¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16–17 (ESV)

The Protestant Reformation’s enduring legacy, and that of Reformer Martin Luther, centers upon the doctrines of the “solas.” The Reformers believed and taught these five truths and they remain indispensable to the health of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the authentic growth of the church. 

Why? It is because these five tenants did not originate with the Reformers of the Reformation. On the contrary, the Reformers rediscovered truth God had given in Scripture and which had long been buried by the church. Therefore, the “solas” are to be continually studied, embraced, taught, and defended as God’s eternal truth in a fallen, temporal, and worldly culture. 

A brief description of each “sola” is appropriate.  In April 1996, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals held its first major meeting of evangelical scholars. The Cambridge Declaration, first presented at this meeting, is a call to the evangelical church to turn away from the worldly methods it has come to embrace and to recover the Biblical doctrines of the Reformation. The Cambridge Declaration explains the importance of regaining adherence to the five “solas” of the Reformation. The fine “solas” are as follows:

• Thesis One: Sola Scriptura
  We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.
  
  We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian’s conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.
• Thesis Two: Solus Christus
  We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.
  
  We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ’s substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.
• Thesis Three: Sola Gratia
  We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.
  
  We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques, or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerate human nature.
• Thesis Four: Sola Fide
  We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect justice.
  
  We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ’s righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.
• Thesis Five: Soli Deo Gloria
  We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone.
  
  We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment is allowed to become alternatives to the Gospel.

As any Christian should realize, the 16^th century Protestant Reformation was anything but a tempest in a teapot. It was a cataclysmic event which shook the then known world, and continues to do so today. May we continue to hold fast to the truths of Scripture, especially the Five Solas.

Be strong and courageous!

Soli deo Gloria!

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16–17 (ESV)

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1–2 (ESV)

The church as a whole, and in Wittenberg in particular, anticipated the observance of All Saints Day on November 1, 1517. Therefore, indulgence vendors were in full force. The most notorious of these peddlers was Johann Tetzel.

When entering a town, Tetzel proceeded with a great deal of pomp and circumstance. A cross bearing the pope’s official declaration was held high on a gold-embroidered cushion. The cross, or crucifix, was then planted in the town square, and then Tetzel would begin his sermon. An excerpt follows:

“Consider the salvation of your souls and those of your departed loved ones. Visit the holy cross erected before you. Listen to the voices of your dear dead relatives and friends beseeching you and saying, ‘Pity us, pity us. We are in dire torment from which you can redeem us for a pittance.’ Do you not wish to? Open you ears. Hear the father saying to his son, the mother to her daughter, ‘We bore you, nourished you, brought you up, left you our fortunes, and you are so cruel and hard that now you are not willing for so little to set us free. Will you let us lie here in flames? Will you delay our promised glory’?”

There was a little song composed in light of Tetzel’s motivational speaking. It went like this: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, another soul from purgatory springs.”

Talk about a guilt trip! What was a person to do in such an atmosphere but to comply and by so doing alleviate the suffering of their departed dead, as well as the guilt of the living? The tragedy is that this did not, and does not, happen. There is no such thing as purgatory, but only the promise of heaven for the believer, and the promise of hell for the unbeliever.

How many candles have been lit, and prayers said and monies given for the deliverance of the dead? Tetzel even had people believing the cross he brought to a town square was of equal value to the cross Jesus Christ bore to Calvary. As far as Martin Luther was concerned, he had had enough.

As the church as a whole, and in Wittenberg in particular, anticipated the observance of All Saints Day on November 1, 1517, indulgence vendors were in full force.

So, on All-Hallows Eve, October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posed his Ninety-Five Thesis to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Martin had no intention of breaking from the church by his actions. Rather, he was hoping to inspire debate within the church and in the community. Posting such a notice on the church door was a common practice. He did not realize that he would unwittingly tap into a growing resentment among the people that the church cared more about money than it did them.

The preamble to the Ninety-Five Thesis says, “Out of love and zeal for truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following theses will be publicly discussed at Wittenberg under the chairmanship of the reverend Martin Luther.”

