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Acts 17:28—“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

Addressing the Athenians at Mars’ Hill, Paul proclaimed the God they did not know: the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. Unlike their idols, He neither inhabits man-made temples nor depends on human service. Rather, “he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (v. 25).

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being” explains humanity’s dependence on this God. His power sustains every breath, movement, and moment of existence. Paul does not identify creation with God; he distinguishes the sovereign Creator from the creatures whose lives He continually upholds.

Paul then cites their poets: “For we are also his offspring”. He draws on a familiar statement for his hearers and applies it to the true God. Humanity owes its existence to Him and bears His image. This creaturely relationship does not imply that everyone possesses the saving adoption granted through faith in Christ.

The following verse exposes the folly of idolatry. Since human beings derive their existence from God, they should not imagine that His nature resembles gold, silver, or stone shaped by human skill. The living Creator cannot be adequately represented by lifeless objects.

Dependence also entails accountability. Paul then announces God’s command for all people to repent and His appointed judgment through the risen Christ (vv. 30–31).

Your life is neither self-originating nor self-sustaining. Receive every ability with gratitude, reject pride and false worship, and acknowledge your Creator’s rightful authority. Seek reconciliation with God through Christ, and devote the life God sustains to His glory.

Deuteronomy 34:7—“And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.”

Moses died at 120, yet “his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated”. His death did not result from the ordinary exhaustion of his faculties. God had preserved his sight and bodily vigour until his appointed work was complete.

The surrounding verses emphasise divine sovereignty: Moses died “according to the word of the LORD” (v. 5). Though still physically capable, he could not prolong his ministry beyond God’s determination. Neither strength nor usefulness gives anyone authority over the length of life.

His death outside Canaan also recalls the seriousness of disobedience. God had forbidden him to enter because he had failed to sanctify Him before Israel at Meribah (32:51–52). Long and faithful service did not exempt Moses from divine discipline. Spiritual leaders must honour God carefully, remembering that their influence increases their responsibility.

Nevertheless, discipline did not erase God’s gracious regard for His servant. Moses saw the promised land, and Scripture honours his unique prophetic ministry (34:10–12). His preserved strength was a gift of God, not evidence that he could dispense with dependence upon Him.

This verse does not promise every faithful Christian undiminished health in old age. God appoints differing measures of strength and differing lengths of service. Our calling is to use whatever He supplies for His glory.

Receive each day as His gift. Serve diligently while strength remains, accept limitations humbly when they come, and entrust the conclusion of your earthly labours to the Lord whose wisdom never fails.

Deuteronomy 31:6—“Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it isthat doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

As Israel prepared to enter Canaan, Moses announced that he would no longer lead them. Before them lay formidable enemies; behind them lay years of wilderness wandering. They needed to draw courage from God's presence and faithfulness rather than from Moses’ continued leadership.

“Be strong and of a good courage” calls for steadfast obedience amid daunting circumstances. Courage does not require the absence of danger or the denial of weakness. It means proceeding faithfully because God has spoken. The accompanying command, “fear not, nor be afraid of them,” directs Israel away from intimidation by their enemies and towards confidence in their covenant Lord.

The reason is this: “for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee”. Their security depended on the God who had redeemed, sustained, and guided them. Moses would depart, but the LORD would remain. Changes in human leadership could not cancel His promises or frustrate His purposes.

“He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” assures them of His unfailing support. This promise did not excuse unbelief or disobedience; it encouraged faithful dependence. Hebrews 13:5 applies the same assurance to believers, teaching contentment and confidence in God’s enduring care.

Unfamiliar responsibilities, opposition, or the loss of trusted support may trouble your heart. Your strength lies in the Lord, who remains faithful. Seek His will in Scripture, obey His commands, and bring your fears to Him in prayer. You need not know every difficulty ahead to trust the God who will never forsake you.

In October, especially on the last Sunday, Christians commemorate the Reformation. However, not all seem to understand the significance of that great spiritual awakening of the 16th century. In an age when people often dismiss doctrinal fidelity and fervour for the sake of outward unity, we must remember that biblical truths are at stake in our generation. We risk forgetting the very truths that earlier generations died to uphold. 

In this article and in the coming weeks, we will examine why the Reformers could not remain silent and why the church today must continue to uphold Scripture and its authority and the Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

The late medieval Catholic Church restricted ordinary believers’ access to Scripture and faced widespread criticism for corruption. The sale of indulgences and clerical abuses prompted calls for theological and ecclesiastical reform across Europe. The following issues contributed to the events of the early 16th century that became known as the Reformation.

1. Lack of Access to Scripture

The ready access to Scripture that we enjoy today was not available to many Christians in medieval Europe. From the 13th century onwards, ordinary believers’ access to Scripture had been severely restricted in various places, and those who possessed, translated, or distributed translations of the Bible faced harsh punishment, even death. 

In Western Europe, the church used the Latin Vulgate, which most people could not understand. Limited literacy and the expense of handwritten copies of the Bible made it even harder for many people to know Scripture. Furthermore, the church authorities’ condemnation of vernacular Bible translations as heretical greatly hindered access to the truths of God’s Word.

