"HOW SHALL WE THEN LIVE?" Francis Schaeffer

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Here we have, from the pen of Martin Luther (but translated into the English Americans understand) his insight on the little New Testament book of Galations. The first couple of paragraphs are really boffo!

Galatians 1:1-3
__________

VERSE 1. Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead).

St. Paul wrote this epistle because, after his departure from the Galatian churches, Jewish-Christian fanatics moved in, who perverted Paul's Gospel of man's free justification by faith in Christ Jesus.

The world bears the Gospel a grudge because the Gospel condemns the religious wisdom of the world. Jealous for its own religious views, the world in turn charges the Gospel with being a subversive and licentious doctrine, offensive to God and man, a doctrine to be persecuted as the worst plague on earth.

As a result we have this paradoxical situation: The Gospel supplies the world with the salvation of Jesus Christ, peace of conscience, and every blessing. Just for that the world abhors the Gospel

JB here: Of course to many, it's not just the world that abhors the Gospel, but there are many who would be self-described Christians who also abhor this same Gospel. They would not mind burning Martin Luther at the stake either. That's what blows my mind.

No comments: