The Reformation Debate: April 7

April was hands down the busiest month so far this year that literally passed in a blink of an eye! I am having a really hard time comprehending that it is already May and that we are barreling down to the end of the school year at a fierce pace. Too many good and exciting things took place in April so I will attempt to bring you up to speed.

First, I would like to update you on the Reformation Debate that Jonathan participated in and wrote about here in a previous post.

On April 7, Jonathan had the wonderful opportunity to clearly proclaim the gospel to a crowd of 50+ people as he answered the question of what Martin Luther’s protesting was all about starting with the nailing of his 95 Theses to the church doors of Wittenberg in 1517, that initiated a schism in the Catholic church and created the Protestant branch of the church.  Jonathan spent much time in prayer and preparation for this event and it was evident in how the Lord provided him peace, direction, courage and wisdom to know where to push back and boldness to proclaim the gospel.

Our colleague wrote the following in evaluating the evening’s debate:

Don Ermis is a professor of theology at the University of Torino, and his commentary on the topic was distinctly academic and largely concerned with historical and cultural considerations. On the one hand, this was positive because many (not all) Italians, especially in the age group that was present on Friday night, are prone to think of their faith as an historical and cultural patrimony. In this sense, Don Ermis spoke in a manner consistent with their worldview, but his professorial approach tended to go "over the head" of the average Roman Catholic practitioner and the tenor of his speech came across as cold and in my estimation less engaging. 

Jonathan, on the other hand, intentionally crafted his responses to be intelligible to the average person on the street. He continually referred to and read from Scripture and expounded specific passages, and spoke with a great deal of passion about the freedom that comes from knowing we are completely secure and wholly redeemed because Christ's humanity leaves nothing wanting for our perfect justification.

The debate lasted 2 hours with Don Ermis departing before its conclusion as he was jetlagged from his previous days return from Asia. Therefore, Jonathan got the last word and was able to then field questions from the audience.

It was a very successful evening--isn’t it always when God’s truth is proclaimed?!

That evening, we had an ex-Bible study student of ours attend and she expressed how she is considering coming back after 2.5 years of being away. Another friend and organizer of the event also approached us asking for a time to meet and discuss what he heard. Still another close friend and ex-Bible study student has had coffee with us since then and she too would like to meet more regularly to discuss spiritual topics, but admitting she is not ready for regular participation in the group studies. She has closed off spiritual conversations with us for a while so we were delighted when she initiated this desire just last week.

We do not know how the Lord will continue to use what was heard that evening, but we rest in his promise that His Word will not return void. We distributed our church brochure to all those willing to accept it and pray that someone will desire to reach out to us even in the day sand months to come.

Keep praying! We see God moving and we believe it is because of prayer!