BEING SQUEEZED

Just A Thought To Think About – BEING SQUEEZED.

In the Protestant Practice of religion, October 31, 1517 represents a significant moment when the foundational principles of the Reformation, written by Martin Luther, were posted on the Church Door for consideration and debate. While many people and protestant churches will place a greater influence on Halloween and providing candy for children who come to the door of one’s home and say Trick or Treat, the event of so long ago that gave birth to an alternative to the Catholic Church is hardly mentioned or deemed to be significant.

Ligonier Ministry posted: “Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were intended to spark a debate, to stir some soul-searching among his fellow brothers in the church. The 95 Theses sparked far more than a debate. The 95 Theses also revealed the church was far beyond rehabilitation. It needed a reformation. The church, and the world, would never be the same. One of Luther’s 95 Theses simply declares, “The Church’s true treasure is the gospel of Jesus Christ.” That alone is the meaning of Reformation Day. The church had lost sight of the gospel because it had long ago papered over the pages of God’s Word with layer upon layer of tradition. Tradition always brings about systems of works, of earning your way back to God. It was true of the Pharisees, and it was true of medieval Roman Catholicism. Didn’t Christ Himself say, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light?” Reformation Day celebrates the joyful beauty of the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Martin Luther with a conflicted conscience – loyalty to the Church versus loyalty to Scripture – felt as though he was being squeezed by those who differed with him and the Church’s Traditions including the sale of indulgences. His being squeezed would soon escalate to a point where his life was in danger. What caused such a consideration and reaction? What conviction of Martin Luther stirred the opposition to him?

A primary truth that was inescapable for Martin Luther was Romans 1:17, “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous (just) will live by faith.” The AMP captures this truth and expands it accordingly with this rendering: “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”

The reality of being squeezed had preceded Martin Luther when Paul wrote about the response to his writings and message. Second Corinthians 4:6-9, records the message and reaction to it. “For God, who said: Let light shine out of darkness, made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. We are pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

Who among us know what it truly means to being squeezed by those who reject us and the message we proclaim? Have we experienced what it is to be – pressed (pressured), crushed, perplexed, persecuted, struck for the cause of Jesus Christ and His Gospel? Sadly, too many have become too comfortable with the traditions of men and their demands upon those who are to stand in the gap and represent Christ who is the light that pierces into the blackest of the darkness of our day.

Prayerfully – Consider these things with me.