The importance of church membership. Remember Paul, whenever he came to Jerusalem, it says he has said to join himself. onto the disciples. So the very word is there that is used, join himself onto the disciples. It wasn't merely that he wanted to attend the service or wanted to be a part of the congregation. The disciples, in the strictest sense, are those that have really committed themselves to the work of God, and he wanted to join. The word join, it's like an adhesive or a glue. That's the idea behind it. It's the closest sort of bond that is possible. And that's what God expects every Christian to have, to be under the oversight of the local elders. Obey them that have the rule over you. If you think of Acts chapter one, it says something people sometimes reading the passage too quickly overlook. It says that the number of the names together was 120. It doesn't say the number of the people. It wasn't that Peter stood up in the meeting and went 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and they counted 120 people in the meeting. It says the number of the names. So I ask you, what names? What names was he referring to or been spoken of? It was the names of the members. Those who are on the roll of membership, you have one there in the porch, in the notice board. So that's not just something that has been made up by leaders of the church over the years. It's following the established New Testament principle and practice. And if you're converted and you're walking with God, your name should be on that roll as well. That's God's will for all of his people. We're going to read a few verses please, just quickly. We're in Joshua chapter one, the first chapter of the book of Joshua. And let me read just to you verses eight and nine of the passage. So Joshua chapter one, The eighth verse, let's hear the word of the Lord. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayst observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee, be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, Neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest. And may the Lord bless the reading of his word to our hearts. Let's just pray together briefly, please. Father, we settle ourselves before thee, thankful for the fellowship with God's people today. What a blessing it is to be able to meet in this manner. The New Testament tells us of Peter and John that they went to their own company. We're glad today to be in the company of the people of God. Your word says that as iron sharpeneth iron, so a man the countenance of his friend. Lord, help us to be a blessing. and an encouragement, the one to the other. We thank you for what we've considered already of the life of Martin Luther. We pray, Father, abide with us. We ask you to draw near. Give us a sense of the Lord in the midst. And Lord, we pray, give us this boldness. Give us this courage that we might be able to stand firm for thee in the day in which you have called us to. Answer these, our prayers. We do pray in Jesus' name. Amen. The words of the ninth verse, please. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed. For the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest. So we thought that the morning service a little about Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. I want us to think for a few minutes at the close of the service this afternoon of Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms. The Diet of Worms was one of the greatest events in the life of Martin Luther. The actual diet itself, the Diet of Worms, lasted for about four months in total. But the most important part, whenever Luther appeared before the Diet, that took place in the month of April, between the 16th and the 18th of April, and that was in the year of 1521. The most important day that has gone down in history was the 18th of April. So that was 503 years ago. A Diet was a word that was used in Germany to describe a large gathering, a gathering from church or state that was brought together to settle questions of doctrine to be believed or of duties that were to be performed. Worms is a city that's situated on the Rhine in West Germany. And way back then, it was a very important city because the emperor of Germany himself had his residence there. So that, men and women, is why it was called the Diet of Worms. It was a large gathering. held in the city of Worms in West Germany, and it was held in order to challenge the doctrines that were being taught by Martin Luther at that particular time. I want us to consider together just some questions with regard to Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms. Think first of all, what led to the Diet of Worms? Well, the previous year, in June 1520, the Pope sent Luther what was known as a papal bull. A papal bull wasn't an animal, it was a letter. And it was a letter with the official seal of the Pope upon it. And that letter, that papish bull, warned Luther that if he did not recant, if he did not retract his teachings, and if he didn't do it within a period of 60 days, that he risked being excommunicated or cut off from the church. The bull also ordered the people, the people in the country at that time, not to listen to Luther's preaching and teaching. And they were encouraged to take his writings out and to burn them. What was Martin Luther's response to the bull? Well, it was first of all to denounce potpourri. and then to publicly burn the Pope's bull. He burned it in a bonfire under an oak tree in the town of Wittenberg, and that oak became known for a long time afterwards as Luther's Oak. Of course, the Pope was furious, and he issued another bill in which he formally excommunicated Martin Luther from the Church of Rome. In other words, he put him out of the membership of the church. That took place on the 3rd of January 1521. And to this day, men and women, that has never been lifted. The excommunicating of Martin Luther has never been lifted. Despite the ecumenical agreement in recent years between the Lutheran World Federation and the Methodists and the Catholic Church, Martin Luther's excommunication is still in place. Up until that time, Luther expected to stay within the Church of Rome, and he expected to be able to reform it reform its corruptions from within. That's the reason why those men were called reformers. But he realized at that time that that would be impossible. So at that time, the Church of the Reformation was born. So that's what led to the Diet of Worms. You think of what actually was the Diet of Worms. Well, remember, it was a large gathering to settle important questions. Merle de Vigne, he's the great Reformation historian. He said that never had a man to appear before so imposing an assembly. There were 204 dignitaries who