31/10/2008

• HAPPY REFORMATION DAY!!!

  Unbeknownst to most Christians, October 31 is Reformation Day, which has often been overshadowed by the pagan “holy day”  Halloween.  Reformation Day is not a holy day according to Scripture and thus not obligatory on the Church or on men's consciences, but I personally celebrate it in thanksgiving to God for the Reformation.

  On October 31, 1517; our bold brother Rev. Dr. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg Castle Church door and thereby started the (Protestant) Reformation.   By 1517, our Lord’s Church had many ceremonies and worship innovations (indulgences, the Church above Scripture, Salvation through faith and works, holy days to Mary and the saints, saint worship, Mary worship, &c.) that had and still have no basis/warrant in Scripture and thereby have no rightful place in the Church or the Christian life.    (The counter-response to the Reformation by Roman Catholicism was the Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent, which effectively sealed the apostasy of the Roman Catholic part of our Lord’s Church by dogmatizing salvation through faith and works, Church Tradition being equal to the Bible in infallibility, and other atrocious teaching and practices.  Even today, the Roman Catholic Church remains apostate.)

  The true Gospel and Christ’s Kingship was at stake in the Reformation, and thousands have given their lives to protect the Gospel and Christ’s Kingship during the Reformation in Europe, the related Inquisitions in France and Spain, the related Killing Times in Scotland, and even today in closed nations (China, Iran, Vietnam, etc.).

  The Reformation’s purpose was and always has been to return the Church to its pure, unadulterated form found during the time of Jesus and the Apostles.     (Just as we individuals are imperfect sinners though saved by God’s Grace, the Church is imperfect in the same respect.   Hence, the continual need to reform the Church until Christ comes again.)   For more information on Reformation Day and the continuing Reformation:

  http://www.stpaulskingsville.org/reformation.htm (FAQ’s on Reformation Day answered by a conservative Lutheran church)

  http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/MP3-Audio--Multimedia/Celebrate-Reformation-Day/ (from Monergism, a conservative Christian site)

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_Day (from Wikipedia)

  Halloween, other “holy days”, and man-made worship innovations have no support/basis/warrant in Scripture and hence no place in the Church or Christian life according to conservative view of the (Presbyterian) Regulative Principle of Worship.    Hence, I personally do not celebrate or observe those things.

  On Sola Fide against those who claim faith is still in salvation by Grace through faith and works:

  In the New Testament (especially Romans 1-9, Romans 11, Ephesians 2, and Galatians),  claiming works to save us nullifies God’s Grace and by necessary implication, also nullifies and completely devalues Faith.  Therefore, salvation through faith and works is really salvation by works alone despite what faith-and-works-based people may erroneously claim about still having faith in the equation.   As the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah said, “our righteous works are filthy rags”.  Works show that we have love for God and living faith, but they, being imperfect due to sin, always fall short of God’s glory and can never save us in whole or in part. 

  • 20:34
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