Many ordinary people had little opportunity to read and examine Scripture for themselves. They depended heavily upon what the clergy communicated through preaching and instruction. The Reformers therefore laboured to translate, publish, and teach the Bible in the languages of the people. They upheld the congregation’s responsibility to hear and understand God’s Word and to test the religious teaching by it. 

In the Bible, the Bereans were commended because they “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). Access to Scripture was essential to the church’s spiritual welfare. God’s people needed His Word to instruct their faith, expose error, and guide their lives.

2. Translators, Distributors and Preachers of the Bible Executed

Efforts to make Scripture available in ordinary people’s languages often met severe persecution. For example, William Tyndale, whose English translation helped bring God’s Word to countless readers in England, was arrested in 1535, imprisoned, condemned for heresy, and executed in 1536 near Brussels. He was strangled, and his body was burned. His work of translating and circulating Scripture brought about fierce opposition against him. Tyndale was not alone in suffering for his efforts to bring Scripture to ordinary people. Richard Bayfield, who helped circulate Tyndale’s English New Testament and other Reformation writings, was condemned as a heretic and was burned in 1531. 

On 16 October 1555, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, bishops who refused to accept Roman Catholic doctrines, were chained to a stake near Balliol College, Oxford, and burned for opposing the wrong teachings of the Church. As the flames rose, Latimer encouraged Ridley, declaring that, by God’s grace, they would light a candle in England that would never be extinguished. Many witnesses wept as these faithful preachers perished. Just over five months later, Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1533 to 1555, who played a major role in introducing Protestant teaching into the Church of England, suffered the same death at that site. These three men are sometimes known as the Oxford Martyrs. Today, a stone cross in Broad Street marks their execution site, while the nearby Martyrs’ Memorial commemorates their courageous testimony to biblical truth and their steadfast faithfulness unto death.

Such sacrifices made by saints of the Reformation period give believers access to the Bible today. Their sacrifice should stir us to treasure Scripture and diligently read His Word, which is now so freely available to us. 

3. Disregard for the Ultimate Authority of Scripture 

The Roman Catholic Church held that church tradition and the teachings of the Church Fathers were as authoritative as Scripture in determining the church’s doctrines and practices. However, the Reformers rejected the Catholic Church’s view that tradition was as authoritative as Scripture, and declared Scripture alone is authoritative and sufficient for all matters of faith and practice.

The Reformers objected to ecclesiastical authorities imposing doctrines and practices that lacked biblical warrant on believers. They challenged the claim that ecclesiastical traditions and authoritative church pronouncements (papal decrees) could bind the consciences of believers. Many of the church’s teachings and practices at that time could not stand the test of Scripture. 

Reformers therefore affirmed Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone is the supreme and final standard by which all traditions, councils, and papal pronouncements must be tested. The Church should always be subordinate to God’s written Word and must remain subject to its correction. 

A central conviction of the Protestant Reformation was that Scripture alone has supreme and final authority in matters of faith and practice. The Reformers maintained that the church must receive, teach, and obey God’s Word. Its authority to instruct believers does not give it the right to establish doctrines contrary to Scripture or impose requirements that God has not commanded.

This conviction rests on Scripture’s divine origin. Paul declares, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). Because Scripture is God’s Word, it possesses authority that no human teacher or institution can claim independently. Through its teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, “that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (v. 17). The church therefore needs to continually submit to the written Word which God has provided.

The Reformation’s insistence on Scripture alone thus called the church back to humble obedience to His Word. The church does not govern God’s Word; God’s Word governs the church. Consequently, every doctrine, practice, and claim must be tested against Scripture. As Isaiah 8:20 declares, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them”.

Sermon Text: Psalm 147:12–20
Speaker: Pastor Prabhudas Koshy
Date: 18th October 2026

Exodus 23:20—“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.”

After giving Israel His covenant laws, the LORD promised to guide them into the land of Canaan: “Behold, I send an Angel before thee”. Their journey would involve dangers and opposition, yet they would not travel without divine protection and direction.

This Angel bears extraordinary authority. God commands Israel to obey His voice and declares, “my name is in him” (v. 21). These words distinguish Him from an ordinary messenger and support the understanding of Him as a manifestation of the divine presence, commonly identified as the preincarnate Christ. Israel must therefore receive His direction with reverence rather than provoke Him through rebellion.

“To keep thee in the way” promises protection throughout the journey. Yet the following verses link this assurance to obedience. God’s presence never permits disregard for His Word. The people must listen to His voice and reject the idolatry of the nations they encounter.

“To bring thee into the place which I have prepared” points immediately to the promised land. Their destination rested on God’s prior purpose and covenant faithfulness. The One who appointed the destination would also provide the guidance needed to reach it.

Christians should not treat this promise as a guarantee that every personal ambition will succeed. Nevertheless, it reveals the faithful character of the God who guides His redeemed people to fulfil all His good pleasure concerning them. In Christ, His children will receive their promised inheritance.

Trust His wisdom when the road is unfamiliar. Follow His Word when competing voices arise. The Lord’s guidance calls for obedient faith, sustained by His gracious presence.