Thesis 1 stressed the importance of repentance and that it was God’s will the believer’s life be one of repentance. Thesis 32 declared that those who believed that they were saved because of the payment of an indulgence would be eternally damned to hell along with those who taught such heresy. Thesis 79 declared that it was blasphemous to compare the papal coat of arms or a human cross as equal in worth to the cross of Christ. Thesis 82 questioned why the pope did not open all of purgatory and allow the people to enter heaven? The answer was that the pope wanted people to continue to contribute money to the St. Peter’s Basilica’s building program, and selling indulgences was a way to do it.

Luther originally wrote the Ninety-Five Thesis in Latin. However, university students copied the theses and had them translated into German. Copies were then made, thanks to Gutenberg’s printing press, and distributed throughout Germany. Within months, Luther’s objections were not only the talk of the town, but of many towns.

The church’s leadership were not happy. Pope Leo X said, “Luther is a drunken German. He will feel different when he is sober.” Rather than address Luther’s concerns, the pope dismissed them and this German monk. The fires of the Reformation began to blaze even higher.

Luther found himself in the middle of an ecclesiastical firestorm. It soon blazed beyond anything Martin could have imagined. The controversy Luther created eventually addressed not only the particular subject of indulgences, but ultimately how sinners were justified before God and what by authoritative, objective standard of truth ruled the individual believer along with the church?

While justification by faith may have been the instrumental cause of the Reformation, the foundational issue was the Bible being the sole and ultimate authority binding both Christian and church. The battle continues to this day.

I encourage you to rest in the knowledge that in Christ alone, we have peace with God (Romans 5:1) by grace alone, through faith alone. Reject any notion that forgiveness can be purchased by anything other than the precious blood of Christ (I Peter 1:17-18).

Soli deo Gloria!

 

 

 

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16–17 (ESV)

Is the Protestant Reformation over? Some would say that it is. Recent overtures resulting in theological agreements between Evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics would seem to support this idea that little is left of the theological disagreements which occurred in the 16^th century.

On October 31, 2016, Pope Francis said that after five hundred years, Protestants and Catholics “have the opportunity to mend a critical moment of our history by moving beyond the controversies and disagreements that have often prevented us from understanding one another.” In light of the pope’s statement, one evangelical professor of theology commented, “From that, it sounds as if the Reformation was an unfortunate and unnecessary squabble over trifles, a childish outburst that we can all put behind us now that we have grown up.”

Tell that to John Wycliffe who the Catholic Church persecuted for translating the Bible into English. Tell that to Jon Huss who was burned at the stake for speaking against the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. Tell that to Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin and others who were hounded, hunted and hurt by the those who refused, and continue to refuse, to acknowledge its errors. People have asked me is the Protestant Reformation over? I say no!

The Latin phrase Semper Reformanda applies here. Rather than mean that churches should always be changing in order to conform to the ever-changing culture, instead it means “always being reformed” or “The church reformed and always being reformed according to the Word of God.” God’s Word should always be reforming God’s people, and for that matter God’s churches. Each and every generation must return to God’s Word each and every day so that the Scriptures would continue reforming our lives, and keeping us from heresy.

The impasse which occurred between the Reformers of the 16^th Century and the Roman Catholic Church remain in full force today. These issues are as critical now as they were then. What key takeaways from the Reformation would we be wise to apply to the context of Christianity in the 21st Century?

The first would be that the sole authority for the Christian is to be the Scriptures: Sola Scriptura. Secondly, the commitment to objective truth instead of subjective experience is another lasting benefit from the Reformation. Thirdly, there is the commitment to the doctrine of sola fide or faith alone. This is a short-handed slogan which summarizes the doctrines of grace alone and Christ alone within the specific context of the biblical gospel of salvation.

Luther’s peace with God eventually came not from an emotional experience, but rather through the truth of the God’s Word specifically contained in Romans 1:16-17. On the basis of biblical truth, God credited Martin Luther with Christ’s righteousness, which resulted in Martin’s positional, personal and emotional peace with God.

