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Compiled by the Faith Newsletter editor: Burt Pearson
Contents:
From Your Pastor
From the Deacons
But My Work Did Not Die
Faith Support Materials
Cell Phone vs. Bible
Kitchen Korner
Care Package
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From Your Pastor |
Today, most people think of October 31st as Halloween, or the celebration of All Saint's Day-but long before the myths of ghosts, goblins and goodies a little monk named Martin Luther, in a country far, far away was hammering something very important to a large wooden door.
The Early Years
Martin was a German, born in 1483 in Eisleben. His father had been born a peasant, but worked his way into the middle class, eventually becoming a successful business owner. Determined that his son would continue this upwardly mobile socio-economic path, he determined Martin would become a lawyer and from an early age had him schooled with this in mind. Luther's dad was a strict father-perhaps even severe. Martin would give an account in later life of cruel beatings from his father's hand during an unhappy childhood. Some believe that the depression and anxiety that he struggled with as an adult were rooted in this difficult upbringing. In the summer of 1505, Martin got caught in a severe thunderstorm with crashes of thunder and lightening all around him. His greatest fear was that he would die and go to hell, so in desperation, he prayed to St. Anne (as Catholics were prone to do in such circumstances) telling her that he would become a monk if she would deliver him from the storm. He was delivered, and being a man of his word, Luther joined an Augustinian monastery at Erfurt two weeks later. His great hope was that the monastic life would guarantee his eternal salvation. His hopes quickly began to fade, however. Roman Catholicism teaches that in order for any sin to be forgiven, it must be confessed to a priest and then paid for by some form of penance. Roman Catholicism defines penance in this way: "Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same. It is called a "sacrament" not simply a function or ceremony, because it is an outward sign instituted by Christ to impart grace to the soul. As an outward sign it comprises the actions of the penitent in presenting himself to the priest and accusing himself of his sins, and the actions of the priest in pronouncing absolution and imposing satisfaction. This whole procedure is usually called, from one of its parts, "confession", and it is said to take place in the "tribunal of penance", because it is a judicial process in which the penitent is at once the accuser, the person accused, and the witness, while the priest pronounces judgment and sentence. The grace conferred is deliverance from the guilt of sin and, in the case of mortal sin, from its eternal punishment; hence also reconciliation with God, justification. Finally, the confession is made not in the secrecy of the penitent's heart nor to a layman as friend and advocate, nor to a representative of human authority, but to a duly ordained priest with requisite jurisdiction and with the "power of the keys", i.e., the power to forgive sins which Christ granted to His Church. (http://www.newadvent.org/cathell!11618c.htm. ) This process is what you may have heard called "the confessional." Martin was very intent on being forgiven for all of his sins, so he would go to
the little booth every day, often for several hours at a time, confessing every sin he could bring to mind. But, Luther had an overpowering sense of his own sinfulness and the more he sought to overcome it the more he became aware of sin's sway over him. In fact, the more he studied his own heart, the more evil he found there. Luther was learning experientially what we call the doctrine of total depravity. He was discovering his own heart described in the Bible in these ways:
• Ecclesiastes 7:20 "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins."
• Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand
it?
• Mark 7:21-23 "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. It We sin because we are sinners. Sin is not the result of our environment, childhood or socio-economic status.
• Psalm 51:5 "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
• Ephesians 2:3 ".were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind "
The Roman church taught that man was able to deal with his own sin by doing certain things-keeping the sacraments (baptism, confirmation, Eucharist/communion, penance, extreme (final) unction, holy orders). They taught that saving grace was given through these actions, without any view to the heart condition of the priest or of the person (recipient). Luther kept jumping through all these hoops waiting for some sense of sin forgiven-but it never came. In fact, what he discovered, was that he hated God. Martin Luther was beginning to despair. The more he tried to please God, the more his anger toward God grew-and his inner turmoil intensified.
