Four years after his famous nailing of the Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Martin Luther found himself on trial for his life at the Diet of Worms. Like Jan Hus before the Council of Constance a century earlier, Luther stood to defend his teachings before both the leadership of the Roman Church and the Holy Roman Emperor. His books and preaching vociferously argued against the absolute authority of popes and councils and the sale of indulgences, advancing an insistence that salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ alone. Having exhausted his efforts against an intractable prosecution, the trial reached an inflection point that left its mark on history, perhaps more significantly than the nailing of the Theses themselves…..

Why does the Bible spend so much time telling us about Adam, priests, sacrifices, and temples? Because each one teaches us something about our need for a Savior. Adam failed to obey. The priests were sinners themselves. The sacrifices had to be offered again and again. None of them could finally reconcile sinners to God. But they pointed forward to someone who could. They pointed to Jesus Christ.

What does it take for a sinner to stand righteous before a holy God? That question tormented a young Augustinian monk named Martin Luther. He understood that God was righteous. His problem was that he wasn’t. And no matter how hard he tried, he could not change that reality.

Before we can see the grace needed to save, we must first see the depths of the human heart. Why must we be saved by grace alone? Why can’t we save ourselves or even have a part in our salvation? The biblical doctrine that Augustine taught, and which changed the Reformers, was that salvation is entirely the work of God. We are not merely sinners who need a little help. We are sinners who need to be rescued.

The weeks leading up to October 31 evoke within our American experience all manner of feelings, imagery, and traditions. For most, autumn is in the air as preparations are made for Halloween and celebrations of the harvest. In one way or another, these traditions leave their mark on our homes, neighborhoods, and storefronts as decorations change to match the season. While these things may mark the broader cultural landscape, there is another "harvest" whose memory also attends this season, one that often gets overlooked, even among many churches that are beneficiaries of its blessings.