Romans 1, verse 17, For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. One of the darkest periods in Europe's long history was the 14th and 15th centuries. Although known as the Renaissance, it was a time of great spiritual corruption and decay. among by the name of Vidric Fri, describing that time. He said, the papal court nourishes every kind of scandal. The priests frequent brothels and taverns, spending their time in drinking and gambling. Indeed, such was the stupendous depravity of the city of Rome itself that Ignatius of Loyola, who was the founder of the Jesuits, was advised not even to enter into it. This corruption was not confined to the laity or even to the lower ranks of the church, but it spread throughout all of her offices. In 1492, Alexander, although guilty of committing murder at the age of twelve, was elected to the papal chair in at least ten illegitimate children and was infamous for his drunken and immoral parties. When Savonarola, a devoted Roman Catholic, sought to reform the Church, he had him arrested and then taken out and publicly hanged. Indeed, Pope Adrian VI was forced to admit in January 1553 concerning the Holy See, everything has, in fact, been perverted. Both Urban VI and Clement VII claimed the people's chair at one time. Drunkness, immorality, blasphemy and mockery pervaded even her most sacred services. And in such a time, God raised up a man by the name of Martin Luther, not only to stand against the corruptions and immoralities of the church, but to stand against her wicked. under vile heresies. And you know, as God raised up Luther to stand in His day. Child of God, He has raised you to stand in this day. To stand even as Luther stood. Maybe you say to me tonight, but the church of Rome, my, has changed. It has changed from the days of Luther. And you know, if we're honest, tonight we have to hold up our hands and we have to say that is right. The Church of Rome most certainly has changed. She is not the same today as she was in the days of Martin Luther. By 1854, Pope Pius IX pronounced the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. Sixteen years later, the Vatican Council pronounced the doctrine of papal infallibility. That is, that when the Pope is upon his throne, he is incapable of making any mistakes. And as recently as 1950, Pope Pius XII declared the bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary. And you see, the difference between the church of Rome in the day of Luther and the church of Rome today is that our heresies are even more vile. And our heresies are even more numerous in the day in which we live. And as God raised up Luther to stand in His day, He has saved you, child of God, not to sleep, but He has saved you to stand. My, to stand against the errors of Romanism, to stand against modernism, to stand against ecumenism and every evil of our day. God has saved you to stand for Him. And so tonight I want to draw your attention to this man, Martin Luther, and to consider just for a little time his life. I want you to firstly think tonight of his childhood. While his birth was not announced by the ringing of cathedral bells or healed by the discharge of cannons, it was marked by certain things. It was marked by praying parents. Originally known as looters, his father and mother were of peasant stock. His father Hans was a woodcutter and he later became a miner. His mother Margaret because of their poverty, was often forced to carry wood upon her back. And although they were poor and disadvantaged, they were devoted to religious duties and to prayer, giving birth to her first son. On the 10th of November, 1483, he was born in Isleburn, which is about 120 miles southwest of modern Berlin. Being born on the eve of St. Martin's Feast, he was called Martin. And you know, his father leaning over his newborn son, he burst into prayer. Lifting up his voice, he prayed, God, make my son as pure as his name. And although he had no riches to give to his son, he gave him something far, far more important. He prayed for him. And you know, the most important thing that a parent can do for his children, my, is to pray for them. To lift them up before the throne of grace in prayer. Jairus' daughter taking ill, we find him immediately making his way there to the Savior. And coming to the Savior, we read in Mark 5, verses 22 and 23, He fell at his feet and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death, I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her. And you know, being burdened for his daughter, we find him coming, we find him beseeching the Lord Jesus Christ. And my friend, as well as schooling your children, you have a responsibility to supplicate for your children. My, to lift them up before the throne of grace, praying for their salvation. How many today, when it comes to education or it comes to my pleasure, they want the very best for their children. They will spare no expense. But you know, the best thing that you can give your son or you can give your daughter is not silver. It's not gold. The best thing that you could ever give them, my, is your prayers. Is your prayers. And I wonder, parent, tonight do you pray for your children? Do you take time every day to cry before the throne of God, praying for their salvation, praying for the blessing of God upon their lives? Now, if you want your son to be a Martin Luther, if you want your daughter to stand for God, then my Luther's parents, you need to pray for them. You need to take time to weep before the throne of grace for their salvation. But not only was his childhood marked by praying parents, but it was also marked by powerful protection. His parents being strict disciplinarians, his early days were not easy. On one occasion, his mother beat him so severely for stealing a nut that his blood ran freely. At the age of 14, he left home to attend a Franciscan school. In those days, When you went to that sort of school, you had to go out into the streets. And after school, you had to beg bread. And at a time of great need, the Lord wonderfully opened up the home of a man by the name of Conrad Cotter, bringing Luther in. He and his wife generously