1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of words, or of wisdom, showing unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I esteemed not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was among you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 Neither stood my word, and my preaching in the enticing speech of man’s wisdom, but in plain evidence of the Spirit and of power.
5 That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (1599 Geneva Bible)
Martin Luther is considered the “Lighting rod of the Protestant Reformation.” It was through his battle with the Roman Catholic Church that the doctrine of salvation through Justification by Grace through Faith alone was recovered and from that, many Christian martyrs went to their deaths refusing to compromise their faith by denying the truth of knowing Jesus Christ and Him crucified based not upon the wisdom of men, but on the power of God….
So much of the pressure being brought to bear upon Christians in our time is to not be so precise in our theology but be more willing to “compromise” along doctrinal grounds for the sake of “unity.” The “mega-church” model is based precisely upon never offending anyone, but being non-threatening and willing to be all things to all people in order to attract everyone, but to what?
Those of us who understand God’s Doctrine of Salvation to be centered upon his glory and based entirely within his sovereignty also understand that those in Christ are there because of God’s Sovereign election, his drawing us to Christ, regenerating us unto a living faith and then justifying us by his grace through that faith which is his gift to all those Christ bought with his blood at the Atonement at the Cross. We deserved nothing. We did nothing to earn this. We do nothing to deserve or keep it. However, according to Ephesians 2:10 we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Also, in Philippians 2:12 we are commanded to be obedient to all of Christ’s commands as we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Then in Romans 12:1,2 we are commanded to be living sacrifices, to be living our lives in spiritual worship, to be transformed through the renewal of our minds. This is our sanctification. <Continue reading post>