March 22, 2023
For in [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17
Paul’s quote taken from Habakkuk 2:4, “The just shall live by faith” took such a hold on the heart of Martin Luther that he was empowered to challenge some of the errors being propagated by his beloved church. Because of such courage, he and other reformers—in the hope of correcting the church—stood up for the truth they encountered in God’s word. But because correction was refused, Bible believers were forced to flee for their lives all over Europe. The prophet Jeremiah foresaw this:
Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will raise up against Babylon . . . a destroying wind. Flee from the midst of Babylon, And everyone save his life! . . . We would have healed Babylon, But she is not [refuses to be] healed. Forsake her . . . Jeremiah 51:1,6a,9a
Europe, at one time, was a bastion of Christianity. It was the birthplace of the Reformation. Bible societies and missionary movements were launched. Today, while most Europeans identify as Christian, such professions are merely nominal. Hardly anyone attends church. Public teaching is rare. The practice of genuine faith is even rarer. Church buildings are being converted to restaurants, libraries, museums, bookstores, nightclubs, palatial homes, even skateboard venues. And Islam is spreading like wildfire! This happened before during the Dark Ages. The corrupted church was steeped in idolatry and worldliness. God allowed Islamic armies to sweep across the European continent like locusts (described in Revelation 9:1-12) as punishment for compromise of the faith as well as an effective way to preoccupy the papal armies that were being dispatched to squash the true Christians.
The last church on the mail route laid out in the letters from Jesus to the churches (Revelation 2&3) corresponds with the lukewarm state of the church in our day. We still have opportunity to “buy” (see Revelation 3:17-18) what we need to persevere in our stand with Jesus. Prior to His return, a time will come when true believers will not be allowed to “buy and sell” material, worldly goods (Revelation 13:17). At that point, those enforcing this prohibition have missed their spiritual opportunity to “buy” what they need more than anything this world has to offer!
“And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?” Luke 14:28-30 (see also Psalm 19)