The Reformation is far from over. It continues on and is as critical today as it was in Martin Luther’s day when biblical truth was at stake regarding how a sinner becomes righteous before God.

Today’s children of the Protestant Reformation hold that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone, to the glory of God alone based upon the teachings and truth of the Scriptures alone.

May we continue to hold to these truths as tenaciously as did Martin Luther. It won’t be easy, but “Here we stand; we can do none other. God help us!”

Soli deo Gloria!

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16–17 (ESV)

Each October, I find myself this brief narrative entitled One Hammer captivating and inspiring me. It encapsulates the essence of the 16^th Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther’s God ordained role in it. May you be blessed and encouraged.

ONE HAMMER in the hand of an obscure Augustinian monk changed the world forever. Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany calling his fellow professors to examine issues of supreme theological importance. Thus, began the Reformation through which the light of God’s Word was brought out of the darkness to shine with clarity once more.

One of the central cries of the Protestant Reformation was this: “The just shall live by faith.” Luther’s development of the doctrine of justification by faith alone recovered the gospel that had been hidden during the Middle Ages.

And at the center of that gospel is the affirmation that the righteousness by which we are declared just before a holy God is not our own. It’s a foreign righteousness, an alien righteousness, a righteousness that Luther said is extra nos—apart from us. Namely, it’s the righteousness of Jesus Christ—that righteousness that’s imputed or counted for all who put their trust in Him.

Because of that affirmation Luther was involved in serious controversies—controversies that culminated in his being brought to trial before the princes of the church and even before the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles the V. And there at the Diet of Worms, summoned in Germany, Luther was called upon to recant his views. He answered his interlocutors by saying, “Revoco? You want me to say revoco? That I recant? I will not recant unless I am convinced by sacred Scripture or by evident reason. I cannot recant for my conscience is held captive by the Word of God. And to act against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.”

In every generation the gospel must be published anew with the same boldness, and the same clarity, and the same urgency that came forth in the 16th century Reformation. The church has always done this in both the spoken word and in song—producing hymns that tell us of the great salvation that has been wrought by God alone through Christ alone.”  Dr. R. C. Sproul

Have a blessed Day.

Soli deo Gloria!

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16–17 ESV)

Many Christians observe the anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Thesis on the church door of Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. 2024 marks the 507th anniversary of the event which sparked the Protestant Reformation.

We love our heroes. We follow our heroes. We are also devastated when our heroes show themselves to be all too human, just like us. We want them as perfect as the Lord Jesus Christ; but they never can be.

Martin Luther is one of my heroes. I grew up attending a Lutheran Church where I not only learned about Jesus, but also about Luther. Luther began to take on almost super human qualities in my mind. However, he was as flawed a man as me. Therefore, how are we to objectively evaluate the 16^th century Protestant Reformation and Luther’s role in it?  

Pastor Burk Parsons writes, “Ultimately, the Word of God was the hero of the Reformation, not Luther. The power was not in Martin Luther or John Calvin or any of the Reformers—the power was the gospel unto salvation for everyone who believes. The fuel and the fire of the Reformation was the Holy Spirit who brought revival and reformation not only in doctrine, but in worship, in the church, in the home, and in the hearts of all those He brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ—all for the glory of God to the end that the nations might know, love, and proclaim the name of our triune God Coram Deo, before His face forever.”

In light of this significant event in church history, I would encourage you to meditate upon the lyrics of the following hymn by Dr. R. C. Sproul. It is entitled Glory to the Holy One and is based upon Isaiah 6:1-7.

Seated on the heav’nly throne
Above all mortal view
The King supreme in glory sat
Bathed in resplendent hue.

Refrain
“Holy, Holy, Holy”
Cried the seraph throng
Glory to the Holy One
Join in heaven’s song.

All around the mercy seat
The heav’nly creatures sang
Glory to our God on high
Their poignant anthem rang.

Shielded eyes and covered feet
The angels hovered high
Glory shook the portal walls
And smoke rose to the sky.

