Turn your Bibles today to Jude chapter 1. The only chapter in Jude is one chapter, so book of Jude, please. The message today is going to be about problems with Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. Problems with Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. The Bible says in Jude, verse number 3, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men. turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. We see Jude here give exhortation to all saints of the very important need to contend for the faith, as he says, which was once delivered to the saints. The faith by which all men are saved, by which all men receive the gift of eternal life, The faith here, as Jude says, is the truth we receive from the Word of God, by which, referring to the Word of God, we understand our Lord and Savior, His laws, His ministry, His will, and our divine purpose in life. Not only these, but when Jude says we should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints, it also means the faith by which the church was established and by the same faith endured tribulation for centuries since its very inconception. As Baptists, not denominational Baptists, not fundamental Baptists, not Binos or Baptists in name only, but born again baptized believers in the Lord Jesus and his gospel. Historic Baptists who believe and receive the sole authority of the scriptures alone for all faith and practice. We trace our history all the way back to the days of the apostles during the Lord's earthly ministry. The local New Testament church dates back before Pentecost when the Lord chose his 12 apostles. The Bible says in Mark chapter three, verse 13, and he goes up into a mountain talking about the Lord Jesus. and calleth unto him whom he would. And they came unto him, and he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. And Simon he surnamed Peter, and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, and he surnamed them Barnoges, which is the sons of thunder. And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him, and they went into a house. We see here that the Lord Jesus called out an assembly of men to follow him and gave them authority to preach and to perform miracles as Christ gave them power. These men were ordained to execute the commandments of God, to preach the kingdom of God, baptize new converts, and to teach those new converts to grow and sanctify themselves in doctrine and truth to be used for the furtherance of the kingdom of God. In Matthew chapter 28, verse 16, the Bible says, then the 11 disciples, went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. We see here that Jesus spoke to the eleven because one of his chosen, who was Judas Iscariot, betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver. We find from these two passages that the Lord's church was established and given power to fulfill the Lord's will, all prior to Pentecost when the Spirit gave the apostles the supernatural ability to preach the gospel in other tongues as a sign and call to repentance. As Baptists, We reject that our antiquities came from the Catholic Church or from any other religious organization, including Protestantism. As born-again baptized Baptists, we reject our authority from any man, religious creed, or confession. Our authority is solely from the Bible, and more specifically the King James Bible, as the exclusive and only authority for all things pertaining to faith, what we believe and practice, as executives of the kingdom of God, not legislators for the child of God. This has historically been the problem with every other religious sect, including Judaism, Mormonism, the false Jehovah's Witness Watchtower Society, Seventh-day Adventism, Catholicism, and many others who derive their doctrinal positions upon men's private interpretations rather than what the Holy Spirit teaches from the Scriptures. who was with the Lord Jesus during his earthly ministry, and was ordained as the first bishop of the church which was at Jerusalem, said in his second epistle of Peter, chapter one, verse 19, we have also a more sure word of prophecy, where unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn. and the day star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Peter says that even his first hand-eye witness of the majesty of the Lord Jesus was secondary to the more sure word of prophecy found in the Holy Scriptures, by which were inspired by God, written and recorded by faithful men who were filled with the Holy Ghost. Remember that even when the Lord's disciples were physically with our Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry, they still needed understanding of the Scriptures in which Jesus constantly taught them and the multitudes that followed Him. Jesus always went back to the authority of the Scriptures when He taught His disciples. Nearly all cults, such as those I named previously, including Catholicism, Mormonism, and others, began when one man, or a group of men, or even women, decided to take it upon themselves to privately interpret the scriptures in a way which usurps God's authority and places it upon men for faith and practice. For some, they will read the Scriptures and determine from a carnal mind and wicked heart what the Bible says, rather than from a humble heart and guidance by the Holy Spirit what the Scriptures actually teach. Let me repeat that. For some, they will read the Scriptures and determine from a carnal mind and wicked heart what the Bible says, rather than from a humble heart and guidance by the Holy Spirit what the Scriptures