The Word of the Lord is found in Jeremiah chapter 6 and verse 16, the five solas of the Reformation, the solas that pierced the darkness. Jeremiah 6 verse 16, Thus says the Lord, Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is. and walk in it, then you will find rest for your souls." This is the Word of God. The Protestant Reformation was launched by Professor Martin Luther 500 years ago to this day in Wittenberg. And his doctrine was summarized in the five solas, the five battle cries of the Reformation. Jeremiah 6.16 tells us to stand in the way and to see and ask for the old paths, the paths of excellence, the examples of excellence, those truths that have endured through the furnace and the fires of affliction and persecution. To see where the good way is, that which is proven to be God-honoring and biblically faithful. So often people are enamored with that which is new, but There is something so much more wonderful in the old, tried, tested, battle-tried, proven in the crucible of the furnace of affliction. The first of the great solas which rallied the Reformation and which encapsulates what the Reformation stands for is sola scriptura. Scripture alone is our ultimate authority. All authority is limited authority. All authority is delegated by God and is answerable to God. Our Lord Jesus said to Pontius Pilate, you would have no authority unless it had been given to you from above. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. Scripture is the truth that sets us free. It is the sword of the Spirit. God's Word is sharper than any double-edged sword. It is the sword of the Spirit. God's Word is our milk and our meat. It is our daily bread. It is spiritual seed. It never returns void. It is incorruptible seed. The Word of God is a lamp to our feet. It is a light to our path. It is a solid rock foundation which can enable us to survive the storms and the floods of life. The word of God is a hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces. It is like a fire that burns within our hearts. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth, said our Lord Jesus. The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy. Its precepts are binding. Its histories are true. Its decisions are immutable. Read the Bible to be wise. Believe it to be saved. Practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, spiritual food to sustain you, and comfort to encourage you in the darkest times. The Bible is the traveler's map. It is the pilgrim's staff. It is the pilot's compass. It is the soldier's sword. It is the Christian's charter. It is our Magna Carta, the great charter. Here, paradise is restored. Here, heaven is opened and the gates of hell are defeated. The Bible is the greatest book ever written. It is the most widely read book in all of history. It is the most translated book in all of history. It has continued to be the number one best-selling book of all time. It is the most valuable book in the world. One copy of a Gutenberg Bible sold a while ago for over five million pounds. One copy of a, and there's only two in existence, One of the only two copies in survival of the original 6,000 New Testaments printed into English from the Tyndale Bible because the others were all captured, intercepted and burned by order of the Bishop of London. But one of those New Testaments of Tyndale's Bible printed in English was sold recently for 5.75 million pounds. Is there another book in the world that can compare with the Bible in any sense? It is the most valuable book in the world. The Bible is the most inspiring book in the world. It is the most important book ever written. There is no question that the Bible is the most life-changing book in all of history. The Word of our God stands forever. The Bible has inspired the greatest literature you could not even begin to imagine. Pilgrim's Progress without the Bible, or even Shakespeare, or Charles Dickens without the Bible, the biblical worldview and imagery which completely inspires all of it. Jane Austen's work without the Bible would be unthinkable. The Bible has inspired the greatest literature, the greatest art. The greatest artistic masterpieces in the world are on biblical themes done by artists who are informed by biblical worldview. The greatest achievements in architecture, the cathedrals, completely inspired by the Bible and for the glory of God. The age of exploration, the age of missions, the rule of law, the separation of powers, checks and balances in representative government, All these, the sanctity of life and so much more, we can thank the Lord for the Bible which is a fountain of inexhaustible treasures of blessings. It is to the Bible that we owe the legacy of the rule of law. Lex Rex, the law is king. Charity, liberty, justice have all been inspired by the Bible itself. My heart stands in awe of your word, says the psalmist. The Bible is the chief moral cause of all that is good in our society. The Bible is the inspiration of all that is good in this world and it is the best corrective of all that is evil in the world. Every problem in the world derives from ignoring the Bible or disobeying its precepts and commands. The Bible is the only infallible guide for everyday life. It is the source of all wise laws. It is a living power which conquers all who oppose it. As it has been said, the Bible is the anvil which has worn out many hammers. Many people have tried to dedicate their life to destroying the Bible and many of them have been converted to Christ as a result. No wonder Professor Martin Luther could say My conscience is captive to the word of God. Here I stand. The word of God is infallible. To the law and to the testimony, if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them, says Isaiah in chapter 8 and verse 20. If they do not speak in accordance to this word, there is no light in them. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. They received the Word of God with all readiness, we read, of the Bereans. And the Bereans were more noble than the rest because they searched the Scriptures daily to see if the things that the Apostle Paul taught was true. This is the picture of a true Christian, one who does not take the word of their pastor or prophet, apostle, archbishop, whatever. They search the Scriptures to see what the Scripture says. We are to be Bible Christians first and foremost. As Martin Luther says, a simple Christian, armed with a scripture, has more authority than all the popes and cardinals and bishops without the scripture. With the Bible, the ploughman can know more of the Word of God than the priests of Rome. Truth conquers. We need to go back to the Bible. We need to hold fast the faithful word as we have been taught, that we may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convict those who contradict. That is what Titus said we are to do. Holding fast to the faithful word of God, so that we can by sound doctrine exhort, encourage and convict those who contradict the word and the will of God. The entrance of your word gives light. It gives understanding to the simple. And so this is one of the great solas, the five solas, the battle crowns of the Reformation that shattered the darkness. Post tenebrus lux, after the darkness, light. It's the scripture that brought light. The second of the great solas is sola gratia, salvation is by the grace of God alone. God saves sinners. God alone saves sinners. God completely saves sinners. God saves sinners. His mercy, His undeserved favor, that is what saves sinners. And faith is a gift of God, lest any man shall boast. Ephesians 2 verse 8 says, For by grace ye have been saved through faith. and that is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." There is no room for pride. This is why so many people hate the Reformed faith. This is why so many people hate what they call Calvinism or Lutheranism. They hate this teaching that we contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that made it necessary. There is no room for pride. We used to speak, I remember as a new Christian, saying that I found God. Well, what nonsense is that? God was never lost. I was the one who was lost. God found me. I didn't choose God. God chose me. I was dead in my trespasses and sins. And I know this to be true in my own experience. I was brought up in a secular family. We never went to church. We never went Even on Christmas Day, we didn't pray about anything. We never read the Bible in our home. And yet, at our school in Rhodesia, we sang hymns. There was Bible reading and prayer and hymn singing every day in the school. And nothing entered me, not a spiritual thought or concept had entered my mind before the 3rd of April, 1977. When I went to a cinema, hoping to see a film, not realizing cinemas in South Africa were closed on Sundays, because in Rhodesia we did have cinemas on Sundays, but in honour of the Lord's Day all shops and cinemas and entertainment was closed on Sundays in honour of the Lord's Day. I went to the cinema and I heard the gospel proclaimed on this Sunday. Rex Matthew was preaching, he laid out what Christ had done for me and he said, what have you ever done for Christ? And I knew the answer was nothing, absolutely nothing. I'd not so much as thanked God for life itself. Despite what I'd heard about my parents going through the wars and my mom enduring 62 aerial bombardments in Berlin, I knew nothing about spiritual gratitude. I'd never thanked God for saving my parents' life or mine. My mother said, I've been in and out of hospital many times in the first five years. In fact, she'd been told to have an abortion because she had been taking thalidomide and there was no doubt I'd be born deformed and there was no way that I could be allowed to be born. And so in St. Joseph's Hospital in Pines, what today is Vincent Pilotti Hospital, the doctors told my mother, you must abort him. She chose to call for a chaplain and had him pray and went ahead. And whilst a lot of my children were not meant to have arms and legs and all the rest of it, the doctors were wrong. God intervened. But I'd never even thanked God for that. Nothing. But that night as I went forward, not only was I converted, but I was called to missions. And from the next day on, as we sang hymns in school, which was suddenly, I'd sung some of these hymns dozens of times before, and suddenly every verse was just full of the Word of God and the treasures of Christ. And I remember being overwhelmed in tears, just absolutely struck sometimes on my knees in church, because the impact of things that I've been hearing and singing for years, but it had never ever impacted my heart until then. But as my spiritual eyes and hearts were opened, and one who was dead in his trespasses and suddenly became alive and sensible to the things of God, I found the Word of God everywhere. And it would be strange even when I was in Baptist Theological College, we'd sing our way through the hymn books every day. Suits, ties, jacket, academic robes for every chapel every day, interesting accolades have changed since, and we used to sing the hymns. And regularly we'd get to a hymn in the book that no one knew, and they said, does anyone know how this hymn goes? And invariably I knew how the hymn went, because as a pagan, I had sung that hymn in school of Egypt, and now I was singing it, leading them in a hymn that I'd never sung as a Christian. And being overwhelmed, having trouble keeping, because suddenly the meaning of these hymns was so powerful. That's an example I know from my own life that I know what it is to be dead in my trespass and sins. I know what it is to be made alive through Christ. So the first time I met Dr. James Kennedy at Coleridge Presbyterian Church, the first question he asked me, he said, Peter, what comes first, repentance or regeneration? Without hesitation, I said, regeneration. He smiled and said, ah, you must be a Calvinist. You see, the Arminian way of thinking is we exercise our faith in God, we repent of our sins, we put our faith in Christ, and then he rewards us by regenerating us. That's not the biblical teaching. The biblical teaching is we are dead in our trespasses and sins. Faith is a gift of God. We are not saved by ourselves, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, let anyone should boast. And so, when we understand that regeneration precedes repentance and faith, then we understand, I didn't find God, He found me. I didn't choose God, He chose me. Salvation is all of God. And this leaves no room for pride. And that is why so many people hate it. I was lost, but now I'm found. Was dead, was blind, but now I see. By God's grace and mercy, he regenerated me by a sovereign will. And from this grace, this work of grace, repentance and faith flowed. Regeneration precedes repentance and faith. Salvation is all of God and that is why Rezaan was leading us to sing amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a rich like me. I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. Grace can be seen to stand for God's riches at Christ's expense. G-R-A-C-E. God's riches at Christ's expense. That is grace. having been born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible through the word of God which lives and abides forever that's the second of the solas sola scriptura sola gratia and then sola fide sola fide solely by faith nothing in my hands I bring simply to thy cross I cling our righteousness is as filthy rags As George Whitfield said, works, works, I could sooner climb to the moon on a rope of sand as gain heaven through works. We have a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay. Justification is received by faith alone. Faith can be seen to stand for forsaking all, I trust him, faith. Upon a life, I did not live. Upon a death, I did not die. Another's life, another's death. I trust my whole eternity. That is the third of the great solas. Sola Scriptura, Sola Gracia, Sola Fide. And the fourth is Solus Christus. Christ alone is the head of the church. Christ alone is the only mediator between God and man. We are lost. Jesus is the way. We are deceived. Jesus is the truth. We are dead in our trespasses. Jesus is the life. Jesus does not just know the way. He is the way. He does not just teach the truth. He is the truth. Jesus does not just have life. He is life. Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. For there is only one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. the author and the finisher, the perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God the Father. In Christ alone, no guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me. Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied, for every sin on him was laid, here in the death of Christ I live that is why we can sing on Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand Christ alone solus Christus that is the fourth and the fifth of the solus is soli deo gloria if you have a one ring coin you should notice It is there, this Latin fifth solo of the Reformation, Soli Deo Gloria. That was the motto of the blessed Dr. Andrew Murray. If you go to his tomb in Wellington, you'll see Soli Deo Gloria written on his tomb in front of the church in Wellington. And it's on our coins. Praise God, it's on our coins. Every rand should be spent to the glory of God alone. Everything must be done for the glory of God alone. Psalm 115 says, not unto us, not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name give glory, because of your mercy, because of your truth. Our greatest priority is to love God with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, and with all of our strength. All. Not some of, not most of. God demands all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. True love is measured by sacrifice. We know how much we love someone, but how much we're willing to give up for them. We are to fear God alone. That's the name of one of the books on the reconnaissance commander. We fear naught but God. If you fear God, you're freed from the fear of man. And actually man is a tyrant, and the devil is a hard taskmaster. And if you want to try and please people, You will find it's got many whips and scourges. But if we fear God, we find it's liberating. God's yoke is easy. His burden is light. The fear of the Lord is pure, and it endures forever. Our motivation must be to do everything to the honor of God alone. And this is the reason why we do not generally applaud sermons or worship services. During a worship service, it's not the same as a concert in a town hall. and I found it quite disturbing during the Reformation conference that I was running in California at the end of sermon on Sunday morning to have applause and honestly it felt like a dagger in my heart not unto us, no, this isn't being done for man's approval, it's being done for the Lord's honour and it's disturbing for anyone when you find a service that's been given as unto the Lord received as though it was something like we read in In the Scriptures, Jeremiah is saying that God's people listen to your words like they're listening to a beautiful song. That's not the intention. What is the chief end of man? As John Clift was reminding us yesterday, as he was dealing with the need of Reformation Day, the chief end of man, according to Westminster Confession of Faith, is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, to worship Him forever. Therefore, whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God, which is why we pray before our meals, which is why we seek to honour the Lord before every major event and to trust Him. To God be the glory, great things He has done, so lovely the world that He gave us this Son. These five solas, which emerged from the Reformation, encapsulate the theological convictions of the Reformers about the essentials of Christianity. These battle cries were an attempt to call Christians back to the original message of our Lord Jesus Christ that you find in the Gospels, back to the message of the early Church that you find in the Book of Acts, that you find in the epistles of the New Testament. They challenge us about our motivations. Why are we doing it? Who are we serving? They call us to be more Bible-based. They call us to be more Christ-centered, to be more faithful and more grateful, as we boldly stand for Christ and fight the good fight of faith, seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Is your conscience captive to the Word of God? Are you building your life on the rock-solid foundations of the Word of Almighty God? Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it. Let us pray. Lord God, on this historic day, in this historic time and place, we give you thanks for the Word of God which you have given us, the solid foundation, milk and meat for our soul, our daily bread, our sword for the fight. Thank you, Lord God, for this Word which burns within our hearts. this great weapon and treasure, this fountain of blessings that you have provided us with. We thank and praise you, Lord God, for the Bible in our own languages and how we pray, Lord God, that you would make us more biblical, more faithful to your word, more bold and brave in your service of proclaiming your word and applying it in our daily lives. We thank you, Lord God, for faithful servants of yours, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, William Tyndale, other great and wonderful saints of yours, servants and soldiers, sons and daughters, who have endured, who have been steadfast, who have prevailed, who have even given their lives for your word. We thank you, Lord God, for this immense Christian heritage we have. And we pray, Lord God, that you would help us as we build our lives on your word. that we would be more fruitful, that we would be more effective in your service, deepen our faith and broaden our vision. Help us, Lord God, as we work for reformation, as we pray for revival, as we lay solid foundations for future generations. We thank you for the last 500 years of the Reformation, and we trust you for even more in the next 500 years. We pray it in Jesus' precious and holy name. Amen.