cared and provided for him. They were going to the university in Erfurt. He fell seriously ill. Such was the nature of his illness that he was brought down into the very valley of the shadow of death. And while all hope of survival was taken away, he miraculously survived. On another occasion, coming home from university, he fell upon his own sword, cutting one of his main arteries. His friend running for help, he was convinced that when he would come back, Luther would have bled to death. And although he was just 19 years of age, he had enough sense to reach down and to catch and to hold the knee and arch right. And thus he lived to tell the story. On another occasion, coming from university, he and mine and his closest friend, Alexius, were caught in a terrible storm. Alexius was struck by lightning and killed by his very side. And you see, keeping his hand upon him in those days, God was keeping him. God was preserving him for that day when he would hear the message of the gospel. He would hear, my, the message of salvation. And my friend, it's not by chance you have escaped those near misses, but by design. God has been preserving you for this very night. For this very opportunity, when you would hear the message of the Gospel, you know, Jude taking up his pen and writing his testimony in his epistle, he said in the opening words, preserved in Jesus Christ and called. You notice the order, he was preserved and then he was called. In fact, he was preserved that he might be called. And you know, God has preserved you for this very moment when you would hear the Gospel. It was no accident that that car stopped when it stopped. It was no accident that that illness was discovered at an early stage. God has been watching over you. God has been preserving you. But my, for this very night, my, when you would hear the Gospel, when you would hear of your need of Christ, and hear how Christ can save your soul. Oh, my friend, don't miss this opportunity. Don't misuse it. God was keeping this man. He had great things for him. But not only was it marked by praying parents and powerful protection, but his childhood was marked by popish practices. From a very early age, he showed great academic prospects. Indeed, he earned both his B.A. and his masters in the shortest time allowed by the university. Maya's father wanted him to become a lawyer. However, in July 1505, at the age of 21, an event was to take place in his life that would change the course of his whole path. At the age of 21, returning from university, he was caught in a terrible storm. He was struck by lightning. And my was struck down to the ground. And beholding the greatness of God, he cried out in fear, St. Anne, help me! And I'll become a monk. He prayed to St. Anne because Anne was the patron saint of miners, which was his father's profession. Despite his father's deep disapproval, my Luther, keeping his vow, giving away all of his He entered into an Augustinian monastery on the 17th of August, 1505. Of all monks, he was the most conscientious. He not only engaged in prayers and fastings and ascetic practices such as going without food for many days, bearing bone-chilling coldness and bearing severe beatings, but he did it enthusiastically. In fact, he said himself I was indeed a pious monk and followed the rules of my order more strictly than I can express. If ever a monk entered into heaven by monkish merit, I should have received an entrance therein. In fact, he admitted that if he had continued the way he was living, it would have brought him down to the grave. And yet, despite his prayers, and despite bearing bone-chilling coldness, despite going days without food, he found no peace. And he found no forgiveness. You see, my friend, while religious observances may bring respectability, it does not bring redemption. It can never save or satisfy your soul. Paul said in Romans chapter 3 in the verse 20, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified. You see, salvation does not come through the sufferings of the sinner, but it comes through the sufferings of the Savior. As by His stripes you are healed. You know, a little boy one day came to his mom and he said, Mom, if I be really good, will you pay me? And she looked at him and she said, son, why can't you be good for nothing? Just like your daddy. Well, I want to tell you, my friend, spiritually speaking, you're good for nothing. And it doesn't matter tonight how religious you come. It's never going to save you. It's never going to take away your guilt. It's never going to get you to heaven. Such was Luther's childhood. My God's hand was even upon him in those early days. But I want you to think tonight not just about his childhood, but I want you to think tonight about his conversion. My being troubled more and more about his soul, Luther turned to the confessional and to penance. And seeking to justify himself, the Lord then sent him a witness. The vice-general of the Augustinian order which he entered was a man by the name of John von Stoppard. Indeed, Luther said, if it had not been for Dr. Stoppard's, I would have sunk into hell. And though he was a Romish monk, yet beholding Luther's despair, he urged him to get and to read the Scriptures. On one occasion, speaking to Luther, he said, look at the wounds of Christ. Look to the blood He shed for you. It is there that the grace of God will appear to you. and throwing up his arms, he then continued, throw yourself into the Redeemer's arms and trust Him. And hearing these words and feeling he was not good enough to come to Christ and that he first must become a better man, John von Stoppas harshly rebuked him. He gave Luther a Bible. Luther never had seen a Bible until he was twenty years of age. and rebuking him, stop it said, a better man. Christ came not to save my good man, but sinners. And my friend, Christ shed His blood not for the righteous. He shed His blood for rebels. He came to save sinners. Maybe you say tonight, preacher, if you only knew my life, you wouldn't say that. That may be true of the man who goes to church and does his best and makes the odd little failure in his life. But preacher, if only you knew