would sit in judgment of Martin Luther, but the entire assembly included an audience of between four and five thousand people. It's hard just to take that in. The Diet had been arranged by Charles V, the Emperor of Germany, and the Pope of Rome himself. The Pope at that time was Leo X, and he died in December of that year after the Diet took place. Their purpose in holding the Diet of Worms was one of two things. They either wanted to get Luther to recant, to recant of his teachings, in other words to retract them and say that he no longer supported or held to them, or else they wanted to get authority to be able to put Martin Luther to death. The reality was they wanted to stop Luther. They wanted to stop him spreading his message and spreading his doctrine. And they were determined to do that, even if it meant putting Martin Luther to death. Now, providentially, Luther had many good friends, even among the great princes of Germany. And they had protected Luther. That's the reason why the Pope hadn't been able to stop Luther before. And his friends didn't want him to go to Worms. They were very concerned for his safety. They reminded him that the safe passage that had been promised to John Huss over a century before, remember the Bohemian reformer? They reminded him that the safe passage that had been promised to Huss had not been honoured, had not been kept. But Martin Luther replied with one of his most famous statements. He said, if there be as many devils and worms as tiles on the housetops, I will still go there. German houses have many small tiles or slates on them. That will help give you an idea of what he was actually saying. You think of his famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress, often sung at this time of the year. The final verse is perhaps based on that quote of Luther's and those circumstances in which he found himself. It says, and though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. So Martin Luther, he didn't run. He didn't fear and run away with fear. He went to Worms to make a stand for God and make a stand for the gospel. The third question is, what took place at the Diet of Worms? Remember I said to you earlier, the word Protestant is a word that is often greatly misunderstood. It literally means to raise a witness for the truth. And therefore those who raise a witness for God, for the gospel and for the truth of God's word, they have often been termed as Protestants. And in the 16th century, Martin Luther, by the grace and power of God, raised a witness, a great witness for the truth that brought about the Protestant Reformation. At Worms, he made one of his most important witnesses for the doctrines of the gospel and the doctrines of the word of God. At that great assembly on Wednesday the 17th of April 1521, Luther was asked two questions. He was asked, If the pile of books on the table before him were his, Martin Luther asked for their titles to be read aloud, publicly, and then he confirmed that every one of those books were his, books that he had authored and that he had penned. He was then asked to repudiate entirely what he had taught in all of those books. Luther asked for time for reflection, and he was granted a day, one day, Most of that night, Martin Luther spent in prayer, pleading with God to give him strength so that he could faithfully speak for God the next day before that great gathering. The following day then, the 18th of April, a day that has been called the greatest day in Luther's life, Luther once more stood before the vast gathering of the Diet of Worms. And he was again asked by Dr. John Eck, he was the Roman Catholic theologian that was leading the proceedings that day. He was asked by Dr. John Eck if he would now repudiate and withdraw the books that he had written, every book that he had authored. Martin Luther's reply, men and women, has been called the speech that shook the world. He made the speech first in Latin and then in German. and holding the Bible in his left hand, his speech ended with these words. Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures, or by clear reason, for I do not trust either the Pope or in his counsels alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves, I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the word of God, I cannot and I will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to do anything against one's conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. So help me, God." What courage! What boldness the Lord gave to Luther to stand firm for him and to speak for him that day. So men and women, let us ask God to give us that same courage in our own day. Remember the Lord's words to Joshua, we took it as our text at the beginning of the message, be strong and of a good courage. You know, it's interesting if you study the life of Moses and the life of Joshua, Joshua actually got that message seven times. Seven times the Lord spoke to Joshua and said to him, be strong and have a good courage. As the Lord thought of Joshua taking over the leadership of the children of Israel from Moses when he was called home to heaven. And the Lord knew the vast task that that would be and that Joshua would be afraid and he would feel weak and he would need boldness. So that's why the Lord gave him that great exhortation. So let us obey it as well, brethren and sisters, personally, individually, in our day and in our generation also. There was an old army officer that met Martin Luther on his way to the Diet, when he was going to give his response to the great gathering. And the officer said to him, what you're going to do or what you're now going to do requires a great deal more courage than I ever needed in all the battles that I have fought. And that was true, men and women. So let us thank God for the courage, the boldness, the strength that was given to Martin Luther that day. And let us pray for grace for ourselves. We sang those words in the earlier meeting, stand up, stand up for Jesus. So let us pray for grace for ourselves, that we might be able to stand up for Jesus in this day, this evil, this wicked day, this godless day in which we are found. There's a young lady in our university class one day, and the lecturer was repudiating the word of God, belittling the teaching of the scriptures, especially what the Bible teaches about creation, setting forth the whole notion and theory of evolution. She got to the point in the class where she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up in her university class and she began to sing those words of George Duffields. