According to a 2010 Pew Forum on Religion report, 53 percent of Christians in the US did not know that Martin Luther was the person who inspired the Protestant Reformation. So they wouldn’t know that on October 31, 1517, in the little German town of Wittenberg, Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the church door—inviting scholars to debate the use of indulgences; a practice Luther believed gave believers a false assurance of their salvation. Luther spelled out what true salvation is in his first four Theses: “1. When Jesus said ‘repent’ He meant that believers should live a whole life repenting. 2. Only God can give salvation—not a priest. 3. Inwards penitence must be accompanied with a suitable change in lifestyle. 4. Sin will always remain until we enter heaven.”
The people of Judah had a false sense of security. They believed their temple guaranteed their safety (Jeremiah 7:4). Rejecting God’s laws, they lived deceitfully (Jeremiah 7:8-11). The prophet Jeremiah warned them of their foolishness and falsehood, stating “It’s a lie!” (Jeremiah 7:8). He also made it clear that the temple of the Lord cannot save (Jeremiah 7:4,8)—only the Lord of the temple saves (Jeremiah 7:5).
The people needed to “quit [their] evil ways” (Jeremiah 7:3), reform, and repent (Jeremiah 7:5-10). They couldn’t “steal, murder, commit adultery, lie . . . and then come . . . and stand before [God] in [His] temple and chant, ‘We are safe!’—only to go right back to all those evils again”! (Jeremiah 7:9-10). Their “inwards penitence [needed to] be accompanied with a suitable change in lifestyle” (Luther’s Thesis #3). Only then would God be merciful (Jeremiah 7:5). Only then would they be safe and secure (Jeremiah 7:7).
As believers, we must be able to “prove by the way [we] live that [we] have repented of [our] sins and turned to God” (Matthew 3:8).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Acts 15:22-41
More:
What do John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5-6, and Hebrews 7:23-28 teach us about the Jesus who saves?
Next:
What has given you a false sense of security? What will you do to turn to God and experience true safety?
jstabel on October 31, 2011 at 2:46 am
Being a church-regular has never amounted to safety from God’s wrath but doing the will of the Father through Christ.
roxanne robbins on October 31, 2011 at 5:32 am
A good friend frequently reminds me to place my faith in Jesus Christ who alone is worthy of my deepest trust.
shalomiom on October 31, 2011 at 7:16 am
i am a Catholic but never in my mind did it cross me that I am saved after every confession. i know i can commit sin every single minute of the day, even in my thoughts, and it is only thru the mercy and love of Jesus that I can be saved. .