the way I've lived, if only you knew the thoughts that have come into my mind, you wouldn't say Christ died for me. Listen, my friend, Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners. And there on the road to Damascus, we find him calling the chief of sinners. I came to see of you. Oh, tonight get your eyes of yourself and get your eyes upon the cross. Look away tonight to the Savior. Take the advice of Stoppaths. Get your eyes of yourself. And get your eyes upon the Redeemer. But you know, God only sent him a witness. God sent him a word. Being encouraged by Stoppaths, Luther eventually became professor of the Bible in Wittenberg University. This, of course, forced him to study the Scriptures. His only concern at this time was not the reform of the church, but it was his own soul salvation. Having lectured for some time in the book of the Psalms, then in 1515, he began to lecture in Paul's epistle to the Romans. And in the first chapter, he came to those words in verse 17, the righteousness of God. He said that term stood out as a great, towering mountain before him, blocking his path to heaven. Wondering how he could ever be righteous enough to come before God, he said, it brought him almost to the point of despair. He tried confession. He tried beating himself. He tried going without his food. And then one day, in terrible despair, he read the rest of the verse. And he read the words, the just shall live by faith. And in a moment, he suddenly realized that the righteousness of God was not something to be earned by indulgences, but it was something to be received through faith. And there in simplicity, falling upon his knees and looking away to Calvary by faith, the burden of a sin rolled away. And the righteousness of Jesus Christ became His. You see, my friend, the righteousness of Christ is not a target to be reached. It is a gift to be received. It's imputed by faith. Emphasizing that, Paul said in chapter 5, verse 1, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. And you see, the righteousness of God or salvation, it's not by fervor. It's by faith. It's not of works. Lest any man should boast. You say, Preacher, tonight how can I be saved? Or what do I need to do to get saved? My friend, you're too late. And you're not just a day too late. Or even a month too late. Or even a year too late. You're almost two centuries too late. Christ on the cross took your sin, died in your place, rose for your justification. He did everything. And there's nothing left for you to do but accept the gift of salvation. That's the truth that Luther realized that day. And he accepted the gift. Oh, my friend, have you received the righteousness of Christ? Have you been washed in the blood of the Lamb? Luther was transformed that day. But you know, with his conversion, then there came this conflict. In 1513, Giovanni de' Medici, who had become a cardinal at the age of 13, became Pope Leo X. Within two years of his coronation, he had squandered the vast fortunes left by his predecessors. Seeking to build St. Peter's Basilica and to fund his own lavish lifestyle, he sold over 2,000 church offices. And although that generated over 3 million ducats, it wasn't enough. Seeking to raise more money, he employed a man by the name of John Tetzel. Tetzel was a wicked and vile man. He had been earlier arrested, sentenced to death for crimes that he had committed. And the Pope intervening, he got him out of prison. He got him set free. And he charged him to go into Germany and to sell indulgences. My indulgence was simply a little bit of paper. And when you bought the little bit of paper, it promised you pardon and freedom from the penalty of the law for your sin. In short, what the Pope was doing, he was selling forgiveness. And Tetzel would come into the little villages, banging drums and shouting. And he would shout out as soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs. The price of indulgence has varied from half a florum to 25 florums. For example, if you went out and murdered a man, and you then went to Tetzel, Now, you could, for 37 and a half pence in our money, you could have bought pardon. Now, you could have bought, according to the Pope, freedom from the penalty for your crime before God. In challenging this vile practice, Luther composed his 95 Theses. In composing the Thesis, he then nailed them to the door of the castle church there in Wittenberg. Now, the reason that he nailed them to the doors of the church was because in those days, the door of the church was a notice board for the whole town. These theses might have declared his opposition to the indulgences. For example, number 32 said, those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because the indulgences letters will be eternally damned. Number 36 said any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt even without indulgence letters. You can see even from these two theses that Luther here was not trying to start a new church. He was merely attacking scandalous practices of selling indulgences. Of course, when news got back to the Vatican, the Pope wasn't best pleased. He could see the vast sums of money that he hoped to earn, my, just fading away. And so he sent Luther a papal bull. Now, that wasn't a generous act. He wasn't sending one of those bulls with horns and dressed in green and white. It was a little bit of paper saying to Luther, unless you recant, you're going to be excommunicated from the church. Luther gathered all his students around him and he took the papal bull and he publicly burned it. He was then summoned to the Diet of Worms. And it wasn't that they were all on a diet. The word diet simply means parliament. He was summoned to the parliament by there. And he was there told again to recant. And facing by the emperor's chair, Luther said, unless I can be convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures, or with open, clear, and distinct grounds of reasoning, then I cannot and will not recant. And with great authority, He said, here I stand. I can do no other. You see, He was guided now by the Scriptures. And my friend, the Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice. and