“Angel come now, purge my lips
Make pure my soul anew
Now I’ll rise and stand again
In grace to go for you.”

May all of us in grace, go and serve the Lord. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

It was five hundred and seven years ago this week that Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Thesis on the Castle Church Door in Wittenberg, Germany, thus beginning the Protestant Reformation. The impasse which occurred between the Reformers of the 16^th Century and the Roman Catholic Church remain in full force today. These issues are as critical now as they were then. What key takeaways from the Reformation would we be wise to apply to the context of Christianity in the 21st Century?

The first would be that the sole authority for the Christian is to be the Scriptures: Sola Scriptura. The Roman Catholic Church views Scripture as deferring to the church’s authority and traditions. This was not the view of Luther, Calvin, or the other Reformers. This was the foundational issue in the Protestant Reformation.

However, there are those within Evangelical Protestant churches who do not have the viewpoint that the Scriptures alone are our sole and primary authority in matters of faith and practice. Many believers opt for their own opinions and attitudes to shape their decisions, rather than obeying God’s Word. It is when these attitudes and opinions run contrary to the Scriptures, the Word of God is often set aside. This is not becoming the exception, but rather the norm.

For example, when a Christian is unhappy in their marriage, they may feel free to pursue and engage in an extra-marital affair. It doesn’t matter to them what the Bible says about adultery. They want to be happy and woe to the pastor who confronts them about their sin in accordance with Matthew 18:15-20 and Galatians 6:1-2.

Secondly, the commitment to objective truth instead of subjective experience is another lasting benefit from the Reformation. Martin Luther went from one religious experience to another; not only as a child, but also as a young adult. He constantly sought relief from his guilt over his sin by pursuing a religious experience. Whether it was promising to become a monk during a violent thunderstorm, constantly confessing his sins in the monastery, or traveling to Rome and climbing the so-called sacred stairs on his knees while reciting the rosary, his life prior to conversion to Christ was a search for the right experience where he would find peace with God.

However, Luther’s peace with God eventually came not from an emotional experience, but rather through the truth of the God’s Word specifically contained in Romans 1:16-17. On the basis of biblical truth, God credited Martin Luther with Christ’s righteousness, which resulted in Martin’s positional, personal and emotional peace with God (Romans 3:21-26; 5:1-5).

Today, many seek a subjective, religious experience for the sake of a subjective religious experience alone. Their desire for a religious “high” becomes the goal they pursue, rather than the pursuit of objective truth. This is not only true at youth conferences, but also at women’s and men’s conferences. It is also seen in regularly in churches. Few are the worship leaders, pastors and conference speakers who resist this pandering to the crowd for an emotional response. They’re out there, but they’re few and are far between. Style and experience is sought and preferred rather than substantive, objective truth.

Thirdly, there is the commitment to the doctrine of sola fide or faith alone. This is a short-handed slogan which summarizes the doctrines of grace alone and Christ alone within the specific context of the biblical gospel of salvation. For more churches than can be estimated, the gospel has become a self-help movement focused on personal peace and financial affluence. Your best life now, so to speak. It may be summarized by one church which has as its slogan, “Join us! Where it’s okay to not be okay.”

The Reformation is far from over. It continues on and is as critical today as it was in Martin Luther’s day when biblical truth was at stake regarding how a sinner becomes righteous before God.

There are those who teach and believe that Scripture plus the church is the believer’s authority. They teach grace plus human merit saves, and faith plus works is necessary to be made righteous. They also teach Christ’s righteousness, along with one’s own, is indispensable for salvation. Finally, they teach the glory of salvation is to be shared between God and man.

Today’s children of the Protestant Reformation hold that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone, to the glory of God alone based upon the teachings and truth of the Scriptures alone. May we continue to hold to these truths as tenaciously as did Martin Luther. It won’t be easy, but “Here we stand; we can do none other. God help us!”

Soli deo Gloria!

The following article is from Pastor Douglass Wilson.