It was just at this time, having received his doctorate in theology the year before that Luther was appointed to the new University of Wittenburg in 1513. Here he was given ample hours to study the text of the Bible in Hebrew and Greek-and two years later something incredible took place. In 1515, when Luther began lecturing on the Epistle to the Romans, he later declared that it was in the first chapter of that epistle that he found the solution to his difficulties. That solution did not come easily. It was not simply a matter of opening the Bible one day and reading that "the just shall live by faith." As he tells the story, the great discovery followed a long struggle and bitter
anguish, for Romans 1:17 begins by declaring that, in the gospel, "the righteousness of God is revealed." According to this text, the gospel is the revelation of the righteousness-the justice of God. But it was precisely the justice of God that Luther found unbearable. How could such a message be good news [gospel]? For Luther, good news would have been that God is not just, meaning that God does not judge sinners. But in Romans 1:17 , the good news and the justice of God are linked. Luther hated the phrase "the justice of God," and spent day and night trying to understand the relationship between the two parts of the that single verse--which after declaring that in the gospel "the justice of God is revealed," also affirms that "the righteous shall live by faith."
The answer was surprising. Luther came to the conclusion that the "justice of God" does not refer, as he had been taught, to the punishment of sinners. It means rather that the "justice" or "righteousness" of the righteous is not their own, but God's. The "righteousness of God" is that which is given to those who live by faith. It is given, not because they are righteous, nor because
they fulfill the demands of divine justice, but simply because God wishes to give it. Therefore, both faith and justification are the work of God, a free gift to sinners. As a result of this discovery, Luther said, "I felt that I had been born anew and that the gates of heaven had been opened. The whole of Scripture gained a new meaning. And from that point on, the phrase, "the justice of God"
no longer filled me with hatred, but rather became unspeakably sweet by virtue of a great love."
Not long after that, Luther wrote his 95 theses or "statements of concern" about the unbiblical practices within the Roman Catholic Church, and nailed them to the door of the church at Wittenburg, and the whole world stood up and took notice. The Reformation had begun.
The Problem with Indulgences
What Luther was wanting to debate was the use of Indulgences. An Indulgence is a way to buy, with money, your salvation or the salvation of someone you love who already died. John Tetzel, a Dominican priest, was traveling the world selling Papal Indulgences, so that the greedy Pope Leo X could raise enough money to build a huge white building in Vatican City called St. Peter's Basilica. Tetzel was a rather crude salesman and even wrote a little jingle for his workers that said, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, The soul from purgatory springs!" Luther spoke against the elaborate plans of the Pope-possibly the single most powerful man in the world at that time! The Pope was furious and demanded the Augustinian monks deal with Luther. They met together in Heidelberg soon after and to his great surprise (for Luther thought they would condemn him to die) he found the majority of the order agreed with him. And those who did not agree were (for other reasons) going to stick with one of their own. Luther was called to other councils and meetings, but the greatest test in his life came at the Diet of Worms.
The Diet of Worms
The Diet of Worms was (not what a happy robin eats) rather a church meeting or council in a city in
Germany called Worms. Here, all the great rulers and dignitaries of the day assembled to question Martin Luther, and Luther was very afraid. In reality, there was no debate or questioning or study-Luther was simply asked to renounce his writings (piled on a table in front of him}-including the 95 theses. This was a critical moment-not so much because Luther was unconvinced of his writings, but because he believed in the authority of the church. To go against the church was, in Roman Catholic theology, to go against God. Luther asked for one day to consider what he ought to do. The next day came, the assembly reconvened, and same demand to recant and renounce his works was made. Luther abandoned the Latin used in official debates and with a loud voice in German said: "My conscience is a prisoner of God's Word. I cannot and will not recant, for to disobey one's conscience is neither just nor safe. God help me. Amen." He then left the proceedings and returned to his room.
