Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-11-16

churches Of Galatia that he wrote his ror,o,L
able letter to them for the purpose of sbo,n
ing salvation to be by faith alone. AtsLo'',
the same time he also wrote to the Ro,nosa'
the most mastery treatise OF Soriptpre a'4
ting forth in incontrovertible terms ins,iss
ton by faith only, and showing its ceptrsI.a
laton to other principal truths OF redemn,iaS
Thus twenty five years after the ascension =,
Christ and twenty-one after Pauls conyersi,,'
this doctrine, clearly apprehended and sda
quately presented, gained ascendancy IL
it not done so there would have been no Chi
tan churchi Christianity would have beor
smothered in Judaism.
This remarkable history is paralleled in ,bo
reformation under Martin Luther In tbe1cp
century the church was Unparalleled in ~
polity, Paganized in its worship and Judaiye5
in its conception of salvation. Man CO.
be saved only by pensnces, Performance
works. Luther, brought up under a reoinaa,
of fear, sought with agony peace with GnS
through good works. II was in vain ~
study of Scripture and by aid of bis f,isn5
Staupitz, he found rest in the sentence 9TH
Just shall live by faith" It took him ss ~
did Paul, several years to arrive at this. evan
after the first glimpse of the truth was a..
tanned then he preached it with power. win
no thought Of collision with the church -
the great relief Of hundreds of burdensS
hearts. But 1t was soon to undermine an1
overthrow the great body of errors by wbioS
mems souls we're bound. II salvation il S-
faith alone, then the sacraments can have -
themselves no saving efficacy and can no Iona.
or be used to extort submission from meS
Neither can the priest absolvo men from sin
When Tetzel sold indulgences to Lulbs,'s
people, the latter was obliged to show tho,
salvation being by faith, the induRences we,a
~, fY,rnattinr, fTbfa Lrn,uhN
troversy with the papscy and compelled him
to assert the supremacy of Scripture owe,
pope and council. Around this point the bai.
tie of the era ragged. This soul, having struo.
gled up from the depths Of sin and boDdaes
of legaism, finding himself in alliance wiz
God was grandly free and indomitably bold
Papal legate, bull of excommunication an.
peror and empire, arguments, pleadinps per.
secutions and perils, all could only make him
say: Here stand; 1 cannot do otherwise
So help me, God. Amen" The ring m
these brave words has been heard procaiming
liberty to the captive for four hundred years
There is divine might in the truth of iusti.
fcation by faith alone. This historic view NJ
its power shows what ought to be preached
what men need TO hear, what will afford helm
to the seeking and arouse the Indifferent Tbs
question recurs, Shall appear before God in
the filthy rags of my own righteousness or in
the white robe OF Christ's providing?
In the evening a large and evidently inter.
ested audience listened TO discourse on tina
principal events of Luther's life. With
glance at the preparatory conditions Of the
Reformation, the controversy over indulpen.
ces the ninety five theses, the answers by
Tetzel and others, the wrangle of the paps
legate, Cajetan, the bull OF eKcommunicatiop
and the burning of the same, the effort OF
tho NINA In induoa Dharlaa U q, a.
pal bull effect by putting Luther under The
ban of the empire, the unparalleled scene of
Luther before the imperiel Diet at Worms. his
moral victory, his friendly capture and con.
cealment by the elector of Saxony, bis trans.
lation Of the New Testament-these were
passed in rapid review leaving the subject 10
be further pursued two weeks later.
REV. E. W. WHITNEY on LUTHER's LIFE AND
CHARACTER.
AT the Univsrsalist church Rev E. W.
Whitney preached from Judges W., 12: The
Lord is with thee, thou mighty man Of vslor."
In a remarkable degree these words apply TO
the great reformer the four hundredth ami.
versary of whose birth we celebrate to dsy.
The world was ready for his message AIT
had been revived the invention of the mari.
ner's compass had increased navigation and
led to the discovery of America feudalism
was everywhere breaking down the inyen.
ton of printing had cheapened and multiplied
books and led to the revival of learning; and
the corruptions of the church cried aloud for
reform. God sent Luther to battle with the
evils of the age and lead the way to a better
era. Luther was born at Eisleben, Saxony,
Nov. 10, 1884 In 1901 he entered the uni.
versity at Erturt, and received the masters
degree in 1905. Soon after he Joined the Au.
gustinian monks, and in 1907 was made
priest. He accepted a call to be a professor
at Wittenburg university in 1908 His visit
to Rome, the mailing of the theses upon the
church door, the burning of the papal bull,
his defence at the Diet of Worms, his mar
rage, and his death at Eisleben on Feb. 18th,
1916, were then sketched Luther was
mighty man. His body was strong and en-.
during, able to stand severe labor and many
hsrdships His energy was tireless. His emo
tons were quick and strong, betrsying him
into severity and intolerance, but binding bis
friends to him with hooks of steel. 1t seem
ed as if his words were born in his Utmost
soul. Strong in imagination, ready in utter
ance, and gifted with retentive memory, his
words were direct and powerful. The age
needed Titanic man, and he was Titan.
In valor be was mighty. With the tragic fate
of Savonarola and Huss before him, he dar.
ed resist the papal power and stand alone with
God His lion hearted defence at Worms is
'the greatest event in modern history" Won.
derful was his sincerity. In an age Of shsms
and cant he called men back to reality Even
his defects of temper and judgment were not
hidden, but his perfect honesty in word and
deed won the support of the German people.
By taste student, his knowledge of Latin,
Greek, Hebrew and philosophy was of untold
service. His writings in German and Latin
NIL many volumes and have exerted a great
influence. He insisted upon the supreme au.
thority of the Bible, the right of private judg-
ment the necessity of faith and repentance.
Upon the question of destiny he anticipated
present discussions. In remarkable letter,
written in 1922 he says in effect, Whose
hath faith in Christ shall be saved God for.
bid that should limit the time for acquiring
this faith to the present life. In the depths
OF the Divine mercy there may be opportun.
ty to win it in the future state" No one can
survey the great benefits of the Reformation,
alike in the Catholic and Protestant churches,
without feeling that God was with this mighty
man of valor.
REV. p. Z. TOWER ON LUT HERS WEAPON.
AT the Baptist church Rev. Mr.. Tower
took for his morning text Romans l., II: The
just shall live by faith" The preacher de-
clared that this text was the weapon by which
Luther won the battle of the Reformation.
oSNcAoA CElbbb III Nu6 lie OF tue Ne
former we're described:
l. His terror when overtaken by thunder
storm while on his way back from vacation to
the university at Erfurth. bolt of light
ming strikes the earth but little distance be-
fore him. He falls upon his knees, vowing
that If God will spare him now he will devote
himself to the life of a monk. 2. His life in
the monastery, where he devotes himself with
unusual earnestness to the practices of his or.
der, undergoing voluntarily the most severe
watohings, fastings and self deniAls till his
health gives way, under the mistaken notion
OF thus meriting the Divine favor but finds
no peace Of mind in this way. 5. His sudden
illness while away from home, and his terror
and anguish in the near prospect of death.
1t was then that the text came fOrcibly to his
mind (he having read it one day out Of Lat
in Bible in the college library, and he found
the peace which he had sought in vain in rit'
ual obseryances by simply trusting in the grace
of God in Christ. 1. His visit to Rome,
where he performs many superstitious rites
being still under the delusion that be will thus
increase his acceptahlepess before God bat
at length, while climbing Pilates staircase on
his knees, he seems to hear again, ae in
voice of reproving thunder out Of the heav
ems, the words, The just shall live by faith,