“A correspondent once asked C.S. Lewis why he was not a Roman Catholic. He did not answer in any detail, but there was an aspect of his response that would be surprising to many of us. “By the time I had really explained my objection to certain doctrines which differentiate you from us (and also in my opinion from the apostolic and even the medieval church), you would like me less” (Letters of C.S. Lewis, p. 406). Lewis was concerned that the Roman communion had departed from the practices and teachings of the early church, and even from those of the medieval church.”

“Lewis answered this question from a broad and deep understanding of the classical and medieval worlds. His answer was historically informed. The modern Roman church was not ancient enough for him, and not medieval enough. But modern evangelicals tend to “not be Roman Catholic” because we were led to Christ through the ministry of a parachurch group in 1988, and then subsequently joined a church founded in 1972. Thinking earlier than this is hard for us, shrouded as the subject is in the mists of antiquity. Then, when the poverty of this position becomes apparent, many American Protestants are tempted to consider the claims of those churches that are older than 1776. But more is involved than how far back we can go. After all, Cain was the oldest.”

In the realm of covenants, antiquity is not the only issue. Age is only a blessing if it is an aged covenant union. But union is not an automatic thing.

“Twenty centuries ago, the apostle Paul gave a solemn warning to the Gentiles who were streaming into the church. The Jews had been guilty of a covenantal presumption, and so, after their high-handed rejection of their Messiah, the Lord from heaven solemnly and with great severity removed them from the olive tree of the covenant (Rom. 11:16–25). God then began grafting the believing Gentiles in.

But in the midst of this process of ingrafting, Paul took care to warn them not to commit the same sin as the Jews. They were mere branches, after all, and not the root. They did not support the root, but rather the root supported them. No branch on the tree can ever consider itself the root. The only root is the root of Jesse, the Lord Jesus Christ. Any branch can be cut from Him, but the Lord Himself cannot be uprooted.”

“We do not consider carefully enough that these stern warnings were given by an apostle to the church at Rome. Rome was the capital of the empire when Paul wrote. He knew how temptations come to the sons of men. He knew that the growth of the church in Rome and the destruction of Jerusalem, site of the original “mother church,” would create the temptation for the Roman Gentiles to boast against the original branches. And so he said, “Boast not.” Be not high-minded, Paul said, but fear. Again, he told the church at Rome not to be high-minded but rather to fear. What were they to fear? The answer is plain—the Roman church was commanded to fear the prospect of removal from the olive tree of the covenant.”

“In the face of this, over the centuries, it has become a dogma in the church at Rome that while other churches can fall away, it cannot. Even if everyone else denies You, Peter said, I will not. In other words, a church that is expressly warned that it can be cut off maintains that it cannot be. It is as if a modern church, standing amid the ruins of ancient Ephesus, were to maintain as a point of doctrine that its lampstand was incapable of removal (Rev. 2:5).”

“On the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter stood out among the other disciples. Even if all the others denied the Lord, Peter claimed, he would not. He would stand firm. But Jesus corrected him personally. The one who thinks he stands must take heed lest he fall. The one who considers it a point of doctrine to reject the Lord’s solemn warnings as though they were temptations is falling into the great temptation.”

“Peter turned back from his sin in repentance. As a result of his disastrous denial of the Lord, Peter went out and wept bitterly. He learned not to boast in his own strength. His tenderness, humility, strength, and holiness are plainly seen in the two letters he left for the church of all ages. Those who consider themselves his heirs need to consider this pattern.”

“The confidence that flows from a Biblical understanding of election is never an a priori confidence. If anyone understood and taught the doctrine of predestination, Paul did. And yet, in humility, he acknowledged that he might become a castaway. Likewise, Peter learned not to make claims he could not fulfill.”

“Every Christian church in the world must acknowledge that it does not support the root, but that the root supports it. In this demeanor of humility, a church can never fall away. But when pride comes in, so does danger. Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. This is the great and true legacy of Peter.”

Soli deo Gloria!

