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What is the Reformation and Why Does it Matter? One of the most pivotal moments in the history of the world was the Reformation. The reformation began with a young Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther being tormented by the incompatibility of the perfect justice and holiness of God and his own sin. Luther wondered if he could ever be saved from the fires of hell or purgatory. Try as he might, he never felt his works could come close to earning the forgiveness of sins from a holy God. However, as he studied the scriptures, he made a world-shifting re-discovery; works don t earn salvation, but rather God freely grants grace through faith in Christ. The Roman Catholic Church taught something different. The Church taught that while God was a gracious, His grace needed to be supplemented with good works and sacraments, such as attending mass, baptism, the Lord s Supper, and the purchase of indulgences. Realizing the falsehoods of the Church, Luther aimed to start a dialogue about possible reforms that could take place in order to be faithful to the scriptures. This collision of thought changed the world. On October 31, 1517 Luther nailed a document containing 95 critiques of the Roman Catholic Church to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. This action and this document brought about far more than simply dialogue; Luther s act lead to him being declared a heretic, excommunicated from the Catholic Church, the splitting of the church and most importantly a return to the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. While the Reformation happened 500 years ago we too must remember these events. The church of the 21 st century, must be dedicated to the scriptures, to grace and to the clarity of the gospel of Jesus. We must examine the doctrines of our churches, our Christian culture and our own hearts. We need to be confident that we live our lives according to the Scripture and preach no other gospel than grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to others and ourselves. So, let us celebrate the 500-year anniversary of the Reformation together. Let s celebrate that God remained faithful to His church and convicted a man to take a stand for the truth of the gospel through His Spirit. Let us also, like Luther reflect upon our own cultural shortcomings and seek a reformation of heart and mind as we dwell upon our God of sovereign grace. We would encourage you to think about these concepts throughout the month and discuss them with your Gospel Communities and small groups in hopes that they are driven deeper into your hearts and unify us as a church. 3
The Five Solas This month, we are celebrating the Reformation by going through a sermon series focusing on the Five Solas. The 5 Solas were the battle cry of the reformers. The 5 solas exemplified the theology of the reformers: Sola Christus- Christ alone is our Savior, Lord and King. Sola Gratia- we are saved by grace alone and not by our works. Sola Fide- Salvation is through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Sola Scriptura - Scripture is our highest authoritative for faith and practice. Soli Deo Gloria- God alone receives glory for our salvation and life, not us. Although it has been centuries since the Protestant Reformation, the truths of the Five Solas are still relevant today. We are surrounded by worldviews that are centered not on God but ourselves. Unfortunately, many modern evangelicals are guilty of having this man-centered theology rather than one that sees its purpose, motives and end being God s grace and glory. Our goal during this month is to remember the Five Solas and see how each one plays out in our belief systems and our day-to-day lives. Join us as we look at the Reformation, examine our hearts and grow our love for God. 4
How to use this Devotional We would like to encourage you to use this devotion as a part of your daily time with the Lord. Perhaps you ve never had a consistent time with God in your day, that s alright. We hope that this booklet will serve as a sort of primer to you daily worship. We also hope that this will help you to ask important questions about what you believe and help you develop a practical theology. The word theology makes us nervous at times. It brings about thoughts of angry old men, arguments, church splits and maybe even some heartache. As a result, many modern evangelicals opt out of theology altogether and settle for a Just love Jesus sort of faith. However, every human being has a theology. It is either good theology or bad theology. At its most basic level, theology is what you believe about God. While we do need to love God in an affectionate way, we also need to know Who we love. If you desire to be love a person well, how do you do it? You don t simply talk about the idea of who they are or fall in love with them superficially. Rather, you earnestly try to get to know that person: What makes them tick? What are their likes and dislikes? How do I love them the best that I can? We can t approach God superficially either. Our desire in this journey is to help you to draw closer to God with both your heart and your mind. Directions Each devotion is set up with a question, corresponding answer, scripture references and further explanation. 1. Read and memorize the leading question and answer. There are two answers to each question. The underlined and bolded words create a more succinct answer for youth and children. The full answer is for adults. 2. Read the corresponding scriptures. 3. Read the devotional and answer the corresponding questions. 4. Answer the provided questions 5. Discuss the scripture and questions in Gospel Communities, small group or Sunday school. 5
Who is the Redeemer? The only Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, in whom God became man and bore the penalty for sin himself. John 1:1-5; 9-18 John 14:6-7 Colossians 1:15-20 It s all about Jesus. Jesus is often sold short as a good teacher or a wise philosopher or a philanthropist. However, Jesus is so much more than that. His time on earth is so critical that we measure time in relation to it. As we read in John 1, we learn that Jesus is eternal. Christ had a human birth, but He is from eternity-past. Scripture tells us that He was with God in the creation of the world and that everything was created through Him. He is also the sustainer through Whom all things are held together and the firstborn of all creation according to Colossians. Firstborn doesn t mean that he was the first human to be physically born. The word firstborn indicates a place of preeminence, of highest importance. Jesus is not simply some important person in human history: He is the most important Person in human history. It is because of His perfect life on earth, His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead that we have eternal life and relationship with God the Father. To say that Christ, our Redeemer is anything less than God is wrong. Jesus is God, put on human flesh on behalf of helpless sinners. That might be the most amazing mystery of all: Jesus, through whom the world was created, the Sustainer of the universe, knows and loves you and died on your behalf. 6
