Romans 1 verses 15, 16, and 17. As your minister asked, we'll be happy to give a little report on the missionary work this afternoon, and the service a little later, and especially the work there in Uganda. We appreciate your interest very much in that work. So Romans 1, please. The Apostle says, So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. So we'll end just there. And we know the Lord has blessed every heart this reading of his word. I emphasize the words right at the end of verse 17, very appropriate for this day. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. I want to speak to you for a little while this morning about Martin Luther. and the Protestant Reformation. I stress to you a date that every Christian, every Protestant should know and be familiar with, and that is the 31st of October in the year 1517. And I want to remind you a little of that date in the message this morning. You ask why that date? What is the significance of the 31st of October, 1517? Well, that is the day that Martin Luther, the German reformer, nailed his 95 theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. Think of the question, why that day? I can assure you that the 31st of October 1517, it wasn't just a random decision to nail his thesis to the church door on that day. It was deliberately and specifically chosen. The reason was that the very next day was All Saints Day. That was a church festival or a church holiday. And he knew that most people in that area would be in the town of Wittenberg that day. So he wanted as many people as possible to read his 95 Theses. And he wanted as many people as possible to get his message, the message that he wanted to get out at that time. Another important question is, why did he nail the 95 Theses to the church door? Well, in those days, the church door was the town notice board. If you wanted something to be known, that's where you nailed it. You nailed it to the door of the church. And remember that the castle church in Wittenberg was connected to the university in the time. And Martin Luther especially wanted to bring his message to the attention of the professors and the students at the Wittenberg University. So on the 31st of October, Martin Luther, a professor of theology at the University of Wittenberg, he stepped up and nailed those 95 theses, theses against papal indulgences, to the church door at Wittenberg. And men and women, that event marked the birth the commencement of the great Protestant Reformation, the great movement that broke the grip of the Church of Rome on the churches of Europe at that particular time. Across the world, in the days in which we live, on the 31st of October every year, they hold what is known as Halloween, can be described as the Night of the Devil, Halloween comes from All Hallows' Eve. Remember All Saints Day on the 1st of November? So that's where Halloween comes from, All Hallows' Eve. But I want to urge you, remember that the 31st of October is Reformation Day. and it should be remembered by all Christians and by all Protestants. It's a date, men and women, that should never be forgotten. And for a little while today, I want you to think with me of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. You think, first of all, of the matter of salvation. Remember that salvation is the most important thing in life. I want to impress upon all of your hearts this morning that you need God's salvation. And I stress to you that salvation can only be found in Jesus Christ. You think of Peter. Peter's a man that Rome claims was the first pope. You know, even if you look at the official list of popes that's produced by the Church of Rome, Peter's name is not at the head of it. But they claim that he was the first pope. Peter said, neither is there salvation in any other, for there's none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Salvation is only to be found in Jesus Christ. But Martin Luther, like many others, made great mistakes. He thought he could obtain salvation by his own works and by his own efforts. In fact, it would be true to say that there are few people who tried more. to get into heaven by their own works than Martin Luther did, but he failed. And if you try to get into heaven by your own efforts, you will fail as well. When Martin Luther was at university, he changed direction. Luther's life changed direction very significantly at that time. He had been studying law, but then he decided to give that up and to study theology. That decision made his father very unhappy. But there are two things that caused Martin Luther to make that decision. One was the death of his friend. When his young friend died, he asked himself, what would become of me if I died suddenly? In the book of Numbers, it says if a man die very suddenly. And I want you to think of that today as well, that vital question. What would become of me? What would become of you if you died very suddenly? The other event that caused him to change direction was a bolt of lightning. God spoke through events as well. A bolt of lightning struck the ground. Martin Luther was walking back to the university through a storm. And through that bolt of lightning, he was almost killed, almost lost his life. And it spoke to him deeply, very deeply indeed. Whenever Luther became a monk, he did everything he could to obtain God's favor. He lived in a cell with no heat. He whipped himself. He went to mass, not once every day. but seven times a day. And the first of those masses that he attended was at three o'clock in the morning. And he was a man that gave himself regularly to prayer and fasting. In other words, he did everything he could to obtain merit before God, but he found no peace, no peace in his heart and