17 Aug, 2010
Rediscovering Romans
Luther creates stir 500 years later
(Reuters) - About 800 colorful statuettes of 16th-century Protestant reformer Martin Luther are popping up in the eastern German town of Wittenberg, where Luther first railed against some practices of the Roman Catholic church almost 500 years ago.
The one-meter high plastic figurines in red, green, blue and black are the creation of the artist Ottmar Hoerl and are intended to replace a statue of Martin Luther on the town square while it is being renovated." My Luther statuettes look just like the original, except for the feet," Hoerl told German press agency DDP.
The art installation has stirred the ire of some Protestant theologians who say the statuettes make a mockery of Luther's achievements. Hoerl's art has caused controversy before. In 2009, he created 1,250 garden gnomes with their right arms outstretched in the Nazi salute.
Romans 3:22-24 (NLT)
We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Jesus Christ, who has freed us by taking away our sins.
What does God’s Story scripture teach us about being made right with God?
Almost 1500 years ago a restless monk named Martin Luther was finished. What was he finished with? He was finished with trying to use good works to satisfy God. He had striven for years to make God be happy with him by attempting to live a moral and religious life. In the end, however, instead of finding peace with God, he only found anger and frustration.
At this point, he stumbled upon these verses found in the book of Romans. Once he read them, he realized he could never be good enough to be accepted by God. However, he also discovered the great truth that Jesus Christ provides the way for us to be accepted by God. Through his death, he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of every person, and the only thing we have to do to be accepted is believe in Jesus and trust our lives to him.
How can we connect God’s Story scripture to our lives?
The first thing we need to be aware of is how easy it is to forget that God’s acceptance of us is not based on what we can do, but rather on what Jesus Christ has done for us. The church in Martin Luther’s day had forgotten this truth, choosing rather to try and earn God’s favor. This is why it is important to consistently incorporate God’s Story into our lives.
The second thing we need to do is ask ourselves what we base our relationship to God on. Do we think that going to church or knowing Bible information or being nice to other people is the basis for God loving us? Though none of these things are bad, we must always remember that the only way to be accepted by God is by having our sins forgiven by Jesus and trusting our lives to him.
How can we connect today’s story, God’s Story scripture, and our story to others?
One of the results of Martin Luther’s rediscovery of Romans was that he was compelled to make it known to as many people as possible. As we remember that our lives before God are not based on what we can do but on what Jesus has done for us, it should fill us with newfound enthusiasm. As Paul says, it should free us up to take our eyes off of ourselves in order to focus on sharing this life-changing news with others.
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