To you, why is Jesus important? Biblically why is Jesus important? What has the Redeemer redeemed you from? On a scale of 1-10 what level is your desire to know the Redeemer and make Him known? Explain. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7
Why was it necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to die? Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life. Romans 6:23 Isaiah 53:7-12 2 Corinthians 5:21 The penalty of sin is death. As it says in Romans 6:23, our wages, what we earn, is death because of our fallen sinful nature. In the beginning of humanity, God gave Adam and Eve a choice to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and promised them that if they did, they would die. They made the choice all of us would have made. Adam and Eve said, I know better than God and ate the fruit, forever cursing mankind. As a result, because God is perfectly holy, He could not allow sin to go unpunished. To this many reply that can t be true of me. I mean, I m a good person! However, try as we might, scripture informs us in Romans and twice in the Psalms that none is righteous, no, not one. But surely if we do good works in God s name we can be considered good in His sight, right? Surely enough church services, enough tithes, enough volunteerism, enough prayers and bible reading can change our status before God. We have all believed this at some point in our lives but it couldn t be further from the truth. According to scripture even our good deeds are filthy rags before God. Our human nature is so corrupt that even our best efforts to satisfy God fall horribly flat because of His holiness. But because of God s great love with which He loves us, God in Jesus came on a rescue mission to save mankind. The way He did this was to take our sins upon Himself and die, putting His righteousness on those who would believe in Him. Sin brought death, death which was rightfully earned in contrast to God s holiness. But Jesus came to die to be the perfect and only sacrifice for the sins of His sons and daughters. 8
How does a growing understanding of the holiness of God and our sinfulness affect your view of Jesus? Jesus took your punishment for sin. How does that strike you? In Jude 24 it says that God will present believers in Christ blameless. How would it change your life to live the truth of being blameless before God? 9
Why must the Redeemer be truly human? That in human nature he might on our behalf perfectly obey the whole law and suffer the punishment for human sin; and also that he might sympathize with our weaknesses. Hebrews 2:14-18 Hebrews 4:14-16 John 1:14 The God of the universe became man and dwelt among us. This should make us sit up in our chair. No other world religion has a god that comes down to his subjects. However, that s exactly what God did for us in Jesus. There are two reasons why Christ had to become a man. The first reason is that Jesus, through whom all things were made, could not die, Jesus is eternal. He was with God in the beginning and everything was created through Him. As we learned in our second study, sin must be paid for by the death of a perfect sacrifice. Jesus could not die and be that perfect sacrifice unless He put on flesh like you and I. He was the perfect sacrifice because he was obedient to the Father: He worshiped the Father in all things. He lived the life we were supposed to live and He paid the penalty that we owed. God literally bound Himself in human flesh to die and be the perfect substitute on our behalf. Another reason Jesus had to become a man is to sympathize with us. Jesus walked the same earth we walk. He was born, experienced growing up, laughed, cried, experienced letdown, frustration, betrayal, and the death of loved ones - Jesus suffered. Nothing that we have or will go through hasn t also been experienced by Jesus. Therefore, we can draw near to the throne of grace because he sympathizes with us and is with us. 10
If Jesus freely paid the penalty for your sin what do you owe him? How does the fact that Jesus became a human and suffered change how we suffer? How is Jesus becoming man good news for our neighbors who do not know him? 11
Why must the Redeemer be truly God? That because of his divine nature his obedience and suffering would be perfect and effective; and also that he would be able to bear the righteous anger of God against sin and yet overcome death. Philippians 2:9-11 Mark 14:61-12 Acts 2:24 The dual nature of Christ is crucial characteristic about Him. He could not only be fully man; for Him to save us we needed Him to be fully God as well. Jesus became 100% God and 100% man. The reason for this is because while Christ still experienced the curse of sin in various ways (sickness, sadness and death), He was perfect through all of it. He never sinned. As humans it s in our nature to sin. Sin is at the core of every human heart, no matter how good they seem. But Jesus was without sin, in fact he took our sin upon Himself. Also, Christ had to be fully human in order to die, but He had to be fully God in order to conquer death. Only God can overcome sin and death. Only God had the power to overcome the punishment. Additionally, a human could not take the weight of God s wrath; only God can. When the holiness of God encounters the sinfulness of man, no matter how great or small, there is an infinite chasm: God cannot be around sin and sinful man cannot survive in the presence of a Holy God. Only God can forgive a sin that is committed against Himself. We committed treason against our Creator with rejection of God. Therefore our Creator, and no one else, can forgive our sins. We should take great comfort in that: God, against whom we have grievously sinned, conquered death on our behalf and became the only suitable sacrifice for our sins. Our Savior is One who went before us on our behalf and will, in the end of time, be declared Lord. We will all bow down in worship of Him. 12
Do you emphasize Christ s divinity or humanity more? How does that effect your faith? Because, those who have put their faith in Christ, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. How does that affect how you think about fighting your own sin or live life every day? Do you really believe that your sin has been forgiven and overcome? Why is that so hard to believe? 13