Skip to main content

Martin Luther and True Love Waits

Originally written on February19, 2006

What does Martin Luther have to do with a True Love Waits Weekend? Good question! The question came after I skipped through the powerpoint of my sermon on the Sunday of True Love Waits. One of the slides that I skipped over had a reference to Martin Luther. I had to get my powerpoint presentation caught up with my talking. The reference to Martin Luther had a point. Actually, it was a good point and I wish that I had mentioned it.

When Dr. Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenburg in 1517, the first point on the document was that Jesus Christ meant for the entire Christian life to be lived as an act of repentance. The Catholic Church at the time was practicing penance occasionally and Luther took issue with this. So what does that have to do with True Love Waits?

As sinful people we are all guilty of falling short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). There is no area of our lives that this rings true than in the area of sexual purity. We have all stumbled, even if only with our eyes. Luther would tell us that we must respond to our sins in repentance. When the world tells us to love ourselves and accept our selves as our "authentic self", Jesus Christ tells us to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. Instead of making the mistake of trying to live where our sins leave us, we are called back to God’s original plan and purpose.

If Luther were alive today he would tell our students to take a bold stand on repentance, not just as a one-time act, but to live a life of repentance. This is a great truth and it needs to be nailed to the doors of our high schools-even today!!

Comments

http://www.fashionphotographersnashvilletn.com/ said…
Your Right!
Thank you for your commitment to your community
www.TrueLoveWaitsRally.com

Kenneth E. Purdom
Director of True Love Waits Rally Events
LifeWay Affiliated Ministry
Phone: 615-429-3890
Email: Kenneth.Purdom@Gmail.com
www.TrueLoveWaitsRally.com
10:41 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Generation of Mark 13:30

At the beginning of Mark chapter thirteen Jesus is leaving the temple area and one of his disciples points out the grandure of the temple buildings. Jesus' remark to that disciple concerns the fact that these buildings will one day be torn down. The disciples question Him further as to the times of these events, and so begins an extended teaching from Jesus on the end times.As Jesus' remarks are drawing to a close, He makes this comment in Mark 13:30: "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place." (NASB) So the reader is left to wonder the meaning of this statement. Either our understanding of generation is wrong, or we are understanding what Jesus meant by "these things" wrong. I think there are at least two solutions. The word for generation (genea: Greek) could mean, as some side column reference Bibles note, "the human race". This is possible, since the events have not all happened and the human race
15 comments
Read more

Taming The Flesh Through Suffering

There are at least a dozen books in my pastoral library that deal with battling lust. It is true that this is a huge issue for men and a great source of stumbling to many men and many pastors for that matter - so on one hand I am glad they are there and I am grateful for the insight they have given to me. But I was really struck by a verse of Scripture this morning from 1 Peter 4:1b-2. "for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions, but for the will of God." Simply put, I believe Peter is telling us that those who are suffering for Christ's sake have their mind on Christ and suffering and not on the passions of the flesh. The reason so many men battle with lust and fleshly temptations (and I include myself in that group) is that our minds are far from the things of Christ. Suffering in the flesh is the direct opposite of indulging the flesh. The man who is getting lashes on his b
2 comments
Read more

Is That A Bible I See Before Me?

The Weakness of Islamic Evangelism Lately I have been struck by the testimony of those who have suffered at the hands of kidnappers in Iraq. One issue that comes to the front of my mind is Islamic evangelism. Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll spoke to ABC News of her captors holding her at gunpoint and forcing her to read the Koran, which she did. After several days they asked why she had not yet converted to their beliefs. Explaining that she needed more time she continued to read. Again the question came to her about conversion. Finally and saddest of all, she told them that she would convert because she feared for her life. But this leaves us with a strange view of the Koran and the way that Islam chooses to do their evangelism. If the Koran were powerful in and of itself, those who seek to convert Christians to Islamic beliefs would not need to use guns in the process. That is, you should automatically appeal to your most powerful source. The fact that they use guns s
2 comments
Read more