Standing Firm: Martin Luther and the Reformation's Legacy

"well hello it's wonderful to be with you again and especially to celebrate uh with you this uh 500th anniversary of the diet of worms and today we're going to talk about an incident that took place in 1521 in the city of worms in germany with martin luther if you think of germany as a circle um worms is in the segment where eight o'clock would be and wittenberg where martin luther lived would be in the segment where two o'clock would be and wittenberg and worms would be 300 miles apart and it would be a two-week journey by cart and some beast of burden to go from wittenberg in the northeast to berms in the southwest well everybody knows about the diet of worms who's remotely familiar with the reformation because of those words of martin luther here i stand i can do no other so help me god amen" [00:00:29]

"it's a moment of resolution it's a moment of courage it's a moment when he stands up for principle that some things are more important than others and one thing is more important than everything else in all the world and that's the purity of the gospel he's standing up for the principles of the reformation solar scriptura in particular uh that his conscience is going to be guided by nothing other than the word of god not um the prejudices of men not the dictates of holy mother church in rome not the intimidation of cardinal johann von ek who was his inquisitor at this diet of worms and a representative of uh the emperor of the holy roman empire charles who was there and present" [00:01:58]

"he was a product of medieval catholic teaching and the way you were saved in medieval rome was through compliance and obedience to the treadmill of the seven sacraments but teaching theology particularly in an era where the catholic church were now selling indulgences for money to raise money for the improvement of buildings and saint peter's especially in rome that buying these indulgences would set you know your aunt maude or your uncle tom who had died and was in purgatory it would set them free and and assure them of eternal life who would not want to buy such an indulgence and not buying an indulgence would equally mess with your conscience but something in martin luther said this is not right this is not right on so many levels but it's not right because it's not in the bible" [00:04:46]

"he had come across this expression in the book of psalms but he'd also come across it in the first chapter of romans that in the gospel the righteousness of god is revealed how in the world was that good news the righteousness of god is his holiness it is his absolute conformity to law it is his conviction that transgression of the law deserves to be punished everything about martin luther's life says he is filled with all manner of sin so how could the gospel manifest reveal the righteousness of god it was an issue that augustine had wrestled with it was an issue that some in the medieval church had wrestled with it was an issue that john calvin had spoken about and would do so later after luther but luther is as it were on his own wrestling with his own conscience by something that he read in the new testament scriptures and that he needed an answer to" [00:06:39]

"he came to understand the glorious doctrine of imputation double imputation the imputation of our sins to jesus and the imputation of his obedience to our account luther was fond as our beloved dr archie rc spruell was also uh fond of that metaphor the righteous robe of christ to put on that robe that covers our sins and covers our transgressions well luther was threatened when he came to understand that he was threatened with excommunication from the church of rome it was a fierce and and notorious threat that came to him and by may a month after the diet of worms he was excommunicated from the church of rome" [00:08:56]

"unless i am convinced otherwise by evidences from scripture or incontestable arguments i remain bound by the scripture i have put forward as long as my conscience is captive to the word of god i neither can nor will recant since it is neither safe nor right to act against conscience god help me amen and then in another account he adds those words here i stand i can do no other so help me god it was a defining moment in history it was a moment when the very reformation itself could have come to a halt it had barely begun it had only formally begun in 1517 with the nailing of those 95 theses but the diet of worms is in many respects even more important than the kindling that was ignited in 1517" [00:12:26]

"what was at stake yes the reformation itself the cleansing of the church the purity of the church the ability to live one's life according to the principles of scripture and scripture alone apart from the dictates of a pope or a roman catholic church or tradition the so-called five solars were at stake solar fide by faith alone apart from works apart from the treadmill of sacramental obedience that so dominated the medieval church sola gratia by grace alone without the cooperative and rewardable actions of the human will we are saved by grace through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of god not of works lest any man should boast" [00:14:17]

"solos christus through christ alone and not through any other intermediary not mary not the prayers of the saints not the prayers of the dead not the efficacy of a requiem mass but through christ and through christ alone there is no other mediator save jesus christ sola scriptura scriptural conscience was so important for luther it would remain an issue in the next century in the 17th century an entire chapter on conscience in the westminster confession in 1645 god's moral voice within what is right and what is wrong what affirms god and what denies god and like a magnet pointing in one direction or another the voice of conscience that luther had heard" [00:15:38]

"to live one's life in every aspect in every part night and day to the glory of god and him alone what's the lesson why should we commemorate the diet of worms in 15 21 500 years later why should we do that because there's a lesson here that some things are more important than others and knowing the difference will make you wise that one thing is more important than anything else in all the world and that is the purity of the gospel to live one's life in obedience to the word of god to the scriptures to the bible god's holy infallible inerrant word" [00:17:05]

"it might be a turning point in your life to be resolute to stand firm to stand strong to stand for jesus to answer the question that's more important than any other question in all the world what must i do to be saved believe on the lord jesus christ and you will be saved paul's response to the philippian jailer in acts chapter 16 here's a man at the end of his tether and he's asking the most important question of all what must i do to be saved and luther in the reformation answered that question faith alone in christ alone apart from the works of the law" [00:18:24]

"that is a defining moment in church history and at that moment martin luther was the apostle paul himself defending the purity of the gospel against all contenders even at the threat of his life" [00:19:20]