Dr. John Bowling, President of...
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Dr. John Bowling, President of Olivet Nazarene University, wrote in the Wesleyan Preaching Annual (CSS Publishing, 2001) a sermon titled "Where Luther Stood -- We Stand" (p. 89). He writes in the sermon conclusion: "The picture of salvation that was prevalent in Luther's day was that of a man who was trapped at the bottom of a great cavern or well. And God through Christ came to save you but he came only partway. It was necessary for man, by good works and indulgences, to raise himself sufficiently so that God might then be able to save him.
"But then Luther comes along and he announces the truth of the scriptures which is this: Man is at the bottom of a well so deep that he can do nothing whatsoever to get out of it. But God does come down into that well, but he doesn't stop halfway. He comes in great love all the way! And he takes hold of man and lifts him up out of that pit of sin."
"But then Luther comes along and he announces the truth of the scriptures which is this: Man is at the bottom of a well so deep that he can do nothing whatsoever to get out of it. But God does come down into that well, but he doesn't stop halfway. He comes in great love all the way! And he takes hold of man and lifts him up out of that pit of sin."