actually teach. Some will determine their own authority completely void of any scriptures altogether what they believe God has said. We hear this a lot today, especially in evangelism. God told me, or God showed me, or God said this or that. But when compared to what the Bible actually says word for word, they contradict. This is how traditions, heresies, and apostasy are born. When men of corrupt minds who zealously determined to interpret the Bible the way they want by preconceived ideas or influence of extra-biblical dogma to further a personal or national agenda, generally and historically speaking, a cult therefore shortly and naturally follows. It all began In the Garden of Eden, when the serpent usurped God's already established authority and commandment to Adam and Eve, in Genesis 2, verse 16, the Bible says, and the Lord God commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest really eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. The devil zealously determined to reject God's word to make himself the authority. In Genesis chapter three, verse four, the Bible says, and the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Satan desiring to be the authority over Eve and God likewise, in his pride and foolishness, sought to destroy God's creation and purpose for men to be obedient to the Lord's will and to live in absolute bliss and prosperity with the Lord eternally. Satan usurped the truth of the word of God in the garden, and has been since that time throughout all ages. Today, Satan's plan has not changed, folks. Since that time in the garden, there has always been an assault against the truth. While there are many today who believe Satan has had victory against the Lord's church at some point in history, wherein the church ceased to exist or that God's word hasn't been available for us to read and follow it, they mistakenly forget the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 16, 18, where he promised his disciples that through fiery persecution, Tremendous trials and the gates of hell themselves pushing hard upon God's chosen people. They would never, ever prevail against the local New Testament church, the pillar and ground of the truth. The church perpetuates the word of God. Matthew 16, verse 13, the Bible says, when Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples saying, whom do men say that I, the son of man am? And they said, Some say thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, bless art thou Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father, which is in heaven. Now listen, and I say also unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Jesus says the gates of hell would never prevail against the church made up of virginity. Justified believers in Christ who have a testimony of repentance from sin and faith and the blood and finished work of Christ Jesus baptized by water immersion and caught of God to live the rest of their lives and the center of his sovereign and divine will. There was always a remnant whose faith and allegiance have been solely to God's Word, and at no time has God's Word or God's people who love Him in His appearance ever ceased to exist. There certainly have been severe persecutions oppression, torment, and dark times when faithful Christians have had to endure their enemies' hateful crimes against them for living for the Lord Jesus. But according to the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 16, 18, the church has always been somewhere in the earth, fulfilling Christ's commands, serving Him faithfully, and reaping the blessing of obedience to the will of God with singleness of heart until death. The church that Jesus built and commissioned has never once in history since its establishment under the ministry of the Lord Jesus been erased or annihilated. Whether in dark caves, in prison, or in scattering God's people abroad, God has and will always be faithful in not only preserving His saints, but also His word. According to Psalm 12, verse six, the Bible says, the words of the Lord are pure words. As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times, thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever. God keeps His word and has promised us that He will preserve them throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. Paul wrote in his epistle to Timotheus in 2 Timothy 3.12, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Paul was an expert, by the way, in not only the receiving end of persecution for his testimony, but he was on the giving end as well before his conversion on the road to Damascus. He said, quote, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. And he knew this from both perspectives. Thus the history of the church and its character was always persecuted by those who call themselves Christians. A very prominent historical event that is highly revered in our day, folks, and in many cases idolized among many who profess Christianity today, especially those who are Protestant, is what is known as the Protestant Reformation. This coming Friday, October 31st, 2025, will be the 508th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, which was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in the 16th century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic papacy and the authority of the Catholic Church hierarchy. Towards the end of the Renaissance, the Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism, It is considered one of the events that signified the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period in