Martin Luther spent two hours a day in prayer during the majority of his fruitful life, a little-known fact. That type of commitment to God from His children, prolific writer Dr. R.T. Kendall says, is what it will take for America to experience a much-needed third Great Awakening.
Tomorrow, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, sparked by Luther’s nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on Oct. 31, 1517. Luther did not realize his actions on that day would change the world forever, which I will write about tomorrow.
In his new Charisma House book, Whatever Happened to the Gospel? (releasing in February 2018), my good friend Dr. Kendall chronicles how Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, lived his life against the consensus of his day. In a podcast I recorded with him recently, Dr. Kendall poses a poignant question Luther often asked: “Are you willing to die for your beliefs?”
Dr. Kendall has become somewhat of an expert on Luther’s life and admires him for the humble way in which lived.
“Why do I like Luther? Partly for his personality, but also for his quest for truth, his willingness to stand alone and his willingness to be misunderstood,” Dr. Kendall says. “He was not intimidated by the church.
“He became so convinced that the Bible should be the sole authority of what we believe that he was willing to die for it. I don’t know how many Luthers there are out there today. I don’t believe many people today have convictions like he had.”
Dr. Kendall said his friend, the late John Paul Jackson, believed the next great move of God would include a rediscovery of the book of Romans, where Luther received his teaching of the gospel. Inspired by Luther, Jonathan Edwards preached for four years on the subject of justification by faith alone, helping to spark the first Great Awakening in the 1730s and 1740s.
Romans 1:17b says, “The just shall live by faith,” one of the reasons Dr. Kendall wrote Whatever Happened to the Gospel?
“In my small way, I’ve written this book and hope that it will have a little bit of impact,” Dr. Kendall says. … “If Jesus tarries, we must pray that God will raise up another Martin Luther or the equivalent of someone who will help us rediscover the gospel.”
As we commemorate this most important day, I ask you to please share this with your social media followers and leave any comments below, and be sure to read tomorrow’s Strang Report. {eoa}
