Faith
can put a candle in the darkest night.
--MARGARET SANGSTER (1838–1912)
Faith
does not mean believing without evidence. It means believing in
realities that go beyond sense and sight—for which a totally
different sort of evidence is required.
--JOHN BAILLIE (1741–1806)
A
Christian who walks by faith accepts all circumstances from God.
He thanks God when everything goes good, when everything goes bad,
and for the “blues” somewhere in-between. He thanks God
whether he feels like it or not.
--ERWIN W. LUTZER (1941– )
Beware
of worshiping Jesus as the Son of God and professing your faith
in him as the Savior of the world, while you blaspheme him by the
complete evidence in your daily life that he is powerless to do
anything in and through you.
--OSWALD CHAMBERS (1874–1917)
Christian
faith is a grand cathedral, with divinely pictured windows. Standing
without, you see no glory, nor can imagine any. But standing within,
every ray of light reveals a harmony of unspeakable splendors.
--NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (1804–1864)
Luther, Martin (1483-1546)
The
“Father of the Protestant Reformation.” Luther was a monk
in Germany who became convinced that the doctrines of the church
were not consistent with the Bible. In particular, he felt that
the church ignored the biblical teaching of justification through
faith by grace. In 1517 he posted his 95 Theses on the door of the
Wittenberg church. In this document he set forth his disagreements
with the Roman authorities in the church, particularly with regard
to the sale of Indulgenses. His rallying cries became ‘by faith
alone’, ‘by grace alone’, and ‘only the Scriptures’.
By ‘by faith alone’ he meant that a person could be saved
only through faith, not by indulgences granted by the church. In
1520 he was exconnunicated by Pope Leo X, and in 1521 he received
a hearing before an imperial diet in Worms. He was asked to recant
his teachings, but he refused, saying, “Here I stand, I can
do no other. God help me. Amen.”
One of his great contributions to the Protestant movement was his
translation of the Bible into German. This helped establish a precedent
of translating the Bible into the common language of the people.
The Luther translation is used to this day in Germany, and it has
had an effect on German culture and language similar to that of
the King James Version in English. Luther’s followers came
to be known as Lutherans, and his teaching formed the foundation
for the Lutheran churches.
Your
Private Comments. I will not post these comments.
What are your personal thoughts? I also welcome your spiritual
concerns and prayer needs. I will correspond with you, usually
within two weeks.
Click here