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross. lift high his royal banner, it must not suffer loss. And as she sang, that gave courage and strength to some other Christians in the class. And they stood and sang with her as well. What a testimony, what a witness for the truth that was that day, just from that young girl. receiving strength and help from the Lord. So, brethren and sisters, be encouraged to think of Martin Luther and a stand. Be encouraged to stand up for Jesus in this day as well. The final thing I'll emphasize is what happened to Luther after the Diet of Worms? Well, after Martin Luther spoke that day, the emperor was filled with rage. But Luther was safely escorted from the Diet back to his lodgings. And then a few days later, a week later, on the 25th of April, he left Worms to start the journey back to Wittenberg. He should have been home in just a few days, but in actual fact, it was more than a year before he was back in his home in Wittenberg again. Because in the course of his journey, he strangely disappeared. What happened was that while passing through the forest, he was captured by armed men, armed men that approached him on horses. These men were not his foes or his enemies. These men were his friends. They were acting under the authority of the Elector of Saxony, one of Luther's most powerful friends and supporters. And for his safety, They took Martin Luther at that time to the famous Wartburg Castle in Germany. And Martin Luther remained there for more than 10 months. We could say that he was in lockdown for nearly a year. But the time was not wasted at the Wartburg because there Luther did one of his most important works. What was it? Well, he translated the New Testament into the German language. Later he translated the Old Testament into the German language too. And the New Testament that he translated and then subsequently the Old Testament became the best German translation of the scriptures that is available. If you go to the Wartburg, you can still visit the room that he used for his study. Our denomination in 1517, as part of the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, organized a tour to Germany to visit some of the sites associated with Luther. And my wife and I were able to be part of that group. So what a blessing that was to go to the Wartburg and stand in the very room that Martin Luther used for his study. I think that was the best part of the tour. And, brethren and sisters, there's a lesson there for us as well. When strange circumstances come across our paths, maybe unexpectedly, even periods of confinement like Luther experienced at that time, remember that God and His sovereignty has a purpose for it. He has a work for you to do even at that time. And we need discernment. what Paul spoke about 1 Corinthians 2, 14, spiritual discernment. We need to pray and ask him to show to us, to reveal to us what that work is, what work he wants us to do at that particular time. So that's what happened to Luther after the diet of worms. Let me just say to you in closing, even at the Wartburg, Luther had trials. He had gotten away from many of his enemies, from the emperor and from the pope and so on. But he didn't get away from the devil. When Luther was in that room that he used as a study one day, and he was doing that great work for God of translating the scriptures, the devil came and attacked him. And Luther was so conscious of the presence of the devil that he lifted the ink pot from his desk and he threw it across the room. He threw it across the room at the devil. The ink pot hit the wall and it left a stain, an ink stain on that wall that stayed on the wall for a very long time afterwards. But that story, men and women, that incident in Luther's life is a warning to us all. When you're busy for the Lord, especially when you've been blessed of the Lord and been used of God for the furtherance of his kingdom, The devil will want to attack you. Remember, that's really what sums up the whole story of Luther's life at the Diet of Worms. But he came in a special way to attack Luther in the study that day. And that's always true. The devil will want to attack you when you're studying or meditating or working upon the word of God. Remember, that's nothing new. Paul said to the Thessalonians, Satan hindered him. Just think of that, the devil coming and opposing, hindering the work of the gospel. Peter warned that the devil goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. We need to be on our guard, brethren and sisters. We need to be always on our guard against the attacks of the great enemy of God's people, the great enemy of the gospel. We need to pray for grace and power. May God grant that to us. Remember what Paul said to the Ephesians when he was talking about the Christian armour? We need to pray for grace and power to stand against the wiles of the devil. So here then, men and women, is a little of the story of Martin Luther and the Diet of Worms. May the Lord encourage you from it. May he encourage you today to be faithful. to be faithful to him. The Bible says of King David that after he had served his own generation according to the will of God, he fell on sleep. So may this story encourage you some 500 odd years later, encourage you to be faithful and encourage you to be courageous and bold to stand and live and to live for the defense of Christ and his gospel. And I pray as well, that what we've told you today of these things will encourage you to read a little more of this story yourself. Maybe you've never read it personally, never read the story of Martin Luther and all that the Lord did through him. You know, we teach in the Bible College, we have a missionary curriculum and Dr. Johnson taught the missionary principles class for 40 years. He has stood down from that position and the Reverend Harris has now been appointed by the Presbytery to teach those classes. Remember he's a veteran of the mission field as well. Last year our college in conjunction with the mission board added to that a new missionary curriculum that's taught on a Thursday afternoon. right through the college year for final year missionary students and final year theological students. Part of what we teach in missiology or the study of missions is what is known as the theology of missions. The essence of the theology of missions, men and women, is not what men do for God, but what God does through men. A new thing of the Protestant Reformation It's not the story so much of what Martin Luther did for God, but it's the story of what God did through the life of Martin Luther. So pray that God will use you as well as you read these things, and I encourage you to do that. Give attendance to reading. Pray that God will work through you and through this church to the furtherance of his kingdom and for the contending of the faith the faith of the gospel once delivered unto the saints.