There was a time when those who died were believed to have gone neither to heaven nor to hell but were somewhere in the middle ground called purgatory until the prayers of the saints freed them into heaven.
There was a time, when the Bible alone was not enough for faith, rule and life, but men needed the church traditions, and church councils to dictate what God’s people were to do in order to please God.
There was a time, when the Bible was not available in English or any other language apart from Latin, so abhorrent was it for ordinary citizens to even possess or read it for themselves without the church leaders interpreting it for them. Those who were discovered to have translated the Bible into the language of the common people were immediately seized, imprisoned and burned alive in front of their families
There was a time, when church and government were the same thing. When kings dictated what the church should be; people were not allowed to worship a denomination of their choosing, but were to adhere to and submit under the government church.
There was a time, when everyone who opposed the church, was deemed a heretic and a traitor who was worthy of the worst kind of torture if not death by stoning, burning or beheading.
There was a time, when worship services were not free to worship the Lord the way they deemed fit, but congregates were forced to adhere to the prescribed regulations of worship, Biblical or not.
There was a time, when believers were taught that they couldn’t approach God directly without the mediatory of the church-ordained priests and dead saints for their prayers to be heard.
31 October 1517, was the day that God stirred the heart of a certain priest to stand against all this corruption that had engulfed the Church. He wrote down 95 points of his concerns on a piece of paper and nailed it on the door of the public platform for everyone to see. His name was called Martin Luther. From this day, the Church was never the same. God’s people returned to the joy and freedom of worship. The Bible got translated for the ordinary people. As a result, the true Gospel message, which is according to Scripture alone, in faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone was re-discovered. Most of the privileges we enjoy today, including the liberty of denominations, is owed to Luther and what happened on that day. A famous quote by Martin Luther, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason, for I do not trust either the Pope or in councils alone, since its well-known that they are often erred and contradict themselves, I am bound by the Scriptures. My conscience is captive to the word of God! To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I therefore cannot, and I will not recant! Here I stand. I can do no other.” 31 October, therefore, is the Reformation Day; the day when “after darkness, came light”, better said in the Latin Language, “Post tenebras lux.”
Today, I just wanted to remind all of us, that this Christian faith that we have now, beloved, has a long heritage of faithful brethren who have risked their lives to preserve its treasure. Let us, therefore, never disconnect ourselves from church history. Those who do so, risk the danger of being arrogant and ungrateful or worse, start to twist the Christian doctrine into something else. This relay stick of the Gospel is now in our hands, so, let’s hold it tight, run like champions and hand it over to the next generation in faithfulness. HAPPY REFORMATION DAY!
Sinothi Ncube
Related Content...
Comments
Post a Comment