Title: Faith alone (1)/Romans 1:16,17
Content Only Faith (1)
Romans 1:16,17
The last Sunday in October is Reformation Sunday. That's why we selected October as the month of reform. Reformation literally means to renew form. Over the next four hours, we will deal with the issue of the Reformation.
It is a fact acknowledged by everyone in all ages that when religion is corrupted, society is corrupted, and when religion is corrupted, society as a whole is corrupted. The reason is that religion is the spiritual heart of the time and the social conscience of a nation.
When we look closely at our country's history, we can't help but think of the three religions that dominated the nation's spirit and consciousness. Patriotism Buddhism in the Goryeo Dynasty, Confucianism in the Joseon Dynasty, and Christianity from the liberation to the present.
1. The Reformation teaches us only the principle of faith.
One day in 1510, two German monks went to Rome of their dreams and began to climb the stairs of the Lateran Cathedral on their knees. This was to build up goodness and virtue through their own penance and discipline. One of them was Martin Luther. He was a devout monk and one who knelt and prayed once a day. He was a man who fasted frequently and constantly tried to accumulate good deeds and virtues in order to be saved. On that day too, the moment I climbed the stairs to be saved, the words of Romans 1:17, “The righteous shall live by faith” (cf. Hab 2:4) captured my heart like a flash of light. Luther jumped up from the stairs at that moment. He came to accept the word that he was saved by faith alone. This is the principle of Sola fide of the Reformation. This is where the doctrines of Lee Shin-deuk-ui and Lee Sin-deuk-gu (以信得救) of Reformism began.
The doctrine that we are justified by faith alone, and that faith alone leads to salvation!
Romans and Galatians are Protestant catechisms. The word "by faith" is repeated dozens of times here.
Hebrews 11 is the chapter of faith and records the actions of 16 heroes of faith. Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain in faith, and Enoch walked with God in faith and went to the kingdom of God without seeing death. Noah prepared the ark for 120 years by faith, looking forward to what was to come, and Abraham did not know where he was going when he was called by God. By faith, Sarah also obtained Isaac from a body that resembled a dead person, and other heroes of faith such as Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel were justified by faith.
2. The Reformation teaches us only the principle of grace.
At that time, the Roman Church sold atonement tokens called indulgences. According to the law of the Sacrament of Confession, there was an act of penance imposed according to the seriousness of the sin to be confessed. In the Middle Ages, indulgences were not a good option for those unable to practice penitential acts (pilgrimage, rosary, fasting, etc.). In Luther's time, a Dominican monk who visited Germany sold indulgences under the coaxing theory that it relieved the suffering of purgatory. They say they repaired Peter's Basilica by selling indulgences, but the church cannot solve our sin problem.
We are saved from sin, not with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:18,19). How can the issue of atonement and salvation be solved with money or indulgences?
Accordingly, on October 31, 1517, Luther posted the 95 theses of protest to the main gate of the church in Wittenberg, and pointed out the unbiblical injustice of selling indulgences to the authorities of the Roman church. The problem of sin cannot be solved with money. No one can be saved by such means as indulgences. We receive the forgiveness of sins and salvation through faith only by the grace of God. Where there is no God's grace, there is no salvation. God's grace is mercy and compassion toward sinners. God's grace and love were demonstrated at the cross. Only by the grace of God! Only with God's love! Only by the mercy of God! Only by God's mercy!
Hymn 338 praises the grace like this.
"The Lord, who existed before, saves souls from eternal death with precious blood. His love is limitless."
The Lord shed His blood on the cross to wash away my sins.
I also know that Korea is being protected by God's grace. The intercession of many prayer warriors is preventing the ravages of war from happening again. God hears and answers the prayers of Korean believers. Without God's grace, we cannot be saved, we cannot live a peaceful life, we cannot live a victorious life.
3. The Reformation teaches us only the principles of the Bible.
With regard to the issue of church authority, the New and Old Catholics have different views. The Catholic Church (Roman Church) has a tradition based on the authority of the Bible. Traditions include the documents of the Fathers, the official confessions of the church councils, the official speeches and teachings of the Pope. The Church of Rome still believes in the papal inerrancy. The Pope says there is no error in what he said in the name of the papacy. On the other hand, Protestantism places its final authority on the Bible, the Word of God. This is the principle of 'Only the Bible' of the Reformation.
The papal inerrancy is an unbiblical claim. Even Catholic theologian Hans K ng objected to this doctrine of the Roman Church. How in the world can a man be perfect and infallible? There is no one righteous in this world, not even one (Romans 3:10). The Pope of Rome is no exception.
The Bible is the infallible and absolute final authority and norm for our faith. Only the Bible can give us the final answer as to how we should believe and how we should live. So it's called final authority. The Bible is a guide for life and a traveler's atlas.
Last time I made a mistake in finding the meeting place. I took the wrong way and drove an hour and a half towards Detroit without going to Grand Rapids. So I stopped the car, looked at the map book, and took directions.
Am I on the right track now? Am I not going in the wrong direction? We must constantly self-correct, looking at the atlas of the soul that guides our path. Reformed faith is the attitude of humbly asking Heavenly Father before the Word.
Only the Bible is our standard document. Therefore, the Presbyterian Church asks the first question about the confession of faith in the Bible at the installation ceremony. "Do you believe that the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, and the only infallible rule of faith and duty?"
Faith alone, grace alone, and the Bible alone are the truths rediscovered by the Reformer Martin Luther. These are the three principles of the Reformation. We must keep these principles in our hearts and walk the path of faith that is more and more faithful to the truth of the Bible.