It was upon reading the Bible in the Book of Romans that he realized that a man is made righteous in the sight of God by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Luther understood that Jesus had died for his sins and had taken God’s punishment. He could thus be regarded as a righteous man, acceptable before God. Upon re-discovering this truth, he wrote 95 theses, of which a large part was directed at the erroneous teachings of the Roman Catholic Church which taught, for example, that the pope can forgive sins. He affixed them to the door of the Castle of Wittenburg. At that time, it was a common thing for a scholar to post up in a public place a controversial proposition. This started the 16th century reformation of the Christian Church. But for that, Martin Luther was almost put to death by the Roman Catholic Church of Rome. We thank and praise God: Once again, people could hear the true gospel of Jesus Christ and obtain salvation, the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. I wish to draw our attention to two important theses of Luther’s 95 theses:
Thesis 1: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, says ‘Repent ye,’ etc., he means that the entire life of the faithful should be a repentance.”
A Christian life is a life of repentance. You must be willing, with the help of God, to put away sinful living and make a determined effort to live a new and holy life that pleases God. You must not only turn away from some sins but from every sin at every level of your life, things that you know displease God. That includes your private life, the way you treat your family, the way you use money and time, sinful recreation, the way you do your work, etc. You must also be determined to try your best to love God sincerely and wholeheartedly, putting Him first in your life. It is only when you sincerely repent of your sins and live a life of repentance, that your life will bear good fruits and you will enjoy abundant life. With man this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. Jesus is either Lord of all or He is none at all.
Thesis 3: “However, he does not mean inward repentance only, for inward repentance that does not result in various eternal mortifications of the flesh is empty.”
A life lived in true repentance will bring outward fruits. 1. It must change your priorities in life. The Lord Jesus has sacrificed His life for you and given you eternal life. Without him, you will perish in hell for eternity. How can you not give Him your best? Do not deceive yourself: You are only paying lip service when you say that Jesus is your Lord and Saviour if you do not put Him first in your life. Do not be afraid of putting Him first and honouring Him in your life. He will carry you through life safely with great joy and peace. 2. True repentance will change your habits. Are you clinging on to some sinful habits? Before Jesus became your Saviour, you are not capable of overcoming sin. Now that Jesus is your Saviour, you have His eternal life which is the resurrection life that overcomes death at all levels, you can overcome sin. I am not saying that you will not sin again. Neither am I saying that there will be no struggle with sin or that it is easy to live a holy life. What I am saying is that if you ask God to help you and you keep close to the Lord, you can overcome sin and gradually your life will become more and more holy. Sin almost pulled you into the eternal hell. How can you live anymore in sin?! Demonstrate true repentance by the way you think, talk and live. Of course, some changes are obvious, while some changes are less obvious. Nonetheless, salvation must and will result in a changed outward life. Jesus says: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:7). Keep close to Jesus. Read the Bible and pray to the Lord daily. Run away from things that will cause you to sin. Then you can overcome sin and live the new life.