Sermon Tone Analysis

Quick Run Through of History:

Church is established in after Christ’s ascension about 33 A.D.

Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Council of Nicea- 325

1st Council of Constantinople- 381

Council of Carthage- 397

Council of Ephesus- 431

Council of Chalcedon- 451

2nd Council of Constantinople- 553

3rd Council of Constantinople- 680-681

Refuted a Pope

2nd Council of Nicea

The church has always had to defend itself from false teaching.

Fast forward 1000 years:

The Protestant Reformation:

In the dark/ medieval ages, the church had descended into all sorts of false teaching with the rise of the papacy and deep influence of tradition.

The one key issue that was around was the selling of indulgences.

A major controversy of the Reformation era involved the sale of indulgences that, it was believed, could shorten the time a Christian would have to spend in *purgatory.

In the sixteenth century an indulgence could be granted under the auspices of the pope, usually in exchange for a gift of money or land, to reduce the penalty of the “temporal consequences of sin,” i.e., unfulfilled penances.

Martin *Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses focused mainly on the theological problems attendant to the sale of indulgences.

Story of Martin Luther-

Martin Luther was a priest, who was an expert with the Greek and Hebrew Language, and he had become an expert when it comes to understanding God’s law.

What had happened with Luther was he saw how vast and unattainable it was to actually follow God’s law, and it drove him to sever depression and even to resent God.

This all changed when he began to prepare lectures on the book of Romans, God began to work a miracle in the life of Luther and the text that did it was Romans 1:16-17

It was here God woke up Luther to the reality that we are saved by faith alone.

Luther responded to this and is continued study by putting together what is called the 95 Thesis and nailing it to the cathedral in Wittenberg on October 31st, 1517.

This is the day that many look as one of the greatest sparing moments of the Protestant Reformation

Story of William Tyndale-

William Tyndale was a priest, and another scholar who was proficient with the Greek and Hebrew Languages, so he sought to create an english translation of the bible so that the common people could have access to it.

He was refused so he exiled himself to continental Europe and began translating the scriptures and employed a printing press to make more copies.

It was because of Tyndale that english copies of scripture were finally available to the common people.

In 1536, he was lured into a trap and burnt at the stake for wha he had done, and his last words were him praying to God to open the King of England’s eyes.

Why does it help to know this?

There where many good things that came out of the reformation, but 5 things stand above them all.

Sola scriptura

Sola gratia

Sola fide

Solus Christus

Sola deo gloria