Apologetics

A Mighty Fortress

by Jeff Drinnan
11/03/17
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"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

This verse inspired Martin Luther to write the hymn "A Mighty Fortress", which topped the charts on the Christian radio stations in Brandenburg, Germany in the 16th century:

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Martin Luther started a movement where Christians read the Bible and learn scripture for themselves, rather than have the elites tell them what it means. He also helped usher in protestantism.

Certainly pastors, who went to seminary have much learning and dedication, but utimately everybody is responsible for his/her Bible learning. With the Reformation, anybody from any walk of life could challenge what the clergy preaches and hold them accountable. It's wise to listen to pastors with a critical eye, finding on one's own how what is said jibes with scripture, and also, how everything fits together. You don't have to be a seminary student, pastor or seminary professor to practice systematic theology.

Systematic theology compares scripture with scripture to show how the pieces match to make up a whole. In the words of John Murray:

The task of systematic theology is to set forth in orderly and coherent manner the truth respecting God and his relations to men and the world. This truth is derived from the data of revelation, and revelation comprises all those media by which God makes himself and his will known to us men. All other departments of theological discipline contribute their findings to systematic theology and it brings all the wealth of knowledge derived from these disciplines to bear upon the more inclusive systematization which it undertakes.

Dr. Murray was one of the young scolars who left Princeton Theological Seminary with J. Gresham Machen and started Westminister Theological Seminary in 1929. The seminary needed to be reformed. Princeton Seminary compromised scripture to mirror the mainline Presbyterian churches which became polluted with worldly values - modernism/liberalism. Like Martin Luther, Dr. Machen could not reform the clergy from within. When he challenged Princeton's changes, he was badmouthed and canned. Also, because Dr. Machen didn't go along to get along, his church stripped of his credentials as a minister. It was their way or...- like Martin Luther, he hit the highway - and started a new seminary across the river just outside of Philadelphia, PA.

It's important not just to rely on tradition, because the tradition could be wrong, a lead you astray.This was certain the case with Princeton Seminary and the Presbyterian church. Today the Reformation tradition is more or less intact in the Reformed Presbyterian churches but the churches in the tradition of Princeton Seminary, as Dr. Machen argued, liberalism is not a lesser form of Christianity, but an entirely different religion.

Rewind a century or two:

After the Reformation, the church split into different denominations. Early on, there wasn't much difference between the churches, but by the 19th century, churches became more parochial. For example, some denominations shunned Calvinism, and offshoot of Lutheranism (A Lutheran is just an unfinished Presbyterian). John Bunyan, author of  The Pilgrim's Progress,  was influenced by both Lutheranism and Calvinism during the 17th century, and it showed in his writings. He was an independent thinker.

Mr. Bunyan was a regular guy. After serving three years in the army, he became a tinker, a trade which he learned from his father. After he got married, he went to the parish church and then joined the Bedford Meeting, a non conformist group. A non conformist was a Christian who did not fall in lock step with the offical Church of England. Late 19th century, Reformed Christians, and even Methodists and Baptists were considered non conformists, who violated the law by not conforming to the official state religion. Because he would not give up preaching, John Bunyan was arrested. Like Martin Luther King Jr, he wrote his wonderful books from jail.

Like Martin Luther and J. Gresham Machen, John Bunyan did not back down.

Maybe, if Martin Luther was around today, he could have written his version of the late Tom Petty's "And I won't back down". Christian radio station KLove would probably play it.

It’s amazing that so many churches today have caved in to the world. Research shows that that support among Americans for same-sex marriage has grown from 31 percent in 2004 to 55 percent in 2016. This support is growing about the same for churches – for the progressive ones. There is a cultural divide in our country, over this and other sinful issues, as reflected in the modern church.

A recent example of a Christian not backing down:

To bow to the alter of the LGBTQ click, the US soccer team brought politics into the sport and made players wear rainbow colored jerseys to force them to support LGBTQ pride month. But one young lady stood on principle – Christian values – and walked away from the team just as Lot walked away from Sodom and Gomorrah.

"But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood-to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished- he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus". Romans 3:21-26

Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is our mighty fortress. He, not us, will win the battle of all the mortal ills that prevail!