1008. Martin Luther

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. The school was founded in 1927 by the evangelist Dr. Bob Jones Senior's intent was to make a school where Christ would be the center of everything, so he established daily chapel services today.

That tradition continues with fervent little preaching from the University chapel platform just over 500 years ago, in October 15 17, Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses, which is considered to be the beginning of the Reformation for the next several days on The Daily Platform will be studying some of these doctrines in a series called truth tryouts.

Today's message will be a special presentation of the life of Martin Luther by Dr. Edwin OCN retired history professor Dr. Steve Pettit will introduce him as we continue our series on truth tryouts why the Reformation matters. We are very privileged this morning to have an chapel Dr. Edward Pernod Zeehan Dr. Pernod Zeehan served for more than 50 years at Bob Jones University as a member of the history faculty. He was chair of the division of social studies, and head of the Department of history.

He taught church history and the graduate school of religion and is considered to be one of the most renowned church historians in the nation over the past 50 years Dr. Pernod Zeehan helped establish the culture of access to academic excellence. Here at Bob Jones University with his godly testimony, keen mind, deep, resonant voice, and passionate desire to convey God's truth and Providence displayed on the pages of history. He has impacted thousands of lives through his ministry at Bob Jones University and around the world.

He is well known for his film, radio and stage performances and has and still lives at the age of 87 years old assault after speaker in churches and conferences presenting first-person accounts of the lives of people like Martin Luther, William Tyndale, John Knox, John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon and others. He and his wife Betty, who also taught here at Bob Jones in the speech department now live on the back campus here greened at at Bob Jones University in Greenville have grandchildren in the University and Bob Jones Academy, so we are honored this morning to have Dr. Pernod Zeehan come and speak. Would you please give him a warm Bob Jones University law. I appreciate very much the opportunity to participate in this series on the Protestant Reformation as the University appropriately commemorates this year the 500th anniversary the chain quick trend. Tyndale of anything is extremely rare and few aspects of our Christian heritage have been more significant than this. In these few minutes that we have together this morning.

Let me ask you to imagine that I am Martin Luther. As I recount highlights in the life of a faithful man whom a gracious God used as a catalyst for a movement which proclaimed and reclaimed the Scriptures and its gospel from meta-evil corruption. I was born on our before midnight on 10 November in 1483 to a family of peasants which had been true for decades before my arrival the next morning, as was the custom. I was baptized and also as was the custom electric took the name of the site whose day it was. So I was named Martin soon reared in a family in which discipline was important. I learned to obey my parents. They made sure of that and I learned to obey God as exemplified by my parents. My father was to build married my mother was to be obeyed, and before long I came to realize the importance of that discipline soon after my birth my father leased a copper mine, a strip mine and we moved to a neighboring town and soon I began my education, my grammar school and in those days. Grammar school meant learning Latin grammar because universities conducted their classes in Latin.

Every course was taught in Latin, so he could come from any country of Europe and attending a university and regardless of what was your native language you can understand the lectures I prospered and did well in those lessons, often signing for my supper. There was a custom in those days in the town of housewives graciously would provide supper for young college student or young grammar school student who was and was serenaded a guy I accompanied myself with my Lou. I had a tenor voice.

You might find that surprising and good and good, and enjoyed the opportunity of growth and learning of lightning father had prospered sufficiently so that eventually I was sent to University University of Air Force in Germany and proceeded to learn the bachelors and the Masters degrees in the arts. The seven liberal arts as they were known, geometry, arithmetic, music, astronomy, grammar, rhetoric and logic and that was the basis of subsequent education, then beyond that you chose a major a profession. There are only three possibilities, law, medicine and theology. My father determined that I would study law.

He wanted to be well cared for in his old age and he assumes that law was a an effective vehicle for that purpose. He provided for me for a recently published a copy of the Corpus Juris Sevilla's the collection of Roman civil law which Justinian in the sixth century had ordered.

Be prepared.

A few of you will remember this very few apparently and this was a basic textbook for the study of law.

My heart was not in it but my mind and will word was determined to obey my father. I had come across a copy of the Scriptures. At the age of 20 for the first time in the university library, I was amazed to discover books that I've never heard of in that volume. Never heard them preached on or referred to, to hold in my hands the entire Bible. At the age of 20.

