Friday, November 5, 2010
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
THE SCRIPTURES AREN'T CLOUDY
Luther grew up in Germany and in the Roman Catholic Church. At that time the Bible did not exist in the German language and the Roman Church was THE church. In those days the it was also a significant political power and heresy was often punished by torture and horrible death.
The Roman Church had long strayed from God's Word as the decider of disputes and final authority over all things. It was accepted that the head of the church, the Pope, was the "the earthly stand-in" for Jesus. As such, the Pope claimed that he alone had the final authority in all matters (including, of course, the interpreting of what the Scriptures really meant).
Aside from the Pope, the church also looked to tradition as another voice of authority. In other words, they looked to past pronouncements made by church councils.
Lastly, the Church of Rome also looked to the Bible for direction. But the Bible was not considered a great source of direction, for the Roman Church taught that it was unclear. It certainly wasn't considered fit for common people to study, but was rather seen as a "professional book" for the clergy to use.
The common people were expected to simply submit to the authority of Christ's stand-in and let the priests and other church officials tell them what God wanted them to know and do.
This of course made it very easy for the Roman Church to manipulate and use the people. Sadly, it also made for lazy people. It is easier to sit back and let the preacher tell you what to believe than it is to dig into the rewarding, but sometimes hard work, of studying God's Word.
Do you own a Bible? Is it in your own language? Is the translation understandable? If the answer is yes, then you've got way more than most ordinary churchgoers had in Luther's day.
USE that lamp! SHINE that light!
It comes from God and illuminates everything it falls on.
