June 30, 2022 — Words of Wisdom, Martin Luther

Here I stand. God help me! Amen!

“‘Since then your imperial majesty and your lordships demand a simple answer, I will give you one without teeth and without horns. Unless I am convicted of error by the testimony of Scripture or by manifest evidence…I cannot and will not retract, for we must never act contrary to our conscience….Here I stand. God help me! Amen!”  (Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, April 18, 1521)

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17

Here I stand. God help me! Amen!

We often make statements about political, religious, or other beliefs which we are determined to hold fast to and support at all costs. We have seen this play out almost every day in our society since the election of 2020. The media loves a good argument, a good reason for people to click onto their websites and express their opinions, educated opinion or not. This was the same situation in which Martin Luther found himself leading up to the events of the Diet of Worms – but his support was not for a Pope, or a King – it was for G-d.

If you are familiar with the early life of Martin Luther, you know he was struggling with finding the “love” of G-d in his life. He knew the G-d of judgment, and the G-d of wrath, but the G-d of love he could not find – that is until he was studying the book of Romans. As he read Paul’s letter, the light bulb went off: “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” He was appalled at the use of indulgences as a way of bilking people out of money to purchase “pardon” for their sins and the sins of their loved ones. He believed it is only G-d who can give pardon for sins – through Jesus Christ.  When John Eck and others called him to recant much of the 95 Theses, the document where he called into question many of the uses of Indulgences, he stood his ground and would not recant.

Do we have the courage to stand by our faith, in a society that increasingly looks to encourage us to disavow ourselves from our faith? It does not always happen in public venues, like the Diet of Worms – but happens in small ways, every day. It takes courage and the conviction of our beliefs to stand our ground and make public professions of our faith. Luther said, at the Diet of Worms, that the Pope’s decrees “…have thrown utter disorder into Christianity, have surprised, imprisoned, and tortured the faith of the faithful…contrary to the gospel.”  Dare we stand down today and allow the same to happen – or stand firm in our faith?

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, give me the courage to stand up for my faith and to stand firm in my hope and trust in you. I know in my heart there is no other hope than my hope in your promises. Amen.

Pastor Dave

June 29, 2022 – Words of Wisdom, HP

Bad Company Ruins Good Morals

“People think being alone makes you lonely, but I don’t think that’s true.  Being surrounded by the wrong people is the loneliest thing in the world” (hplyrikz.com)  

“For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. Otherwise, what will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters, as my boasting of you—a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³² If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.” Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”  Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.  1 Corinthians 15:27-34

Bad Company Ruins Good Morals

Paul is writing to a church in Corinth that has been dealing with a lot of problems among the believers, including divisiveness, litigation, food offered to idols, and class divisions at the communal meal. In his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul wrote of the false teachers who had come into the church at Corinth teaching that the resurrection of Jesus Christ wasn’t true. These people considered only their physical existence and denied life after death or the resurrection. As a result, their moral outlook on life influenced the rest of the Corinthian believers. Paul writes: “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” The point Paul makes here is something we all need to remember, when we associate with the wrong people, we run the risk of mimicking their behaviors, their language, and their habits. Before long we are no longer of Christ, but of the world. This can especially be true for our youth.

I think some of the loneliest times in my life were when I was living my life with people who did not harbor the same beliefs as me, the same faith, and the same outlook on life. When we surround ourselves with these people, they take us away from a faith community, away from the Word of G-d, and away from a relationship with Jesus. This is one of the reasons I encourage people to come to church – and to become active in a church. One of the benefits of belonging to a faith community is that you surround yourself with people who are also trying to understand their faith, trying to understand what G-d is doing in their lives and in the world, and people who understand that we are all stronger when we live in community. Too many people leave their homes in the morning, drive their cars to work, work all day, drive their cars home, pull into the garage and close the garage door and do not appear again until the next morning. When we get to know people in a faith community, we are learning one of the most important lessons of life – that we all struggle with the same questions, the same concerns, and the same fears.  If you are not involved in a faith community, I encourage you to seek one out soon.  Not only is it for your own good, it promotes good morals as well (or at least it should).

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, as the song goes, one is the loneliest numbers in the world. Jesus is present wherever two or more gather in his name. When we have other Christians with us, and Jesus in our midst, there is a better chance we will be following his commands. Amen.

Pastor Dave