Europe. The Reformation is dated from Martin Luther's publication of the 95 Theses in 1517, which gave birth to Lutheranism. For those who haven't heard before, the Protestant Reformation is the movement that many professing Christians today claim was a staple in history that helped to restore biblical Christianity to the state church, which then was the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Leo X, whom Martin Luther challenged for selling indulgences. I'll get to that issue in just a moment. There is a claim that Martin Luther was a great Christian who led the charge to zealously challenge the Catholic Church's various heretical positions of authority, in particular the issue of selling indulgences. What are Catholic indulgences? According to the Catholic Church, is a remission of the temporal punishment for sins of a person in purgatory whose guilt was already been forgiven through sacraments like confession. According to Catholic doctrine, the Church grants indulgences as a gift through the merits of Jesus and the saints. They are obtained by performing specific pious acts, such as prayer and visiting holy sites or charitable acts, and do not forgive the sin itself. In 1516, one year before the Protestant Reformation officially began with the posting of the 95 Theses by Martin Luther, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican friar, was sent to Germany by the Roman Catholic Church to sell indulgences to raise money in order to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Tetzel's experiences as a preacher of indulgences, especially between 1503 and 1510, led to his appointment as General Commissioner by Albrecht von Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz. Albrecht obtained permission from Pope Leo X to conduct the sale of a special plenary indulgence, or remission of temporal punishment of sin, half of the proceeds of which Albrecht was to claim to pay the fees of his benefices. In October 31, 1517, Martin Luther wrote to his bishop, Albrecht von Brandenburg, protesting against the sale of these indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of his, quote, Disputation on the Power of Efficacy of Indulgences, end quote, which came to be known today as the 95 Theses. It is said that the 95 Theses by Martin Luther was nailed to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. Now, for those of you that are like, what is this all about? I want to speak to you in layman's terms here so that you understand. Basically, Martin Luther, who is a Catholic monk, argued against the Catholic church's abuse of indulgences, which alleges to grant remission of sin for the dead who were in purgatory. And this selling of indulgences during the tie of Martin Luther was basically a fundraiser to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica. It was a marketing strategy by the Catholic Church to manipulate emotions of the poor and ignorant followers of the Catholic Church to pay money so their dead loved ones could receive remission of sins and be released from purgatory. And what better way to raise money for a big building than to manipulate the minds and hearts of unregenerate people to get them to cover the bill. Pay money to our big church buildings so your dead loved ones will make it into heaven. That was the marketing strategy. And that was what Martin Luther was opposing. Martin Luther also is highly praised along with other Protestant reformers in Europe during this time, such as the Swiss theologian and priest, Haldrik Zwinglis, and the notorious theologian French pastor named John Calvin, which is where we coined the term Calvinism. I don't have time to discuss Calvin and Zwingli during this message, but perhaps will in another message because those men were very wicked and I have more to say about that. But for today, I want to refute the notion that Martin Luther was such a great Christian and quote, hero of the faith and why us as Baptists need to understand the crucial importance of sound doctrine so that we have the discernment to identify true heretics when we see or hear one. First off, all born-again Christians are exhorted to put the testimony of all such highly revered and alleged heroes of the faith to the test by examining how they obtained salvation, But additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the fruit they bear, whether it be good or evil. The Bible teaches us to prove all things. Hold fast to that which is good. I want to talk about Luther for a minute. There are some records of Luther's recorded conversions to the Christian faith. And yes, conversions is with an S, by the way. There are multiple, and I'm going to talk about those. There's an important principle for those of you that are young in the faith to understand. Here's a good rule of thumb for you to determine whether or not a person is a true Christian. If the root of the tree is bad, the fruit of the tree will be bad also. So to any new Christians listening to this message, always keep this rule of thumb. If you see evil fruit, it's probably because it's from an evil tree with evil roots. Keep this in mind as we look at Luther's testimony in fruit. In 1505, Martin Luther was in Erfurt, Germany. He had received his master's degree in January and had just spent a few months studying law. He thought he'd go home and pay a visit to his family, so he traveled about 90 kilometers to the north to the town of Mansfeld, which was about 55 miles. On the way back, Luther was caught in a violent thunderstorm. Luther tried to get shelter, and he found a big