.
In the Protestant Reformation, Biblical Christianity was recovered. The Bible began to be translated into the languages of the people. The true gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone was recovered. And the glory belonged to God alone. The lives and thought of people were greatly affected. The Protestant Reformation had an enormous effect on Western Civilization leading to much human flourishing. The Bible changes people because it is the Word of God. As Martin Luther said, "the Bible is alive."
But in our time the Western world has turned away from the light and has headed back into the darkness. Liberals long ago abandoned the authority of Scripture and many evangelicals seem determined to follow them down that path. Many evangelicals now deny the authority, inerrancy, sufficiency, and clarity of Scripture. We have rejected the source of truth and gone after lies. We need another reformation with a recovery of confidence in the Bible as the literal Word of God. If we return to belief in the authority of Scripture then we will eventually be able to say, "after darkness, light."
Monday, July 4, 2016
Love The Sinner, Hate The Sin
How often do we hear the phrase, "love the sinner, hate the sin?" But the phrase is not in the Bible. I am told it actually originates with Gandhi. So does God love the sinner but hate the sin? Psalm 5 tells us the very opposite.
(Psalm 5:5) "The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers." (ESV)
People do not just commit sinful actions, their very nature is sinful. The sinner cannot be separated from his sin. It is who the person is, sin is not just something outside of him. Our sinfulness makes us an object of God's wrath. Apart from Christ and the cross we remain under God's wrath.
(John 3:36) "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." (ESV)
We are all sinners, evildoers, and unrighteous people who apart from Christ will face the wrath of God for eternity in hell. The hatred of God is a holy hatred, it is not like the self centered hatred of men. The holiness of God requires that he hate all things sinful.
But at the same time God loves humanity. He sent his Son to save his people from the wrath to come. We can only be reconciled to God through Christ. God's love and grace are shown to us through Jesus and his work on the cross. Christ took the wrath of God on himself in the place of all who believe.
The phrase "love the sinner, hate the sin" is somewhat correct but it tends to be misleading. It tends to downplay the wrath of God and the utter sinfulness of mankind. We do not know who we are because we do not know who God is. The modern church needs to recover its sense of the holiness of God. People must repent and trust in Christ alone to be saved from the wrath of God.
(Psalm 5:5) "The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers." (ESV)
People do not just commit sinful actions, their very nature is sinful. The sinner cannot be separated from his sin. It is who the person is, sin is not just something outside of him. Our sinfulness makes us an object of God's wrath. Apart from Christ and the cross we remain under God's wrath.
(John 3:36) "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." (ESV)
We are all sinners, evildoers, and unrighteous people who apart from Christ will face the wrath of God for eternity in hell. The hatred of God is a holy hatred, it is not like the self centered hatred of men. The holiness of God requires that he hate all things sinful.
But at the same time God loves humanity. He sent his Son to save his people from the wrath to come. We can only be reconciled to God through Christ. God's love and grace are shown to us through Jesus and his work on the cross. Christ took the wrath of God on himself in the place of all who believe.
The phrase "love the sinner, hate the sin" is somewhat correct but it tends to be misleading. It tends to downplay the wrath of God and the utter sinfulness of mankind. We do not know who we are because we do not know who God is. The modern church needs to recover its sense of the holiness of God. People must repent and trust in Christ alone to be saved from the wrath of God.
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