Perhaps the single most significant event in church history (after all of the events in the New Testament, of course) was the moment in 1517 when Martin Luther, a German monk, nailed a document to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany. It was not so much an act of defiance, but a notice of intent to discuss major theological challenges that Luther was grappling with concerning the teaching and practice of the Roman Catholic Church. That paper listed the “95 Theses” or arguments that he was making and that he wanted discussed. What Luther could not have known as he did that was that it would spark a protest and reformation in the Church that would reverberate through history.
The Protestant Reformation, as it came to be known, is just as important today as it was then. As the 500th anniversary of that momentous event comes on October 31, 2017, it seemed appropriate to commemorate it with a sermon series that looks at 7 Must-Believes for Christians. The series title comes from a declaration Martin Luther made while on trial for his beliefs: “Here I stand. I can do no other.”
The culture in which we live today preaches relativism and tolerance for all religions and no religion. It is counter-cultural to declare that certain things are true for everyone, that doctrine matters, and that God gave us a set of objective truths rooted in who he is and not what we think or have experienced. Everything else in our lives flows from what we believe. And so, the declaration from genuine Christians today must be no less decisive and firm as that of Luther and the Reformers: “Here I stand!”
Sermon Resources
- The Bible Is Not an Instruction Manual
- 4 Tips for Defending Your Trust in the Bible
- 8 Questions to Help You Understand and Apply the Bible
- Sola Scriptura Demands Inerrancy
- Desiring God: The Bible
- Desiring God: Bible Reading
- God Wrote a Book (PDF)
- Taking God at His Word (PDF)
- Why Trust the Bible? (PDF)
- What Is Biblical Theology? (PDF)
- A Peculiar Glory (PDF)
- 6 Ways We Experience the Holy Spirit
- Communing with the Holy Spirit
- How Not to Walk by the Spirit
- God, the Holy Spirit
- I Believe in the Holy Spirit
- Is Spirit Baptism the Privilege of Every Christian?
- Desiring God: The Holy Spirit
- Ligonier Ministries: The Holy Spirit
- We Need to Talk about the Holy Spirit (Podcast)
- The Bible Project: Holy Spirit (Video)
- The Holy Spirit (Sermon Series from Todd Dugard)
- Who Is Jesus?
- Why the Virgin Birth Matters
- 10 Things You Should Know about the Incarnation
- 10 Reasons Jesus Came to Die
- 10 Things You Should Know about the Resurrection
- The Compelling Testimony of Scripture that Jesus is the Christ
- Desiring God: Jesus Christ
- Ligonier Ministries: Jesus
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Who Is Jesus? (PDF)
- Name Above All Names (PDF)
- Evidence for the Historical Jesus (PDF)
- Simply Human
- Why Do I Exist?
- The Image of God: A Primer
- What Does It Man to Be Made in God’s Image?
- The Image of God and the Dignity of Work
- What Is the Biblical Evidence for Original Sin?
- What Is the Difference Between Original Sin and Imputed Sin?
- Thirteen Practical Steps to Kill Sin
- Putting on Christ / Putting off Sin
- Jesus Came to Reverse the Curse
- The Proto-Evangelium
- The Significance of Genesis 3:15
- What Does It Mean to Be Made in God’s Image? (Podcast)
- How Can We Know We’ll Go to Heaven?
- Differentiating the Work of the Son and Spirit in Salvation
- Why I Believe in the Doctrine of Justification
- Justification—The Defining Doctrine of the Reformation
- Everyday Justification
- What Is Sanctification?
- Is There a Silver Bullet of Sanctification?
- Basking in the Benefits
- We Will Be Like Him
- Glorification Now?
- When Assurance of Salvation Is Fleeting
- Can You Really Have Assurance of Salvation? (Podcast)
- What the New Testament Really Teaches about Assurance of Salvation and Eternal Security (Video)
- Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die (PDF)
- Justified by Faith Alone (PDF)
- Finally Alive (PDF)
- Why the Church Is Vitally Important for Every Christian
- Why We Need the Church
- What Is a Local Church?
- The Pillar of the Truth
- 5 Metaphors for Church Membership
- Where Do We See Church Membership in the New Testament?
- Every Good Church Is Messy
- Church Should Feel Uncomfortable
- 10 Things You Should Know about Church Elders
- Elders for the Church
- Can Someone Love Jesus But Not the Church? (Video)
- Why Listening to a Podcast Is Not a Substitute for Going to Church (Video)
- 7 Key Characteristics of the Church (Video)
- Here Is Water (Sermon from Todd Dugard)
- The Lord’s Table (Sermon from Todd Dugard)
Additional Resources
- 10 Things You Should Know about the Reformation
- Here We Stand: A 31-Day Journey with Heroes of the Reformation
- Christian History: Reformation
- The Most Dangerous Thing Luther Did
- Does the Reformation Still Matter?
- Why the Reformation Remains Relevant After 500 Years (Podcast)
- 500th Anniversary of the Reformation (Video)
- Vertical Church Conference 2017 // Reformation Session (Video)
- Why the Reformation Still Matters (PDF)
- The Reformation (PDF)
- Christian Beliefs (Wayne Grudem)
- Bible Doctrine (Wayne Grudem)
- ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible
- Visual Theology (Tim Challies & Josh Byers)
- Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me (Kevin DeYoung)
- The Five Solas Series
- Why We’re Protestant (Nate Pickowicz)
- Rescuing the Gospel: The Story and Significance of the Reformation (Erwin Lutzer)
- The Starting Five: Discovering the Five Doctrines that Anchor the Christian Life (A 31-Day Devotional) (Brett Maragni)