in his soul. In 1510, Martin Luther visited the city of Rome. What a disappointment that turned out to be. He found that the city and the church there was corrupt, corrupt to a great extent. It was full of evil. The fact was that he said, if there was a hell, that Rome must be built over it. Such was the wickedness of the city of Rome at that time. While he was there in Rome on that visit, he climbed what are known as the Scala Sancta, the holy stairs. The Church of Rome claims that the Scala Sancta were the steps the Saviour himself climbed when he was entering Pilate's judgment hall. And they claim that those steps were carried, carried from Israel to Rome by an angel. The Church of Rome teaches that if you go up the Scala Sancta on your knees, you would have your sins forgiven. They still teach that, still happens to this very day. Luther climbed the stairs And as he climbed every stair, he kissed it, but he still found no peace with God. He still found that he had no forgiveness for his sins. This is what Martin Luther said, summing up his life at that time. If ever a monk were to get to heaven by his monkery, it would be I. I should have killed myself with vigils, prayers, recitings, and other works. So it's clear, men and women, Martin Luther tried all that he could to obtain salvation by his own efforts and his own merit, but he failed, failed miserably. So let me tell you how he did experience God's salvation. One of the things that Luther liked to do the most, especially at the end of a hard day's work, was to go to the library in the university and to spend a little bit of time in reading. One day as he looked through the books in the library, he found a Latin copy of the Bible. It was a very significant occasion. It was the first time in his life that he ever saw or ever held a whole copy. of the Scriptures. You know we're so familiar with having the Bible that we really take it so much for granted. For him that was a marvellous thing to hold in his hands for the first time a full copy of the Scriptures. He was surprised, one of the things that surprised him was how big the Word of God actually was. The first story that Martin Luther ever read was the story of Hannah and Samuel, how she prayed that God would give her a son. But whenever he was studying the book of Romans, very significant and important that your minister read today from the book of Romans, when Martin Luther was reading through and studying the book of Romans, especially the portion that I read to you from just before the message today, Romans chapter one, when he came to verse 17, The light of the gospel, the glorious light of the gospel dawned upon his darkened soul. He read those words, the just shall live by faith, by faith. Remember, he had been trying to work. He had been trying to earn salvation. Salvation by faith? You obtain salvation not by works? And the reason for that, of course, is because Jesus Christ did all the work when he died for our sins. One sacrifice for sin forever. You obtain salvation, men and women, by faith. Faith in Christ's finished work. So that day, Martin Luther put his trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. And I want to urge you on this Reformation Sunday to do the same. Remember Paul's words to the Philippian jailer, believe. on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. That word believe means more than to accept the facts of the Bible, the facts of the gospel. It means that you put your complete trust, you lean your whole weight entirely upon Jesus Christ and the merit of his sacrifice for salvation. So salvation. Think as well, as you consider Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, think of opposition. I remind you that the word Protestant means to raise a witness for, raise a witness for the truth. And that's what Martin Luther did in his life after conversion. He was opposed to the Romish doctrine of the sale of indulgences, and he was opposed to it because it wasn't taught in the scriptures. So he started to raise his voice in protest against that evil practice. An indulgence, well that was a letter, a certificate, that for a price, for a certain amount of money, a person could obtain. And that indulgence declared that your sins had been forgiven. Those indulgences at that time were sold all across Europe. and they were sold especially by the Pope's representative, a man that was called John Tetzel. The money raised from the sale of those indulgences was used to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. A little over 500 years ago, St. Peter's Basilica was in very bad repair. So you think every time that you see St. Peter's its vastness and its grandeur. St. Peter's Basilica covers an area of six acres. Think of that, a building that covers six acres. And the floor from one end to the other is covered in marble. And it was all paid for by John Tetzel's indulgences. John Tetzel claimed to have saved more souls by his indulgences than Peter had by his sermons. What arrogance, men and women. He taught that his indulgences could not only save the living, but could also save the dead. In other words, by buying an indulgence, souls could be delivered from purgatory. He had a little rhyme or a little verse that he told the people, when the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs. And even more than that, he claimed he could forgive sins in the future, not just the sins of the past, but sins in the future as well. There's quite a humorous story about that. In one of the towns that Tetzel went into, two men came to him and they asked for an indulgence that would forgive them for the sin of robbery. So they paid the money, paid for the indulgence. And then that evening, when John Tetzel