Hating the works of your hero: Martin Luther

On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the front door of the Catholic Church. They were selling indulgences(forms that would get someone out, or shorten their time in purgatory) to build up the church. The Latin Vulgate was the only Bible used from 400-1400+ and very few people could read Latin. So, it was up to the priests to teach the Bible and before long the Church became the dominating and authoritative figure in the church. That was until Martin Luther stepped up and fought for Scripture to be read as is and taught to the people. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 states:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Martin Luther understood this. If you ask Christians today who their heroes are, Martin Luther will usually dominate the list, outside of Jesus and the Apostle Paul of course. However, most who would claim that Luther is a hero of Christianity would treat him the same way he was treated back them.

The Main Issue: Luther saw the Scriptures as all about Christ and that Christ should be our treasure, nothing else. However, I see a filthy battle going on in America right now. Church has once again been raised in authority over the person and work of Jesus Christ. When I first went to church, I started thinking I needed Jesus so I could get into heaven, so I could have an easier life, etc. It was not until a year and a half later, while attending church every Sunday, that I came to the conclusion, from the bible, that salvation is through trusting in the person and work of Christ. My silly attempts at earning it were feeble, my "serving" the church was a way to earn it, and my false evangelism (inviting people to church) were all weak attempts to earn God's favor.

Christ, which Martin Luther would risk his life to make known, is what is necessary for salvation. It is not a ticket to heaven, because heaven with no Christ is rubbish! When we trust in Christ, it is natural that we become part of a Christ-treasuring, gospel-centered community of believers. Our evangelism should be Christ crucified, not a come to church method. Not once did Jesus teach His disciples to go out and bring people to the synagogue because He was teaching something that would itch their ears (2 Tim. 4:3), but He commanded the disciples to preach Christ crucified and resurrected, then make disciples (1 Cor. 15:1-4; Matt. 28:16-20).

Unfortunately, the truth's of the cross burn bridges sometimes, when it is meant to unite believers. Luther was persecuted for explaining that Christ crucified and resurrected was far more of a treasure than being obedient to the church's heresy. Luther loved Jesus. Luther was very knowledgeable and he produced many good works out of his love for Christ. The emergent church and it's devout followers attack those who seek knowledge, overemphasize church over Jesus, and believe that all we need to do is love one another. This generation holds a lot of fiery men and women who will not stand for such garbage, and like Luther, will be told they are enemies of the Church. Praise God for these men and women, and the leaders that have not swayed from the truth and have built selfless Kingdom minded gospel communities and ignore the silly myths the "seeker-sensitive" methods. R.C. Sproul says this about the seeker-sensitive movement:

"It is a very bad thing. 1)It rests on the fundamental error that unbelievers outside the church are desperately seeking for God. 2) The purpose for corporate worship on Sunday is to reach the lost."

Why is this important? Sproul goes on to say:

"The Bible (Rom.1-3) is clear that NO ONE seeks after God. The only people who seek after God are those who have been born again."

So, let's look to the Scriptures about all matters like the cross of Christ, Church, evangelism, etc. Martin Luther fought for us to have the Word and live by the Word, Sola Scriptura. When one has a good knowledge of the Word, they treasure Christ more and more, and evangelism becomes a natural, loving effect instead of a guilt forced sales-pitch.

Treasure Christ!