granite rock, and he grasped it, and he cried out, quote, help me, Saint Anne, and I will become a monk. As Luther's biographer Roland Bainton puts it, quote, God kept his vows and Luther kept his. Luther survived the thunderstorm. He made his way back here to Ufort and he threw a party for his friends. He gave away his law books. He gave away his law cap and he entered the monastery here in Ufort. Luther thought that somehow, by becoming a monk, he would solve his spiritual struggles. St. Anne was the patron saint of miners, not minors as in infants or children, but miners as in the profession, as in the job, mining. And that was a profession of Luther's father, Hans Luther. He owned a copper mine. And as a miner, the patron saint was St. Anne. there would have been a shrine in Luther's childhood home to St. Anne. So that's one recorded testimony of Luther's conversion to become a Catholic monk. Now, there is another conversion that a lot of people will refer to when they say that he turned from the Catholic Church and his sin and he put his faith in Jesus Christ alone. That conversion allegedly happened in the year 1519. This alleged true conversion was somewhat more progressive leading up to 1519, two years after nailing his 95 theses to the door of the church at Wittenbergen. It is said that in 1545, he reflected back on his conversion that took place in 1519 at the age of about 36. Luther's reflection of his conversion to Christianity was this, quote, There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning. The righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, he who through faith is righteous shall live. And then Luther says, here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire scripture showed itself to me. This is what Martin Luther said about reading Romans 1. It is important to note that while Luther claims to have read and believed the words of Paul in his epistle to the Romans, and while Luther may have claimed that he was born again due to his understanding of salvation by grace through faith, much like the people in our day who claim they have been saved and believe salvation is by grace through faith without any works on their part to receive salvation, It does not mean that true regeneration took place within their heart. Many Catholics say they believe that Jesus is the only way and that Jesus saved them from their sin and the penalty of hell. Unfortunately, though Luther made these claims that he was born again, he still held very close to Catholic doctrine even after his alleged conversion. This is where the discernment of every Christian who reveres their hero of the faith needs to be exercised and put into good use. These doctrines that Luther still cleaved to were as follows. 1. Infant Baptism In Luther's Small Catechism of 1529, he states, "...baptism effects forgiveness of sins." delivers from death and the devil, and grants eternal salvation to all who believe, as the word and promise of God declare. It is not the water that produces these effects, but the word of God connected with the water, and our faith which relies on the word of God connected with the water." In Luther's Augsburg Confession 1529, he states, It is taught among us that baptism is necessary and that grace is offered through it. Children, too, should be baptized, for in baptism they are committed to God and become acceptable to Him. On this account, the Anabaptists, who teach that infant baptism is not right, are rejected. Luther rejected the Anabaptist view that baptism for infants is inappropriate. Additionally, Martin Luther criticized the Anabaptists, who were named so because they rejected baptism as infants and believed that baptism was by full immersion after regeneration of the believer. This was often referred to as Credo-Baptism, or baptism after faith in Christ. Pedobaptism, or baptism of infants, was then the common practice of the Roman Catholic Church, in which Luther held strongly to. Those who were baptized as infants, but later were saved and desired to be obedient to the Scriptures were rebaptized to follow the Lord for their new life in Christ. Hence the name they were given by their critics and persecutors, Anabaptists. The Bible does not teach infant baptism, by the way, and born-again Christians do not believe nor recognize this very unbiblical practice. Men must understand their condemnation, repent of their sin, and believe the gospel as we see Jesus in Jesus' parable in Matthew 13, verse 23. The Bible says, but he that receiveth seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it. which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. The Bible teaches that sinful men must know their condemnation under the law, acknowledge their guilt and shame and humility, and turn to the living Savior for the remission of sins by faith. Infants, and I would also say young children, cannot do this due to their inability to understand at such a young age, especially in their infancy. It is a very dangerous doctrine. I cannot stress this enough. It is a very dangerous doctrine to undermine a child's conscience, to pressure or force upon them an ordinance in which they do not willingly and voluntarily desire to fulfill themselves in the dictates of their own conscience. This is especially true if a child doesn't have the mental maturity to understand the principles of salvation, let alone an infant who can't even understand common language. Hence, the baptism of infants is downright devilish and Baptists have always rejected the practice. The Bible teaches that baptism is