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“Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9.

This October, we get to celebrate one of the most important events to happen in the world in the past 1000 years.  Can you guess it?  Some historians have claimed that it is more important than going into space, the invention of the airplane, or the discovery of America!

One of the most important moments in history is the event in which Martin Luther, a professor and a student of the Bible, nailed 95 theses (or statements) to a church door in Germany.  The church door back then was like our bulletin board today.  He nailed it to the door on October 31^st, All Hallows’ Eve (we call it Halloween) because on the following day people would go to church for worship on All Saints’ Day and see his message.

Back then, Martin Luther, like most Christians at that time, was a practicing Catholic.  But the church grew corrupt.  Church leaders guilted people into buying indulgences which were pieces of paper that excused a person (or their relative) from years spent suffering in purgatory.  The same promise was given when it came to the veneration of relics which were collected by churches and wealthy Christians.  Much of the money the church received went to fund the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

How could such corruption happen?  Most people in those days did not have access to a Bible.  Books written before the invention of the printing press needed to be handwritten copies.  Also, learning to read and write was not as common as it is today.  This meant that church libraries kept their copy of the Bible under lock and key while church services were conducted in the Latin language.

The devil tried to cover the light of God’s message in darkness and ignorance.  Very few people knew about being saved entirely by Jesus.  Thankfully, God blessed Martin Luther will a love of knowledge and gifts for studying language.  As a monk, Luther knew God to be a vindictive God who would justly punish him.  Driven by fear, Luther starved and harmed himself to show sorrow over his sins.  The law reigned in his heart.  But once he was able to read God’s Word and hear about his free salvation by faith in Jesus, the gospel changed everything for him.  Being saved by faith apart from himself gave him relief and joy in God’s Word, which he wished to share with great zeal.

Luther’s 95 statements questioned what the church and the Pope were doing.  Luther didn’t intend to start a new church but to fix the problems.  As a result, many powerful people tried to silence him and other reformers.  But even with his life on the line, Luther held to the truth of God’s Word and shared the gospel of Jesus with others.

The law tells us that we are sinners and can’t save ourselves.  The gospel tells us that Jesus paid for your sins at the cross and rose from the dead to prove that all who believe in him will rise as well and live with him in heaven.  We have been saved by grace alone, by faith alone, by Christ alone, and through Scripture alone.  This good news is for everyone!

We have an exciting Reformation history to learn and to share.  Best of all, we have the history of God saving us through the work of Jesus to learn, to live, and to share.  God bless your October!