As a seminary
student in the mid-1970s, I enrolled in courses on Church History. One of
our required readings was “Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther” by Roland
Bainton. Although Martin Luther is best known as the ‘father’ of The
Protestant Reformation, his personal struggle with the reality of God’s grace
resonated deeply in me. Below, I will summarize a portion of Luther’s
grace journey, as recounted by Mr. Bainton.
In 1505, 21-year-old
Martin Luther was walking toward the village of Stotternheim, Germany, when the
sky became suddenly overcast. A raging storm blew up and a bolt of
lightning flashed through the sky, knocking Martin to the ground. “Saint Anne
help me!” he cried out, “I will become a monk.” Martin had grown up in a
medieval culture filled with fear and he thought the lightning had been
launched at him by God as a message, a glimpse of the terror of Judgment
Day. Martin knew he needed to preserve his soul and thought the best way
to do that was to become a monk. So off to the monastery he went to seek
God’s grace and mercy.
After becoming a
priest, he was invited to celebrate his first mass. Martin’s family came
for the occasion. The chapel was filled;
the psalms were sung. Then Martin took his place behind the altar and
began. But mere moments into the mass, he was struck by sheer
terror. There he was, in his own words, “miserable and little…dust and
ashes and full of sin” daring to speak to the living, eternal and awesome God.
Somehow Martin got
through the mass and kept going as a monk, but those initial experiences
reflected a terrible inner struggle. He got to the point where he was
convinced that God was so pure and holy that no one could ever hope to be
saved. All mankind would be abandoned to the torments of hell. In
Martin’s words, “More than once I was driven to the very abyss of despair so
that I wished I had never been created. Love God? I hated him!”
Then in 1513, 8
years after that thunderstorm and 7 years after that first terrible mass,
Martin had a third great religious experience. He was lecturing on the
book of Psalms at the University of Wittenberg, followed by lectures on Romans
and Galatians. It was during those studies that Martin Luther discovered
a life transforming insight in the gospel – that God’s requirement for us is
not perfection, but faith.
“My situation was
that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner deeply
troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage
Him. Therefore, I did not love this just and angry God, but rather hated
and murmured against Him. Then I grasped that the justice of God is that
He, through grace and mercy, justifies us by faith. Whereas before the
‘justice of God’ had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly
sweet in a greater love.”
My friends, there is
absolutely nothing we could ever do to merit the grace of Almighty God.
The very best we can do is to “come boldly to the throne of grace” and bow in
humble and heartfelt submission before Him. (Hebrews 4:16) By this simple act of obedience and faith, we
make our covenant confession to Christ. Thereafter,
we enter His school of discipleship, becoming lifelong learners who walk daily
with Him.
It’s a grace
thing. What does God’s Word say? “For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians
2:8) When you can, please read Romans, chapters 6-8.
One praise chorus
that I love has these simple yet powerful lyrics:
Grace…grace…God’s
grace…
Grace that can pardon
and cleanse within.
Grace…grace…God’s
grace…
Grace that is
greater than all my sins.
It’s a grace thing. Thanks be to God for His life-saving and
liberating grace!
Sisters and brothers,
be continually blessed and please (above all else) MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO
MEET YOUR SOON COMING KING. Maranatha!
No comments:
Post a Comment