Apparently Luther was a blogger, too (I knew he was a bright guy). The Reformer was labeled "divisive" by many for asking hard questions about both salvation and the church. Thank God for men like Luther who were willing to look to scripture as their guide for God's truth. While I wish Luther had taken scripture to its logical endpoint like the Anabaptists did, I'm still grateful for his efforts (and those of others) in rediscovering the true gospel.
6 comments:
Amen. We can honor the magisterial Reformers for the way God used them without turning them into heroic figures that are above reproach. There are too many of our brothers who see any honest critique of the reformers as tantamount to heresy.
Ha! Nice picture.
Arthur,
I agree. We must be able to see both the positive and negative about all men. Otherwise we begin to act as if certain of them are infallible. What a scary thought.
Jeremy,
Thanks. It's one of my favorites.
Eric,
Arthur has touched on a very important matter.
It concerns me when we see the focus some of our brethren have on men,and what they said and wrote, both long gone, and still present.
Often they yearn for those days to return, but in doing so seem to disregard the fact that our Sovereign, God, has placed us in this time and space of the 21st century.
I'm so grateful to God for men, such as the Reformers and those who followed them. They have much to teach us, but they were men, obviously imperfect as proved by quite a bit of their behaviour, who were raised up by God, for His purpose, in His time.
Let's concentrate on being God's men and women for today, maybe even 21st century reformers!
John,
I admit to struggling somewhat with knowing what to do with church history. We have great men who have gone before us, have taught us much, and have left wonderful, if imperfect, legacies.
As for Reformation Day, what I'm really championing is the true gospel. Thank God for bringing about the Reformation to open more eyes to His great plan.
I agree that there are those who seem to spend too much time looking backward today (Ligonier Ministries comes to mind).
We need a balance in this. The past tells us much, but it means little if we do not use it to shape the present for the better.
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