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From the Pastor's Study
by Pastor Mason Okubo
from The Immanuel Buzz, November 2007
November 1st is the anniversary of the Reformation,
commemorating the discovery that "salvation was a gift." To understand
the immensity of that discovery, it is important to understand original
sin. Original sin is the sin that all humans have at birth. Original
sin makes us blind to God. A lot of people do not know God. A lot of
people do not know Jesus. That is because of original sin.
That is the reason why babies are considered to be
sinful and in need of a savior. You might think that they are too young
to do anything. However, if you have ever spent time taking care of a
baby, you've seen what I mean. For example, who is the most important
person in the universe in the baby's eyes? It's the baby, of course!
From its perspective, everyone exists to take care of it. But according
to the Bible, who is the most important person in the universe? God!
The baby is unaware that God is the most important person in the
universe. That is original sin. So even though a baby may be too young
to commit an act of sin, it still needs a savior. Scripture says "all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Everyone needs Jesus.
Before the Reformation, Martin Luther used to struggle
with the Gospel. He studied the Bible. He became a monk. He made trips
to visit the religious museums. He confessed his sins with passion. By
human standards, he should have earned every right to feel secure about
his salvation. But he didn't.
In all things that he did, Luther realized he was not
free. Instead of being happy, he fell into despair. The harder he
tried, the more he felt that he was falling short. There would never be
enough holy relics to see to ease his heart. There would never be
enough study to ease his worry. There would never be enough time to
confess all his sins. Martin Luther said that "sin" was like quicksand.
The harder he fought with his own strength, the deeper he sank. Luther
had to come face-to-face with the reality that God is perfect and we
are not. We are sinful and God is not. That was the original sin we
inherited. And scripture says the wage of sin is death.
But when Luther started to give up, God led him to the
true meaning of the Gospel. The Gospel tells us that "Yes, you are not
able to be righteous. You are sinful! You are worthy of death." But
someone has come up and said "I will be righteous for them. Not only
that, but I will die in their place. I will die for them on the cross.
I will go to the executioner so that they can go free." That person was
Jesus. Luther wrote: "When I understood it, and the light of the Gospel
came into my soul, the gates of paradise opened, and I walked through.
That was the Reformation. The Reformation rediscovered
Christian freedom. Freedom from death. Freedom from sin. Freedom! We
are no longer enemies of God, no longer slaves to sin. What an awesome
gift that is! God now sees us in a radical way, not as enemies but as
His children. We have been converted from slaves to children of God...
you are a new creation. You are loved by God.
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