Do you have any understanding of the gifts you have been given of the opportunities you have shared the Scriptures. Many of you from your earliest memories here heard the words of the Scripture from your parents and now I came to realize a problem. This problem was exaggerated when suddenly a college friend died on prepared on warm and I was conscious that if that had been, I thought I would be in hell I was very much concerned for the salvation of my soul.

I was a good, faithful young man, but I knew not the Lord of glory.

I feared God, I was a sinner and I knew it all. I was, not gross. In my sin, but I knew I had not the righteous, and I came to have contacts with some of that scripture which I saw for the first time. Romans 116 and 17 repelled to me long before it drew me herein as the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, but just shall live by faith. I must have the righteousness of God.

And then I can live by faith, but how can I be righteous. I'm a sinner and I know it.

I know not what to do about it long years after word as I was teaching on the book of the Psalms.

I came to Psalms 31 preserve medial Lord, for in the July trust. Let me never be ashamed. Deliver me in the high righteousness, and I came to understand eventually that it was God's righteousness, Christ's righteousness, which was my salvation. Not what I worked up and achieved for.

I was a sinner but God had made a way for my salvation, but not yet. I had started the process of the study of law. I say but my heart was not in it. I did. Therefore what university students have done for centuries. I took cuts. I went home briefly to stall for time to think about this decision. I was not a happy camper. During those days and then had to return to the University. Still unsettled, but troubled in heart and soul and was caught in the midst of my journey back to the airport in a thunderstorm of violent storm of all those thunder and lightning and Everett and I fear dying on the spot.

I knew nothing of the meteorological explanation of what was going on in our day of superstition.

We envision the Angels and the Devils in conflict in God's viewing wrath on the earth.

I was fearful of dying and unprepared for eternity and that instant I prayed a prayer helped me site and I'll become a monk I could think of no greater sacrifice than that site and because St. and was the patron saint of minors. My father was a minor. We prayed to St. and as I was growing up we pray decided and that she would appeal to the virgin so that she in turn would appeal to purse on so that he in turn would appeal to the righteous angry father and we hope to get some blessing of heaven by that series of steps, so the most immediate heavenly personage for me was Synanon. I survived and went to back to the city and immediately entered the monastery and Augustinian monastery gave away my loops gave away my copy of the civil law that my father had dearly purchased and I proceeded now to become the best monk there ever was. I said later that if ever a man went to heaven through monk array I would've been a I scrub floors, stone floors that were already clean. I confess sins more than I had even committed in hopes of feeling forgiven. Finally, I was counseled by a visiting priest who said to me, my son, you are trying to obey God love God, but you must learn to trust God and believe God. These were new thoughts for me. There was not immediate help, but eventually then he suggested later that I become a priest.

I had an education.

All I need to do was to learn the mass and becoming a priest, I could minister to others and be not so much concerned about myself. My parents came to the celebration of ordaining a priest like a wedding for other people and my father was not please. He said there is a commandment that you have disobeyed honor thy father and thy mother and that you have not done well.

I began to now minister to the souls of others. I soon was assigned to the faculty of a brand-new University in the city of Wittenberg and the elector of the prints, the governor of my territory had established that as a rifle to the University of Leipzig long and much older. I taught medieval philosophy and didn't know what it was.

Finally got to teach Scripture teach Bible church theology in the midst of writing lectures for my students.

I came to understand the meaning of salvation by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Soon, the Pope of Rome decided to build a new edifice in enrollment to honor the apostle Peter, there'd been a church there for centuries. It was in decay. He wanted something appropriately large. So he issued a very generous indulgence to the German people to permit them to make contributions to building this building in Rome and indulgence was a cancellation of some portion of punishment suffering which the four given sins of a penitent sinner resulted in the church forgave the guilt but you must pay the penalty in this life by good deeds and gifts or in the life to come by physical suffering.

No one knows how long you must be in purgatory before your elevated to heaven. This is a fiction.

Nowhere in Scripture.

I believe Dick because the church taught it, but I saw it's abuse my Prince forbade it being sold in our town, but my parishioners could just cross a bridge and not very far away was a town in which they could obtain these indulgences. Now of course you did not purchase and indulgence you received it as a gift in return for a gift figure that one out. The Baker I love your bread it so it smelled so good it's beautiful it looked old here have a low of all thank you I appreciate it so much and to show my appreciation. Here is some modern you call that what you will.

It's not the exchange of gifts it's buying and selling this incensed this priest.

Richard and I in my study decided to do something about it. I heard that the Hawker of indulgences said as soon as the sound of the clawing is heard in the chest. The money just because soul flies up to heavenly rest. I went to my study. I wrote out a few question one of these was if the Pope has the power to release souls from purgatory.

