Remembering the Reformation

It was on this day, October 31st, in 1517 that Martin Luther walked up to the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany, and nailed The Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, commonly known as the 95 theses, to the door. While the Reformation had actually started in the 14th century with John Wickliffe and John Hus, Luther’s bold step in 1517 is the most well known single act of the Reformation, and for good reason.

What was the Reformation?

In part, the reformation was a revolt against the ecclesiastical abuses of the Roman Catholic Church, but Luther himself saw the Reformation as something far more important than a revolt against ecclesiastical abuses. Luther believed that the reformation was a fight for the gospel. Luther even stated that he would have happily yielded every point of dispute to the Pope, if only the Pope had affirmed the gospel.And at the heart of the gospel, in Luther's estimation, was the doctrine of justification by faith—the teaching that Christ's own righteousness is imputed to those who believe, and on that ground alone, they are accepted by God.That doctrine, often called the Material Principle of the Reformation, is what the apostle Paul taught as well: "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom. 4:5).

What is a Reformer?

Reformers are Men who desire to look back to the foundations of the Word of God and the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in light of human traditions and ecclesiastical corruption. To “reform” something is to “make right that which is wronged” or to “amend, rectify, or remedy” something. The reformers desired to “rectify or amend” the corrupt traditions of the Roman Catholic church and turn it back to the Bible’s authority alone. Reformers were not needed merely for this single time in history, the term can be used throughout church history, including today. The church is not perfect, and will never be perfect. It should continue to be reformed and amended before God in all its ways. The term Semper Reformanda “always reforming” should be true of the church throughout history.

The content of this victorious reaffirmation of biblical doctrine can be summed up in the five slogan terms of the Reformation, the five Solas:

Sola Sciptura: Scripture alone is the standard
Soli Deo Gloria: For the Glory of God alone
Sola Christo: By the work of Christ alone are we saved
Sola Gratia: Salvation is by grace alone
Sola fide: Justification is by Faith Alone

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Romans 3:28

Rockie Mountain High

Laura is a bit of a Red Sox fan and I have always been a Yankees fan.... so we decided that we should find a team that both of us can cheer for. We needed an underdog team, one that is likeable, and from a city that both of us have an interest in.

They were about 3 games behind in the Wild Card race with not many games left in the season...but they had a slim chance and they were certainly an underdog team, the exact opposite of my Yankees (26 World Series titles vs 1 playoff game victory). They also had one player from Wake Forest and one from Ole Miss. So the obvious choice for our new team was the Colorado Rockies, it was unlikely that they would make the playoffs, but we could cheer for them as they tried... and hopefully their future would be brighter than their past.

Well, here we are a few weeks later and the Rockies are...

the fifth team in the last 70 years to go 21-1 in any stretch of any season.

the first team to do that in the middle of one of these mad charges to, and through, October.

the second team in history (along with just the 1976 Big Red Machine) to sweep its first two postseason series in any given October.

the fifth team of all time to make it from last place one year to the World Series the next.

the sixth team in history to fall nine games under .500 and still climb out of that canyon to make it to the World Series.

the first team ever to find itself two games out of a playoff spot with two games to play and somehow survive to scramble into the World Series.

And that former Ole Miss player, Seth Smith, joined the immortal Blake Doyle (1978) as the only players in history to drive in the first runs of their careers in a postseason game.

This is why I love sports!!!

GO ROCKIES

Wine, Family & Football

What state had the most vineyards prior to prohibition? What state currently has the most visited winery in the United States? What state has had fifty vineyards started in the last ten years? North Carolina, yep that's right, the Tarheel state was once the leading producer of wine in the U.S., then prohibition hit and the state shifted its focus to tobacco. Now North Carolina is the leading producer of tobacco, but with dropping tobacco prices vineyards are making a resurgence.

Wine making is apparently a booming business here in North Carolina. This weekend Laura's parents came to visit and we spent Saturday afternoon at Childress Vineyard. Childress is about 25 minutes from our apartment and is a very nice vineyard owned by Richard Childress. It has significant meaning to Laura and I because I took her there on the day I proposed (prior to the proposal). The vineyard is only 3 or 4 years old but is doing very well. Example: they said that when they opened they hoped to bring in $2,000 a month from their gift shop...they have never had a $2,000 month, but they have had plenty of $24,000 days!

Our time at the vineyard included a tour, dinner on the patio overlooking the vineyards with a band playing in the background, and a wine tasting. It is a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon and I would highly recommend it to anyone! The afternoon at Childress makes me look forward to the day Laura and I can tour the vineyards in Napa Valley!

Laura and I thoroughly enjoyed our time with her parents this weekend! We were a little low on sleep Friday, but it was well worth it. We were up late Thursday night because we went to watch Wake play Florida State. It turned out to be a great game and a very impressive win by Wake Forest. Go Deacs!!! Her parents arrived in town around 6:30 Friday evening, we all enjoyed a dinner outside at the 4th Street Filling Station and then returned to our apartment for some card playing. We had not seen her parents since school started, so it was really nice to be able to spend some time with them...and the weather could not have been any better!