The Holy Roman Emperor was not about to let a monk defy his authority. Therefore, he quickly published the Edict of Worms on May 21, 1521 . The edict said in part, "Luther is now to be seen as a convicted heretic. He has twenty-one days from the fifteenth of April. After that, no one should give him shelter. His followers also are to be condemned, and his books will be erased from human memory. " Among other things, this ruling permitted anyone to kill Luther without suffering legal consequence, and the property of Luther's followers and supporters could be seized by force. (It is worth noting that Luther lived under this edict for the rest of his life.) While everyone was waiting for this Edict to be written, however, Martin Luther was kidnapped by soldiers of Frederick the Wise. Frederick was a friend of Luther and had arranged for his soldiers to steal him away to a place that not even he knew oft That place was the Wartburg Castle, and there Luther grew a beard and began to translate the Bible into German. Before that time, the people would only hear the Word of God in Latin-a language that very few of them understood. Luther gave his people the Bible in their native tongue and the printing press gave them the Bible in their homes. Luther remained in Wartburg for a time and eventually came out of hiding and returned to Wittenburg. He would spend the majority of the rest of his life there, writing, debating, teaching, marrying, having children, mentoring students and seeking to apply the Bible to all that the church was and did.
So what lessons can we learn from Martin Luther's life?
No doubt there are many, but I will highlight three:
1. We may be called to go against all the powers and the impressive people ofthe world to follow Jesus. Luther was not the first nor will he be the last to be attacked for his faith. We can learn from
him, however, to be sure that what we are following is the Jesus of the Bible, not just some strange view we have concocted.
2. Luther's life also teaches us that there are no perfect men. Although I did not mention it in the main body of the article, Luther often erred in public debate by using slanderous terms and remarks. This was more than just the "style of the day." One example is from the introduction to his work, "The Bondage of the Will" written to refute Erasmus's "The Freedom of the Will." He says, "your Book is, in my estimation, so mean and vile, that I greatly feel for you for having defiled your most beautiful and ingenious language with such vile trash; and I feel an indignation against the matter also, that such unworthy stuff should be borne about in ornaments of eloquence so rare; which is as if rubbish, or dung, should he carried in vessels of gold and silver." Not only that, but like many great men, he was very busy and could sometimes make decisions without full knowledge of the truth concerning the situation. He also wrote a very anti-semitic treatise called, "On the Jews and Their Lies" that would curl your hair (not mine of course since I don't have any).
3. Luther's life also teaches us that Christian greatness is never void of personal devotion. Martin Luther, warts and all, followed Christ and submitted to His will. He was far more than a great
personality-he truly loved Jesus.
We can thank God for the massive doctrinal and practical and political reform brought about through the life of the German monk. And we can also be encouraged that God would use such a sinful man (as we all are), to accomplish so very much for His glory.
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Grace and Peace,
Pastor Adams |
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From the Deacons |
The Origins of the Westminster Standards
The Westminster Standards, which include the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, are the doctrinal standards of several denominations such as the
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARP), the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), as well as many others. While most reformed people know of these documents, their origins are not so widely known. In fact, the Westminster Standards were not written solely to make a statement of belief, but also to create a unification of the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, and the Continental Reformed churches (churches residing on the European mainland). The Presbyterian Puritan controlled Parliament was the driving force behind the creation of the Westminster Assembly of Divines (as the ministers who wrote the Standards came to be known) in 1643. The Assembly of Divines worked over several years to produce documents very similar to the ones that we have today. Over the years some denominations have made changes to the version of the Standards which they subscribe to which lessened the importance of some doctrinal points (like Calvinism) and introduced some fallacies as well. Alterations aside, the Westminster Confession of Faith was completed in 1646 and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms in 1647. Presbyterian Parliament was dissolved in 1648 with the rise of Cromwell and the reinstitution of the monarchy in 1660 saw the reestablishment of the Church of England (aka the Anglican Church). Thankfully, the Church of Scotland accepted both the Confession of Faith in 1647 and the Catechisms in 1648. Both were ratified by Scottish parliament in 1649 and again in 1690 (after a time of religious strife). The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) accepted the Westminster Standards in 1788 and as liberalism began to affect the PCUSA in the 19th and 20th centuries reformed Presbyterian denominations were established and accepted the Westminster Standards that were very close to the Standards that the Assembly of Divines produced. The ARP was established before the split in the PCUSA and accepted the Westminster Standards in 1799. The
OPC accepted the Standards in 1955 and the PCA accepted in the 1970's.
Sources
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. (2008). The Standards of the Associate Reformed
Presbyterian Church.
