October 31, 2016 – Words of Wisdom
Martin Luther

“‘Since then your imperial majesty and your lordships demand a simple answer, I will give you one without teeth and without horns. Unless I am convicted of error by the testimony of Scripture or by manifest evidence…I cannot and will not retract, for we must never act contrary to our conscience….Here I stand. God help me! Amen!”  Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, April 18, 1521

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17

We often make statements about political, religious, or other beliefs which we are determined to hold fast to and support at all costs. We see it every day lately with the election of a new president – the media will talk to people before a debate, and then speak to the same people after a debate to see if they now waiver or if they stand fast on their original statement and support. This was the same situation in which Martin Luther found himself leading up to the events of the Diet of Worms – but his support was not for a Pope, or a King – it was for G-d. If you are familiar with the early life of Martin Luther, you know he was struggling with finding the “love” of G-d in his life. He knew the G-d of judgment, and the G-d of wrath, but the G-d of love he could not find – that is until he was studying the book of Romans. As he read Paul’s letter, the light bulb went off: “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” He was appalled at the use of Indulgences as a way of bilking people out of money to purchase “pardon” for their sins and the sins of their loved ones. He believed it is only G-d who can give pardon for sins – through Jesus Christ. When John Eck and others called him to recant much of the 95 Theses, the document where he called into question many of the uses of Indulgences, he stood his ground and would not recant.

Do we have the courage to stand by our faith, in a society that increasingly looks to encourage us to disavow ourselves from our faith? It does not always happen in public venues, like the Diet of Worms – but happens in small ways, every day. It takes courage and the conviction of our beliefs to stand our ground and make public professions of our faith. Luther said, at the Diet of Worms, that the Pope’s decrees “…have thrown utter disorder into Christianity, have surprised, imprisoned, and tortured the faith of the faithful…contrary to the gospel.” Dare we stand down today and allow the same to happen – or stand firm in our faith?

Pastor Dave