was leaving the town, these two men jumped out from behind a tree and they robbed John Tetzel. They robbed him of all the money that he had taken of the people in the town that day. And as they ran away with all his money, they waived the indulgence. They waived the certificate that he had given them that guaranteed the forgiveness of their sins. Martin Luther men and women was opposed to that wicked unscriptural practice and he preached against it and he proved from the bible that it was a false practice, a false hope and a false gospel. And the 95 theses or heads of argument that Martin Luther wrote and nailed to the church door in Wittenberg at that time were theses that were opposing and exposing that evil practice. This is what number 21 stated. Therefore, those preachers of indulgences err who say that by the Pope's indulgence, a man may be exempt from all punishments and be saved. So Martin Luther showed clearly that indulgences were a false hope and a false gospel. And let me tell you, let me declare to you plainly, men and women today, salvation cannot be bought with money. Money can buy you many things, but it cannot buy you a place in heaven. You think of Peter's words. Rome, of course, makes much of Peter. But listen to what he said. For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ." So the message is clear. The message is clear from the pen of Peter under inspiration. It doesn't matter how much you pay of silver and gold, the money and the wealth of this world, it can never buy the forgiveness of your sins. Why is that, men and women? It's because there was a far greater price that was paid for your salvation. And that price was the precious blood of Jesus Christ, his opposition. The final thing I'll mention to you this morning is the conclusion of his life. Let me tell you just a little of how Martin Luther actually died. He died quite unexpectedly. Remember that I told you earlier about a friend of his that died unexpectedly, and the Lord used that to speak to him. Well, Luther himself died quite unexpectedly at just 62 years of age. He went to Esbilen to help sort out a dispute about a piece of land. He thought it would just be a short stay, a few days, and he would return to Wittenberg to his labors. He had been born in Esbilen, and in the providence of God, he was to die there as well. Among his final words were the statement of the Lord Jesus on the cross, into thy hands I commend my spirit. So Martin Luther died on the 18th day of February 1546. And he died as a result of a heart attack. His remains were taken back to Wittenberg. And he was laid to rest in that very castle church where he'd nailed the theses to the door. He was laid to rest there under the very pulpit itself. And Martin Luther, men and women, he faced death with great peace. And he did that because he knew Jesus Christ as a savior. On the day before he died, he said, once I have reconciled my dear sovereigns, I want to go home and lie down in my coffin and sleep and give the worms a good fat doctor to eat. So he had a wee bit of humour even as he was facing the end of his life. He faced death without fear because he was ready, ready for death and eternity. As you think of Luther's death, let me remind you this morning that all men die. Luther was a great man, perhaps one of the greatest in history. But even the greatest of men die. They're called from this scene of time. The Bible warns us we must all needs die. Think of the extent of that, we must all needs die. So all men die. And that means that one day you will die as well. You don't know when and you don't know how. Old Isaac had that dilemma, I know not the day of my death. So you don't know when or how. you're going to die, but it's certain that one day you will. And maybe like Martin Luther, you will die unexpectedly. You're looking forward to this week. Maybe you may not live to see the end of it. James reminds us in his epistle that you know not what shall be on the morrow. We're not the boast of tomorrow. Many times we do. What we'll do, where we'll be, who we'll meet. You don't know if you'll live to see tomorrow. So let that be a warning, men and women. Let the sudden death of Martin Luther be a warning that you could be taken away suddenly, too. And that means that you need to be ready. You need to be ready to die. You need to be saved by God's grace. You need to have your trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. Amos said, Prepare to meet thy God. There is a God, of that there's no doubt, one day you will meet him, maybe sooner than you realize. And the greatest, the most important thing in life is to be ready, to be prepared for that day by knowing Jesus Christ as your Savior. Remember that Isaiah the prophet was sent into the royal palace to speak to King Hezekiah, and he said, set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live. Set your house in order, sort out your life, sort out the affairs of your life, especially the spiritual affairs, the matters relating to your soul in the light of eternity. So men and women, you need to be saved. You might be thinking, I plan to be saved. I intend to be saved. But just not now, just not today. some more convenient time, some more convenient season. I want to warn you men and women, don't wait. Don't wait until it's too late. I urge you to come to Jesus Christ today and receive him as your saviour. So that's a little about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. Maybe this afternoon we'll take a little look at another event in his life, one of the greatest events in Martin Luther's ministry. But we thank you for your attention and we pray that God will make these thoughts, this message, a blessing to your hearts today.