one of the two ordinances that Christ has commissioned His churches to fulfill, the other being the Lord's Supper to remember the Lord's death till He come. Neither of which play a part in regeneration of a person's soul, nor should they who are unbelievers be partakers in, such as grown adults who don't have a biblical testimony of repentance and faith, infants and young children who can't discern their right hand from their left. The Bible teaches that baptism is the answer of a person's good conscience toward God in 1 Peter 3, verse 21. Peter says, The like figure, whereunto even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This good conscience that Peter speaks of takes place when a person's conscience has been purged by the blood of the Lamb of God from all the guilt and shame of sin, according to Hebrews 9 14, making a new creature from a humble, repentant heart toward God and complete faith in Jesus Christ without the works of the law. Now, another issue that Martin Luther held onto is baptismal regeneration. Luther taught that in baptism, quote, God is the agent in the sacrament. He loves to call these ordinances sacraments. That is why it is effective for salvation. God is the one who has made the promise, Luther says. God is the one who has confirmed that promise in Christ. God is now the one who impresses that promise upon the Christian in baptism. Luther says, in baptism, God truly engrafts the subject into Christ, truly offers him Christ, end quote. Therefore, quote, he says, he sees baptism as a regenerative act by which the child is made into a Christian, end quote. And this is from Luther on the Christian Life, Cross and Freedom, page 138. Third issue that Martin Luther had, is Luther retained a type of priesthood. But he wasn't consistent in this because he retained a type of special priesthood. There is no special priesthood in the New Testament church. All believers are priests, according to 1 Peter 2, 9. If we're born again, God has called us kings and priests and have access to the father without the need for an earthly priest. Lutheran priests are also called reverend. Though this term is only used once in the scripture and it is a name for God alone. Nobody on this earth should be called reverend. Psalm 111 verse nine, the Bible says he sent redemption unto his people. He has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and reverend is his name. There's not a single sinner upon earth that should take the name or title of reverend, in my opinion. In fact, today in America and in Australia, Lutheran ministers aren't called priests, but they are in Europe. Now, another issue that Martin Luther had in his doctrine is Luther retained confession of sins to a priest. The individual confesses his sins to the priest and prays, quote, an act of contrition. Then the priest announces God's forgiveness. None of this is in God's word, folks. None of this is in God's word. In James 5, verse 16, it is not the confession of sin, but the confession of faults committed against a fellow believer. Further, it is not confession before a priest or pastor, but before a fellow believer. And the forgiveness comes from God through prayer. The confession is general rather than specific. That's the problem with Martin Luther's belief on confessions. The Lord Jesus strictly forbids these types of repeated confessions and vain repetitions and prayers in Matthew 6, verse 7. But when you pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Another issue that Luther had is Luther retained a state church. Lutheranism became the state religion of most parts of Germany, as well as in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Prussia, Iceland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. That means that every citizen became a church member through infant baptism and was required to be a member of the national church by force of law. Every citizen had to pay tithes to the state church and submit to the doctrine of the state church and attend the services of the state church. This resulted in nominal Christianity. The Lutheran, quote, church was composed largely of people who were not truly born again because they trusted their baptism to make them Christians. The Lutheran churches had a form of godliness but denied the power thereof. This resulted in persecution. Whoever refused to submit to the state church was persecuted. Thousands of humble Bible believers were put to death by Protestants because they refused to accept their false state church and their unscriptural infant baptism and other errors. Another issue that I don't hear very many people talk about, and especially in our Protestant circles today, is Luther's love affair with German beer. Luther loved German beer. He was a true German. Many sources record similar testimony of Luther's love for German beer. He was known to be a big fan of beer. He once wrote that, quote, whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep. Whoever sleeps long does not sin. Whoever does not sin enters heaven. Thus, let us drink beer." That's what Luther said, and many accounts record Luther saying that same thing. It is documented that Martin Luther's favorite beer was beer from Einbeck. He was so fond of it that he had a cask of it at his wedding, which Behrend was gladly able to provide for him. Martin Luther didn't just enjoy beer, he was also a home brewer. Katharina von Bora, Martin Luther's wife, was a skilled brewer who managed a commercial-scale brewery at their home, the former Black Monastery in Wittenberg. While Martin Luther appreciated and enjoyed his wife's beer, the brewing was primarily her responsibility as part of her larger role managing their household finances and provisions. Luther is credited for introducing hops into German beer as a revolt against the Catholic Church. See article, quote, The Other Reformation, How Martin Luther Changed Our Beer Too. I have that article I can share with you guys too as well. You can read that whole thing. It gives a whole discussion about how Martin Luther loved his German beer. I didn't know this about Martin Luther until years ago. I started researching. The Bible teaches that drinking alcohol is forbidden, by the way, folks, not only for Christians in general, but especially for bishops and deacons. