Reformation Sunday
Scripture: Romans 1:17
God’s righteousness is being revealed in the gospel, from faithfulness for faith, as it is written, The righteous person will live by faith.
Thought for the Day: As you will learn in worship today, this is Reformation Sunday. Among Protestant Churches, we remember and honor the faithfulness of those who often risked their lives in the reforming of the church. The 500th Anniversary of Reformation is this Tuesday, and it was 500 years ago that Martin Luther nailed 95 concerns on the doors of the Wittenberg Church. It is thought that Luther was opening up an academic conversation, but it turned the church on its head. The verse that changed Luther’s thinking was the above verse. He could not fathom how he could achieve Righteousness. No matter how hard he tried, his sinfulness seems to overshadow any attempt at living the right-life that Jesus displayed. It changed only when he came to realize that righteousness was not something we achieve, but instead, it was a gift given from God. Later in the 3rd chapter of Romans, Paul will help spell that out when he writes:
But now God’s righteousness has been revealed apart from the Law, which is confirmed by the Law and the Prophets. God’s righteousness comes through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who have faith in him. There’s no distinction. All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus.
God is the One who makes the relationship right, and when we acknowledge that gracious gift through faith, we are able to access it and live into it. We shift from trying to be righteous in the eyes of God to accepting God’s gift of rightness and then living passionately and joyfully in that beauty of that gift. It transformed Martin Luther’s life, and it ultimately transformed the church.
Prayer: Though there is a constant push to earn my goodness and salvation, I know, O Merciful and Kind God, that such a place is not in my power to achieve. Through your spirit, let me learn to enjoy the gift you have given and place you have so generously created for me. I see this in the gift of Jesus Christ. Amen.
…don’t forget:
Today’s Worship