Why does he not out of his evangelical piety simply declare purgatory empty rather than for filthy lucre dispense indulgences.

There were 94 other such question.

They were written in Latin. They were not intended for the people they were simply subjects for debate among scholars.

They were posted on the church door in Wittenberg and soon an enterprising printer had them translated and scattered throughout Europe throughout Germany. At first I said later.

It was as if the Angels were my couriers so rapidly were my words dispersed throughout the land. In short time.

My thoughts and words were transferred from page to souls and problems resulted.

I was called to a debate that like saying the rival University and I had called for a church council to settle problems in the church and my opponent in that debate said all you want to counsel well. The Council of Constance, 100 years ago burned John Hoss for teaching what you're teaching.

I was amazed that that I thought of us as a heretic. The church said so, and therefore so I discovered what it plus taught and discovered he believed he agreed with me but obviously he was right and the church was wrong and the Council was no longer defensible and I was benefited by this, but then my writings continued and were enlarged and I found in my communication by the December 2015 20.

I was excommunicated by the pope given 60 days in which to repent or suffer damnation when the 60 days were up by nonstudent chapels that it noontime are going to have an event at the town square and at that event I publicly burned the bold excommunicating me so much for papal authority over Marshall now quickly summoned by the Emperor to the next Imperial Congress to do, yet the diet in the city of worms.

Among other things on the agenda was what to do about Luther finally I was summoned and offered safe conduct, which meant that I could not be harmed either going to or from the destination and I arrived was shown copies of all my writings and asked two questions are these yours. Yes wheel retracts their content are not prepared for such a thing. I came here to defend my position not to retract if there are things here I've written that you agree with you only retract them all think what you're doing. Come back tomorrow. I came back tomorrow and send unless I am shown by clear proofs from the Scriptures and by right reason. Not sure sophistry where I have erred, I will retract nothing.

My conscience is captive to the word of God to go against conscience thus instructed is neither right nor safe. I stand here, God is my helper, I proceeded to go home.

In my absence on condemned to death and lived for the next quarter-century under that condemnation, but died a natural death. On the way home I was kidnapped by my friends, although I did not know it at the time and taken to a castle where I spent some 13 months translating the New Testament into German. I made Paul speak German and Matthew Mark Luke and John and James and whoever wrote the epistle to the Hebrews to.

I made it available to my own people in their own language went back home to Wittenberg.

Eventually, and finally I must conclude with this. I took a wife. Imagine that a month a priest condemned heretic, a husband on Easter Sunday morning and 15 2312 nuns escaped from a nunnery and three of them went back to their homes.

The others came to Wittenberg in a Wittenberg we felt obligation to find a husband for each one of those days and an unmarried woman had no opportunity for employment. Except as left as a made.

We were successful with all but one she would not have whom we chose for her. We thought that presumptuous of her until when we said will you have and she looked at me I'm under sentence of death, I will not hasten you to a wedding all turned into a funeral bear no I said yes she said, and we were married and it was June and we wasted no time and we had six children and three boys and three girls. Two girls died during our lifetime. One of the sons became a lawyer. One became a doctor but became a preacher.

The Lord help me to be used of him to restore the biblical principle of American pastors whole combining the qualities of the highest earthly calling with the obligations of home and family, which for centuries had been declared unworthy of a servant of God.

God be praised the time past the years pass.

I was on a journey to effect a reconciliation among two friends when I was in the city of my birth and there passed from this life into a better as the patriarch servant was sent to find a wife for the patriarch son. He said I being in the way the Lord led me I did know where I was going where it would end. I was led in the way he out of darkness into light out of ignorance into understanding out of sin into salvation, and at last in February 2015 63 at the age of 62 was led from this life to a better God be praised our father. We acknowledge thy mercy and goodness the doings of thy servant as he sought to honor the we pray that each of us in his place shall be faithful until about us, call us and receive us unto myself. We provide blessing on these men and women in this day and as they labor in the calling, which is there's no and we pray that the social guard them in the calling of years to come. As the size thy son, Mike, Terry and Valdis give us breath in Jesus name we pray. Amen.

You been listening to a special presentation by Dr. Ed Pelosi and history professor at Bob Jones University and this was part of the series about the Reformation and its history. Thanks for listening and join us again tomorrow as we study God's word together on The Daily Platform