October 31 has been traditionally observed by most Protestants in the last five centuries as ‘Reformation Day’.  It was on this day, in 1517, that an obscure monk and theological professor by the name of Martin Luther posted 95 Theses, or propositions for the debate, on the door of the town church in Wittenburg.  I am sure that Dr. Luther never thought that event would be remembered for five centuries, but in the providence of God, his actions marked the beginning of one of the greatest revivals of the Church of Christ since the time of Pentecost.  Over the next 150 years, the Protestant Reformation would spread through all of Europe, transforming entire nations and societies as the gospel under the powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit spread throughout that continent and would later come to the shores of this land.  Today, we are five centuries removed from those events, and the Protestant witness in Europe is practically non-existent, and in our nation, it is barely a whimper.  Instead, another day is honored on October 31st, a day that has its roots in both pagan practices and the traditions of the church of Rome.  But this does not mean that the church of Jesus Christ shall cease upon the earth.  Not at all, Christ shall continue to build His church, and even if the days are dark, He shall have a witness upon earth.  What did our Lord state when he rebuked the Pharisees in Luke 19:39-40?

“And some of the Pharisees called to him from the crowd,

‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

But he answered and said to them, 

‘I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would

immediately cry out.'”

Christ shall always have a witness for His name and his glory upon the earth.  We can be assured of that truth!  The question each of us must ask ourselves is this: Shall we, shall I, be among that host of witnesses who shall not keep silent regarding the glory of Jesus Christ?

I urge you to consider that question carefully.

I should like to leave you with a quote written by a church historian from the early 1800’s who had a burning heart for Christ and an evangelistic zeal for souls.  Jean Henri Merle d’Aubigne was born in France in 1794, and as a young man attended college in Geneva.  Though raised in a French Protestant home, d’Aubigne was unconverted when enrolled at the academy in Geneva.  Though this was the great city where John Calvin had ministered over 2 centuries earlier, the academy had sunk into such spiritual apostasy that the teaching of ancient Greek texts of philosophers had replaced the teaching of the scripture.  But  God sent a servant to Geneva to minister to the young students there.  Robert Haldane, a Scottish missionary and evangelist had traveled to Geneva.  And there, outside of the formal classroom, Haldane held informal Bible studies where he taught the students from the word of God.  And it was during these meetings that d’Aubigne was born again.  He would go on to be well-known Evangelical preacher of his time, and would even speak in Charles Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle.  But d’Aubigne’s greatest contribution was that he was also a church historian and wrote prolifically on the history of the Protestant Reformation.  At the beginning of his third volume, A History of the Reformation in the Time of Calvin, he wrote the following statement regarding the true source of liberty of conscience, and the serious sin committed by any any authority-church or state-in daring to stand between Christ’s absolute rule over the souls of men.  Even as we are watching our liberties in the western world slowly ebb away, let us remember that true liberty is not something that is secular, natural or even granted by the state.  True liberty is supernatural, spiritual, and comes from Christ alone when a soul is liberated from the bonds of sin and granted new life in Christ.  And when one has that liberty, not only can no man take it away, but one would sooner die for that liberty than submit their free conscience to a human authority that is opposed to Jesus Christ.  With these thoughts, I leave with d’Aubigne’s words:

“ Religion needs liberty, and the convictions inspired by her ought to be exempt from the control of the Louvre and of the Vatican.  Man’s conscience belongs to God alone, and every human power that encroaches on this kingdom and presumes to command within it is guilty of rebellion against its lawful sovereign.  Religious persecution deserves to be reprobated, not only in the name of philosophy, but above all in the name of God’s right.  His Sovereign Majesty is offended when the sword enters into the sanctuary.  A persecuting government is not only illiberal, it is impious. Let no man thrust himself between God and the soul! The spot on which they meet is holy ground. Away intruder! Leave the soul with Him with whom it belongs.”

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”  (Galatians 5:1)