Luther’s Conversion—Its Relation to His Work

-
It was at one time not unusual to consider that Luther, as a reformer, was born into life, so to speak, in connection with that outrageous business, the sale of indulgences through Germany, by the command of Leo X, with a view ostensibly to obtain money for the completion of St. Peter’s in Rome. It was previous to this, however, that he made that memorable journey to the Papal City which was disclosed to him in the nearer view afforded, the enormous corruption of the Papacy, and in which, as he was painfully climbing the scala sancta in Rome, those words came to him with such power, “The just shall live by His faith.” And it was still earlier than this that, in the library of the monastery at Erfert, he had taken in his hand for the first time a copy of the Bible, and there at its very source found the water of life. It was still earlier that, seeing a companion slain at his side by a stroke of lightning, he was roused to think of death and eternity, becoming from that hour an anxious seeker until he found peace in believing. Thus he was first a Christian before he was a reformer, and we do not reach the momentous lesson of his whole history if we fail to realize the fact that he was a reformer because he was a Christian.

Popular posts from this blog

The Spiritual Skeleton

-
An old fable tells of a man cursed with the power of seeing other human beings, not in the beauty of flesh and blood, but as skeletons gaunt and grisly. Some saints seem to have taken upon themselves this curse. Do you feel that you are the only one who is right with the Lord—that everybody else is a spiritual skeleton because he is not of the same denominational stripe or has not the same scruples of conscience as you? Take him or her into your circle of believers as Paul did, as long as they are calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Read more

Can’t Dispute Facts

-
What does the criticism of others do to our inner self? Take the case of Col. George Washington Goethals. While contending with the manifold problems of geography and climate in the building of the Panama Canal, he had to endure the carping criticism of countless busybodies back home who freely predicted he would never complete his task. But he pressed steadily forward in his work and said nothing. “Aren’t you going to answer your critics?” a subordinate inquired. “In time,” Goethals replied. “How?” The great engineer smiled. “With the canal,” he said.
Read more