33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:33-34)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from God our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.
A favorite mantra of the 16th century reformers was the ‘5 Solas.’ Those five ‘onlys’ were word alone, faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone. These concepts summarize the foundations of the revival. The Reformation was intended as a call into discipleship. Discipleship is the actualization of following Jesus.
These five ‘solas’ can also describe the foundations of our individual and communal journeys of discipleship. Word, and form the foundation of discipleship. Like building blocks, they construct our lives as individuals and our lives as a community.
The covenant promised in the prophecy of Jeremiah is fulfilled in Christ. “Knowing the Lord” means to be bound into a relationship with God. That relationship is forged by Christ. That relationship relies upon the grace God gives us in Christ. God’s Word plants faith within us and guides us to do all things to the glory of God. This is most certainly true. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor Carla