Genesis 50:20—“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

After Jacob’s death, Joseph’s brothers feared that he would avenge their cruelty. Joseph reassured them, declaring, “ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good”. Their father’s death had not altered his commitment to forgive them or his confidence in God’s providence.

Joseph did not minimise their guilt. Selling him into slavery was evil, whatever good subsequently resulted. His words distinguish their wicked intention from God’s holy purpose within the same events. They sought his harm; God purposed the preservation of many lives through his eventual position in Egypt.

God’s sovereignty neither makes Him the author of sin nor excuses those who commit it. The brothers acted willingly and remained responsible. Yet their malice could not frustrate God’s purpose. Without approving their wickedness, He governed its consequences to accomplish His gracious design.

“To save much people alive” identifies the good Joseph could now discern. Through years of slavery, false accusation, and imprisonment, God prepared the means of preserving people during famine, including the family through whom His covenant promises would unfold.

Joseph’s understanding of providence shaped his response: he comforted his brothers and promised to nourish their families (v. 21). Trust in God enabled him to relinquish revenge and practise kindness.

Believer, you may not yet understand what God is accomplishing through injustice or sorrow. Joseph’s words do not promise an immediate explanation, but they encourage confidence in God’s wisdom. Acknowledge evil truthfully, resist bitterness, and leave judgment with Him. His holy purposes cannot be defeated by human malice.

Genesis 39:9—“There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

Joseph’s refusal of Potiphar’s wife reveals the governing conviction of a godly heart: “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Entrusted with his master’s household, Joseph recognised that adultery would betray his master’s trust and violate the marriage bond. Above all, he understood that it would be a grievous sin against God.

Though enslaved in Egypt and separated from his family, Joseph remained conscious of God’s presence and authority. His circumstances had changed; his obligation to obey God had not. Neither loneliness nor injustice excused disobedience. The LORD who was with him in his affliction was also the LORD whose holiness governed his conduct.

Joseph called the proposed act “great wickedness”. He did not soften its character by appealing to mutual attraction, secrecy, or possible advantage. Temptation often persuades us to rename sin so that it appears acceptable. The fear of God helps us recognise evil in light of God’s judgment.

His resistance was practical. When the woman persisted, he refused to lie beside her or remain with her (v. 10). When she seized his garment, he fled (v. 12). Faithfulness requires both conviction and decisive action.

Believer, remember that every sin, however carefully concealed from others, lies open before God and offends His holiness. Guard the relationships and responsibilities entrusted to you. Refuse opportunities that nourish temptation, and flee when necessary. Joseph’s obedience brought false accusation and imprisonment, but God remained with him. Seek His approval above comfort, trusting His grace to sustain obedience and His wisdom to govern its consequences.

Matthew 14:30–31—“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” 

Peter stepped out of the boat at Christ’s command and walked on the water towards Him. His steps rested on the authority of Jesus’ word. Yet when he considered the violent wind, fear overwhelmed his confidence. The danger seemed so great that his mind and heart lost confidence in the Lord's power.

The storm was real, but Christ’s power had not diminished. Peter’s sinking revealed his wavering trust. Jesus’ rebuke, “O thou of little faith”, acknowledged faith while correcting its weakness. Peter needed to trust Christ’s word amid threatening circumstances.

“Lord, save me” was a brief, urgent appeal. Unable to sustain himself, Peter turned to the only One who could rescue him. His faltering faith still turned to the right Saviour.

“Immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him.” How tenderly Christ combined correction with deliverance! He did not abandon His struggling disciple. His strong hand upheld the man whose faith had weakened.

Believer, trials may expose your doubts, but they cannot exhaust your Saviour’s power. His care does not promise to remove every trouble immediately; it assures you that He remains trustworthy throughout. Cry to Him, accept His correction, and rest on His Word. Your security rests in His unfailing strength.

Matthew 13:44—“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” 

In Matthew 13, Jesus teaches through parables concerning the kingdom of heaven. Having explained that the righteous and wicked coexist until the final judgment, He now reveals His kingdom’s surpassing worth. Though not everyone recognises its glory, those who discover its value regard everything else as comparatively insignificant.

The man discovers treasure hidden in a field. Recognising its extraordinary worth, he joyfully sells everything to buy the field. The emphasis is on his glad response to the treasure’s value. What others overlook becomes his greatest possession.

The kingdom brings us under God’s gracious rule through Jesus Christ, granting forgiveness, fellowship with God, and everlasting life. No earthly possession can match these blessings. Wealth perishes, honours fade, and pleasures pass; yet the blessings of belonging to Christ endure for ever.

Selling everything does not teach that salvation can be bought by sacrifice. Salvation is God’s gift of grace, received through faith. Rather, the man’s response illustrates the wholehearted commitment that recognising the kingdom’s worth produces. Christ deserves priority over every competing attachment.

Notice that the man acts “for joy thereof”. Following Christ involves costly surrender, yet such surrender is sustained by delight in what we receive in Him.

What governs your choices today? Treasure Christ above possessions, approval, and comfort. Whatever obedience costs, belonging to His kingdom is incomparably better.