The following article is by Dr. R. C. Sproul. Dr. Sproul (1939–2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. His radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. He was author of more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, and Everyone’s a Theologian. He was recognized throughout the world for his articulate defense of the inerrancy of Scripture and the need for God’s people to stand with conviction upon His Word.

“The Rock. The Big Fisherman. The Betrayer. Each of these sobriquets has been applied to Simon Peter. Will the real Simon Peter please stand up?”

“The names given to Peter all fit him in one way or another. Like all of us, Peter was a complex person; no one is truly one-dimensional. At different times and under different circumstances Peter behaved in different manners. At times he was timid and weak, cowering before accusers. At other times he was bold and heroic, standing up against those in positions of power.”

“Peter earned a reputation for being somewhat impetuous. John names the disciple (who is unnamed in the Synoptic Gospels) who cut off the right ear of the high priest’s servant, Malchus, during Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane. It was Peter who took that precipitous and reckless action.”

“That same impetuosity appeared again when Jesus warned Peter that Satan would sift him as wheat. Peter answered proudly, “ ‘Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death’ ” (Luke 22:33). In reality, Peter was not ready to join Jesus either in prison or in death. Instead, he fulfilled Jesus’ prediction that he would betray Him.”

“Having arrested Jesus, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance. Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, ‘This man was also with Him.’ But he denied Him, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know Him.’ And after a little while another saw him and said, ‘You also are of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, ‘Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are saying!’ ” (Luke 22:54–60a).”

“At this point, Matthew notes that Peter prefaced his third denial with curses and swearing. Luke then adds a poignant detail: “Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord … and went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:60b–62).”

“There is irony here. In the space of a little more than an hour, Peter fell under the careful scrutiny of two people. The first was a servant girl, who fixed her gaze intently upon him before accusing him of being one connected to Jesus. This provoked Peter’s first denial. Then, immediately following his third denial, Peter was the object of the gaze of Christ. It was a knowing stare. No words were exchanged; none needed to be. I doubt that any human being in all history was subjected to a more devastating look than the one Peter received from the soon-to-be-executed Jesus. It is no wonder that Peter went out and wept bitterly.”

“The inconsistency of Peter’s behavior may be seen not only in the contrast between this shameful denial and his subsequent fearless behavior before the authorities of this world, but also in his capacity for change in short intervals of time.”

“It was at Caesarea Philippi that Simon was given the name “Peter.” The change was made in direct response to his confession regarding the identity of Jesus. When Jesus asked His disciples, “ ‘Who do you say that I am?’ ” Simon replied, “ ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ ” Jesus then declared: “ ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church’ ” (Matt. 16:15–18a).”

“Simon was now called “Petros,” or “Rock.” Yet, presumably only moments later, Jesus gave him still another name. Jesus had just explained to Peter and the others that He had to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die. To this announcement Peter said, “ ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ ” (v. 22).”

“Then came the new name: “ ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men’ ” (v. 23).”

“From “Rock” to “Satan.” From benediction to rebuke. From praise to offense. All in a short space of time.”

“Peter’s volatility gradually gave way to rock-hard steadfast faith. After the Resurrection, after Pentecost, and with the memory of the transfigured Jesus still vivid in his mind, Peter became the pillar of the apostolic church in Jerusalem. His dramatic sermon on the Day of Pentecost was followed by the healing of the lame man by the gate Beautiful. When the lame man begged for alms, Peter said, “ ‘silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk’ ” (Acts 3:6). The man departed walking, leaping, and praising God.”

“But not everyone was pleased about this episode. The authorities, troubled by apostles’ preaching of the Resurrection, had Peter and John cast into prison. Then, before the authorities (not a mere servant girl), Peter preached a courageous sermon, provoking even more hostility from them. They therefore commanded Peter and John to speak no more of Jesus. But the apostles replied: “ ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard’ ” (Acts 4:19–20).”

“The authorities saw a different Peter … a transformed Peter. With characteristic understatement, Luke records: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (v. 13).”

“Here is the crux of the matter, the key that unlocks the personality of Peter—he was a man who had been with Jesus.”

Soli deo Gloria!