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Reformation- 500 Years and counting

Writer's picture: Seattle ALCSeattle ALC

As we thank God for His faithfulness through all generation, we recognize the blessing that the Reformation has been.  On October 31st we celebrate the 500th year since the beginning of the Reformation.  Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg.  Reform has been ongoing since Adam and Eve doubted the love and providence of the God that created them.  Life in outward form has constantly changed since our first-parents departed Eden.  Mankind has been broken and incapable of saving himself.  Yet God has not wavered in His love toward us, in spite of our brokenness.  One of the blessings at looking back is not looking to see if what we have done or accomplished, but what God has done.  Whether it is Israel looking back through the ages, or us looking back to the Reformation of the last 500 years, it is the same love of God that causes us to say that it is in grace, by faith in Christ, through the Word that we can give all glory honor and praise to His Name!

I want to share an excerpt from the Book of Concord the Readers Edition:

“The world was changing. New scientific discoveries had opened pathways for understanding more about our complex universe. The ocean, once feared for its danger and depth, was tamed for travel and trade. Peasants and workers, laboring under harsh and relentless conditions, sought revolution. The bubonic plague had claimed the lives of about 75 million people from 1347 to 1351. It continued to reappear and panic European cities. Political alliances, long forged between pope and prince, fractured as power centers shifted. Gutenberg’s press (1455), the first to use movable type, transported ideas from one person to the next with swiftness and ease. As the medieval era collapsed into the modern, changes seemed everywhere and limitless.

Yet even during these changing times one thing remained constant: our God, who grants forgiveness and grace to His people through Jesus Christ. Despite advances and transformations in science and society, politics and publication, God was working. He gave hope and life by His Spirit through Word and Sacraments. He bestowed comfort and joy in trying and often perilous situations. In changing times, His promises through His Son did not change, nor will they ever. They will never be altered, nor revoked. His Word pronounces us righteous through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. He alone is our Life and our Peace.”

Same world, different scene in each generation!  God fulfills the promises that His Word declares.  The Solas of the Reformation are the Solas of today:  “Sola Gratia”  Salvation by Grace Alone.  “Sola Fide”  Salvation by Faith Alone.  “Solus Christus”  In Christ Alone.  “Soli Deo Gloria”  For the Glory of God Alone.

We pray for continuing reformation in human hearts, let it begin in me.

Pastor Stan

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