A look at the perseverance of the early church, and encouragement to endure to the end.

Hartland Fall Conference 2017: The Divine Right to Rule

<p>A look at the perseverance of the early church, and encouragement to endure to the end.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Hartland Institute of Health and Education

Armando Lopez

The Reformation and the Cost of the Truth

This morning, I would like to study God's Word with you.

And 500 years ago, 1517, a German monk by the name of Martin Luther nailed the 95 thesis on the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenberg, in the city of Wittenberg.

Now, traditionally, this event is celebrated on October 31st.

This is held as the day that this actually took place.

And many Lutherans and other Protestants observed this day in their calendar.

Now today most Lutheran churches, they transfer the festival to fall on the Sunday before October 31st.

Now I believe most of you are familiar with this history of the Reformation, of what Luther did, you know, the nailing of the 95th thesis, how and how this set forward, it set in motion the Reformation.

And we won't review all of that history this morning, but I do want to ask you to reflect upon some of these events that took place there, and just ask yourself the following question.

What was it that drove Luther to write this paper which set in motion this powerful reformation there in Europe?

What was it that drove Luther to do this?

Did he think this would help, this would become a good business venture?

Did he want a denomination named after himself?

A Dominican friar by the name of Johann Tetzel, he was in town and he was proclaiming serious falsehoods, error, and this is what drove Luther to then stand up and proclaim what was true.

Luther's mind had experienced an extraordinary transformation through the study of God's Word, the study of Scripture.

This had had a profound effect on his experience.

And I want to submit to you this morning that if we are going to stay true to the Reformation, we need to remain in the Word of God.

If we don't, our minds will be molded by the world.

The moment you turn from the Word of God, something else will begin to shape the way you think, the way you feel, the way you view reality.

And you know this is part of the Christian duty to resist this molding of the world.

Turn in your Bibles, open your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 12.

In Romans chapter 12, Paul is writing, and After beseeching the brethren to present their bodies as a living sacrifice to God, he says in Romans 12, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." You and I need to resist being molded by the world.

That word, that word there, conformed, it means to conform oneself, one's mind, one's character to another pattern.

And this is what Paul was saying, don't be conformed.

Again, the world has far-reaching effects on people's minds, on people's beliefs, their behaviors, their values, all of it is being shaped by the world through culture, through politics, through media, through Hollywood, all of these different avenues.

The world is shaping our minds the way we think.

We need to resist this and we need our minds to be transformed and renewed by the Word of God.

It's not enough just to study the Word of God, because in order to truly appreciate God's Word, you need spiritual discernment.

You know, in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 55, Isaiah 55 verse 8 and 9, The Bible tells us clearly why we need to change the way we think.

God is speaking here in verse 8, He says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." God's way of viewing the world, God's way of thinking, God's way of acting is different.

And we will only come in harmony with that, we will only be able to prove what is that good and acceptable will of God if we experience a renewal of our mind.

The truth he found in God's Word is what sparked the Reformation.

We need that same revival to take place in our lives through the study of God's Word so that the Reformation can continue in our lives, in our church, in our homes, in our families.

Ellen White talks about revival and reformation and she tells us in the book Christian Service page 42 that these are 2 distinct things even though they should work in harmony with 1 another.

Revival and reformation are 2 different things.

Revival signifies a renewal of spiritual life, a quickening of the powers of the mind, heart, a resurrection from spiritual death.

Reformation signifies reorganization, a change in ideas and theories, habits and practices.

He experienced a revival and he experienced a reformation, but both of them came from the word of God.

Have you ever wondered why we don't see more revival and reformation taking place today?

And why is it actually that there's this tendency of actually drawing back, of going back instead of forward?

I want to submit to you a reason, 1 reason for your consideration, and I'll do it by telling you a story, a story that we find here in the Word of God.

We will look at 2 different stories that illustrate the same point, but they take place in 2 different points in a person's experience.

He has been taken by the people, the chief priests, and the rulers have brought Jesus before Pilate, And they want him to be killed.

But it's outside of their power, their jurisdiction to actually kill Jesus, so they have to come and get authorized from the Roman ruler, Pilate.

And verse 29 says, Pilate went out unto them and said, what accusations bring ye against this man?

They answered and said unto him, if he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him unto thee.

Then Pilate said unto him, take ye them and judge him according to your law.

The Jews therefore said unto him, it is not lawful for us to put any man to death.

That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.

Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again and called Jesus and said unto him, Art thou the king of the Jews?

Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell thee of me?

Thine own nation and chief priests have delivered thee unto me.

What hast thou done?' So Pilate is trying to figure out what crimes is this man guilty of?

And you know Pilate could see that there was something different in Jesus.

He could see that he wasn't a hardened criminal.

And in his mind he begins trying to see if he could persuade the Jews not to kill him.

He told the Jews that he has found no fault in Jesus.

He says you have in verse 39, but we have a, ye have a custom that I should release unto you 1 at the Passover.

Will ye therefore that I release unto you the king of the Jews?

He thought, well, this might be the way of releasing Jesus.

But the people cried again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas.

John tells us, but now Barabbas was a robber.

But Pilate, he kept trying, you know, truth was working upon his mind, working upon his heart, he was struggling to do the right thing.

Have you ever been in a situation where you know what is the right thing to do, but there's this struggle to actually do it.

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The Reformation and the Cost of the Truth

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