not tradition, must be your guide. Remember John in writing unto his dear children in the field, he said in 1 John 4, verse 1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God. And he said try everything by the Scriptures. You see, the Scriptures and not the scholars and not society. on our guidance. We're to be directed by the Word of God. Often people come along and they say, well, you know, my forefathers did this, or our forefathers did that, or our forefathers did not do this, or our forefathers did not do that. Let me tell you, my friend, that is Pope right. We're not to be guided by what tradition says. We're to be guided by the Word of God. I wonder tonight in that sense, are you a true Protestant? When there's decisions to be made in your life, do you look to what others do? Or my friend, do you look to the Word of God? Do you seek to be guided by the Scriptures? Luther was guided only by the Word of God. May God help us to make this book our guide in every situation in life. But not only his conflict, there was his contribution. As well as a reformer, Luther was a translator. Following the diet of worms, he gave himself to the translating of the Scriptures. During a time of forced confinement, he translated the whole of the New Testament in eleven weeks. That's a staggering 1,500 words every single day. It was not an inferior translation. In fact, we owe much of our English Bible to the work done by Martin Luther. He then formed a translating committee and they translated the Old Testament. By when it was finished, it was the most sought book in the whole of Germany. And being read in homes, it not only changed lives, but you know, it changed the very way that people spoke. In their language, they used the very language of the Scripture. What was the secret of Luther? What was the secret of the Reformation? It was giving the people the Word of God in their own language. And I want to tell you, my friend, you want to see Reformation, you want to see revival in our day, then we need to get the Word of God out. We need to get God's Word into the hands of men and women. It's not our words that challenge man. It's not our words that brings conviction and brings conversion. It's the Word of God. Luther got the people the Word of God in their own language. He was not only a translator, he was a writer. By the end of his life, he had written 60,000 pages. However, he said, he hoped all my books would disappear and the Holy Scriptures alone be read. You see, he put the Bible above every other thing. And that's a true Protestant. A true Protestant puts the Bible above everything. The true Protestant always says the Bible is right. The Bible is true. Not only was he a translator and a writer, he was a husband. Overthrowing the popish doctrine of celibacy, he married Catherine von Bora, a former nun, on the 13th of June, 1525. And getting married, he said, with my wedding, I have made the angels to laugh and I have made the old devil to weep. He had six children. They had a very happy family home. And perhaps that was even a source of courage and strength to him in his life. He was also a musician. My, he had a fine voice and he loved playing the lute. Believing that God had not only given the gift of language, but He had given the gift of music. He encouraged the people to sing. In fact, up to the Reformation, the ordinary people gathering for worship never sang. It was Luther that introduced congregational singing. What a legacy he left. He left the people with the Word of God in their own language. He left the people, my, with 60,000 pages of material, my, to guide them. He left, my, the people with an example to follow in his life. But I wonder, my friend, if death was to come, what sort of legacy would you leave? What sort of legacy would you leave for those falling after you. Luther left by his life a great wealth for those to come. But not only was there his contribution, there was his conclusion. Right to the end of his life, the church of Rome, Amai attacked and sought to slander his reputation. Long before he died, they spread the story throughout the whole of Italy that Luther had died in terrible agonies while receiving The Last Sacrament. And being buried, they said there were such terrible noises out of his grave that they had to dig open his grave. And when they opened his grave, lo and behold, there was no body there. It was gone. And all they could smell was sulfur. But I want to tell you, my friend, that was far from the truth. Luther died in 1546 at the age of 63. And rather than going out into eternity in terrible agonies, he went out rejoicing in his Savior and rejoicing in the truth that he had proclaimed his whole life. And though Luther is dead over 450 years, yet he being dead still speaketh to us. And what is Luther's message to you? What is Luther's message to me tonight? My friend, it's very simple. It's the words of the Scripture. The just shall live. by faith. You see, my friend, if you want to live and you want to die like Luther died, then like Luther, you need to come to that place where you realize you can't save yourself. You can't work your way into the good books of God. You need to come to that place where you look away from yourself and you look away to the Christ's finish atoning work and you trust and trust alone. That's the only way of salvation. That's the only way to heaven. That was the key message of the Reformation. What is God's message to you? That just shall live by faith. If you want to live and not perish, then you need to come by simple faith unto me. Oh my friend, will you not come tonight? Will you not look away to Calvary's cross? and lose the burden of your sin. And if you are a child of God tonight, will you not pray, God, make me a Lutheran. Give me the courage. Give me the faith of Luther. Help me to stand in my day. Help me to be guided alone by the book. And to stand for Christ no matter the cost. Looking not for this world, but looking to the world. that is to come. May God help us, may God help us to be like Luther, to be reformers in our day and to pass that glorious heritage on to the generations that are yet to come.