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3, verse one, this is a true saying. If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desire a good work. A bishop then must be blameless. The husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach. not given to wine, no striker, not greedy, a filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God? Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise, Must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, and so on and so forth. The Bible teaches that drunkenness with wine is excess. Ephesians 5, verse 17, the Bible says, Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. The Bible says drunkenness is excess. I'll go one step further. Drinking alcohol for recreational purposes or for pleasure is excess in itself. Just seeking the alcohol to get drunk is excess in itself. Don't touch it, the Bible says. The act of pouring the drink into your body means you are permitting the alcohol to begin controlling your thoughts and behaviors. No Christian should go anywhere near alcoholic beverages due to their intoxicating properties. But Martin Luther had no issue with German beer, and many sources online share a common knowledge that they credit Martin Luther for his love affair with alcohol. Proverbs 20, verse 1, wine is a mocker, the Bible says, strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. What does that say about Martin Luther? Sounds like the man was not wise. Bible says in Proverbs 23, 21, for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. By the way, Martin Luther, I don't have this in my notes. Martin Luther helped to introduce hops. as a property that would help to sustain beer for international shipping. And that hops helped to preserve the beer for longer so that they could do international trade. And that hops, by the way, caused a man to be sluggish and more drunk as a result. Many other verses in scripture warn against the consumption of alcoholic beverages and is especially forbidden for Christians to partake, including bishops. Now I'm going to conclude this message. As a conclusion, seeing who Martin Luther was and the fruit of his testimony, I personally do not have any reason to believe that he was a true born-again child of God. After the research I've done about Luther, and by the way, this is just a brief review of his testimony and his life. This is in no way exhaustive. There's much more that can be said. But after the research I've done about Luther and a few other reformers, I believe it is safe to say that the Protestant Reformation started by Martin Luther isn't a movement I'm willing to follow or associate with. Not only was the fruit that Martin Luther produced evil, But today's reformed churches, as a result, are diseased with many doctrinal errors that are a result of compromise, weak soteriology, messed up ecclesiology, and lack of firm authority from the King James Bible as many self-claimed reformers resort to the corrupted Alexandria Egypt text of Westcott and Hort and their modern version Bibles that water down sound doctrine and the potent effect of the gospel in the sinner's heart. Lastly, and most importantly, no Christian should be looking to follow a man or take doctrinal stands from men like Martin Luther or any other reformers for that matter. As said in the beginning of this message, we ought to put our allegiance toward Christ and the scriptures for all faith and practice. Placing our doctrinal emphasis on man's interpretations of scripture, or confessions, or creeds, or even in 95 Theses, especially, is building your house upon the sand, where Jesus himself said in Matthew 7, verse 26, and everyone that hear these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Follow the scriptures alone. For all you professing Christians out there that exalt Martin Luther for being a great quote, hero of the faith, I exhort you to not only examine the life and testimony of your hero, Martin Luther, but also examine yourself as well as to why you see fit to exalt a Catholic monk who held to infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, reverencing of the Pope and state church and love of German beer as your quote, hero of the faith. You better examine yourself very well. The church that Jesus built has never needed reform, folks. Never. The Catholic church has been apostate since its inception and it never came from Christ's church. It is apostate from the beginning. But the church that Jesus built has always been in existence prior to the days of Martin Luther and the Reformation. Remember, the true church is typically not in the mainstream of Christendom. The Lord's true churches throughout centuries were mostly in hiding for the severe persecutions they faced, but they never ceased to exist. Jesus built his church, and I am thankful that I am in it.