Presbyterian Church in America. (n.d.). PCA: Brief History. Retrieved September 20,2009, from
PCA: http://www.pcanet.org/general/history.htm
The Committee of Christian Education of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. (2005). The
Confession of Faith and Catechisms. Willow Grove: Great Commission Publications.
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Respectfully,
Bryan T. Hall |
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But My Work Did Not Die |
Reminder – please make sure to mark Saturday, October 24, on your calendars for the annual Faith Presbyterian Reformation Celebration. This year there will be an additional reason to attend. The children of the church are working on a special play, “But My Work Did Not Die”, which they will be presenting after the meal that evening. They are learning about five of the leaders of the Reformation movement these next weeks and would like to share.
Please come out and learn something about the men (and their wives) whom God used hundreds of years ago who are part of our faith legacy and still making a difference today. Do you know who was born 500 years ago? What reformer spent time rowing a galley across the English channel? Who was smuggled out of a nunnery in a herring barrel? Come and find out the answers and make this a special reason to invite your friends and family.
If you have renaissance-type costumes that you could loan for the play, I’d really appreciate it. Additionally, any black robes would come in handy. And finally, if you’d like to help with designing and building some minimal sets, I’d really appreciate it.
We’d love to have more children participate – parents, if your children aren’t coming, please feel free to bring them for practice on Sunday afternoons these next weeks! It’s not too late to learn parts and the songs.
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In His Love,
Marilou Richardson |
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Faith Support Materials |
Do you ever feel drawn to invite someone to Faith Presbyterian but don’t feel comfortable knowing that it will take their time to tell them the worship times and directions on how to get here? Do you ever wish you had something to hand a person to start a conversation? Would you just like a business card with all of Faith Presbyterian’s information on it?
In October (this month), you will start seeing some new support materials that are being provided to help you introduce Faith Presbyterian to friends and acquaintances. Initially there will be business cards and postcards available in the narthex for you to take to give to others. In the next months, other materials will be added to the selection. Feel free to take what you can realistically commit to hand out.
Just a few words on the new Faith Presbyterian logo that is on the support materials…
• You should immediately notice the CROSS – the symbol of Christianity throughout the centuries and absolutely non-negotiable. Our faith is in Christ who purchased us by His death on the cross. Without the cross, there is no Christianity.
• The cross is at a slant, shadowing Faith Presbyterian. We live and have our being under the shadow of His cross.
• And finally, the phrase “Seek The WAY • Find The TRUTH • Live The LIFE”, for those in the faith, an immediate allusion to John 14:6. Faith Presbyterian is not a congregation for a person wanting to simply hear the world’s wisdom, the latest feel-good psychology, or health-and-wealth religion. Instead, Faith’s focus is on helping each person who walks through the doors in their efforts to seek the way, find the truth and live the life in the light of that Truth, in true worship of God, the Father, the Word made flesh - Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
It is such a blessing to be part of a congregation who can regularly hear God’s Word faithfully preached. Spread the news and invite others to come and hear.
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In His Love
Marilou Richardson |
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Cell Phone vs. Bible |
Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts? What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go.....hmm...where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill. Makes you stop and think 'where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!
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Submitted by
Ann Pusar |
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Kitchen Korner |
Happy fall, yes it is getting near that time again for our Thanksgiving Dinner. We have one stove approved and, if my prayers are answered, we will have the other one approved before November is here.
This year I would like to cook dinner in the church kitchen. I am looking for volunteers to help the Friday before to prepare the vegetables and stuffing. I will still need people to cook Turkeys at home.
If you are interested please e-mail me kthornton @ cfl.rr.com or call my home 452-7203 and I will get back to you with more details as we get closer to November.
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Submitted by
Karen Thornton |
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Care Package |
The Women of Faith are putting together a care package for Alik Smith who is deployed to Afghanistan.
• Salty snacks
• Single drink mixes
• Hand sanitizers
• Magazines
• Moisturizer that's not too glossy
• Beef jerky
• Sweets (but not chocolate that melts)
Our next Prayer Meeting will be on Saturday, December 12th. It will have a Christmas theme, and a cookie swap afterwards for anyone who wants to participate.
More details to come.
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Submitted by
Linda Seiffer |
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