MuddyPuddles

In reading about Martin Luther and his life in the early 1500’s, I am seeing so many things that are incredibly similar to the struggle that we are going through now some 500 years later.  So many of the things that he dealt with then are the things that many of us are trying to deal with today---not exactly the same specific topics necessarily, but the same systemic concepts.  And, indeed, they are the same type of things that Jesus dealt with 1500 years earlier.  And some of the rebuttals I’ve heard recently are but echoes of what Martin Luther heard back then.  Look at the following quotes and you’ll see the similarities.  (Taken from the book “Here I Stand, A Life of Martin Luther” by Roland H. Bainton).

(I’ve had several comments on my blog about “If you are so perfect (sarcastically) blah, blah, blah. . .,  and “who died and made you the judge?” and similar types of things.  Martin Luther had his critics as well.  One such critic asked him) “Are you alone wise and all the ages in error?”(p.70). Another, a man with whom he had the famous Leipzig debate asked him, “Are you the only one that knows anything?”  “Except for you is all the Church in error?”  (p91)  This is a common response to anyone who challenges long held beliefs, no matter how wrong those beliefs may be.  

Luther also had trouble with legalistic people of his age.  In fact, “Luther was to find it easier to convince men that the pope was Antichrist than that the just shall live by faith.” (p.84)  “Luther and Erasmus had much in common.  Both insisted that the Church of their day had relapsed into the Judaistic legalism castigated by the apostle Paul.  Christianity, said Erasmus, has been made to consist not in loving one’s neighbor but in abstaining from butter and cheese during Lent.” (p.97)  It is not much different today.  People who have been raised legalistically have an extremely difficult time being convinced that we are truly saved by grace through faith and not through works, even though it is very clearly taught in the scriptures.  It is not by works.  “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Gal.5:6)

As a catholic, Luther had several layers of “authority” over him---bishops, councils, the university and, of course, the pope.  But because of his dedication to the word, he started seeing inconsistencies between what these “authorities” were doing and teaching and what the scriptures actually taught.  Many, if not most, people of the time chose to follow the authorities and tradition over the scripture.  Not Luther.  Even at the risk of being labeled a heretic and being burned at the stake he would not compromise what he understood in the scriptures.

In answer to one query Luther replied, “I am a Christian theologian; and I am bound, not only to assert, but to defend the truth with my blood and death.  I want to believe freely and be a slave to the authority of no one, whether council, university, or pope.  I will confidently confess what appears to me to be true, whether it has been asserted by a Catholic or a heretic, whether it has been approved or reproved by a council.”  (p.92)  What was being said and how it compared with the scriptures was more important to him than who said it.  I wish it were so with more people in modern times.  So many today determine how they will listen based upon who is saying it and not upon what is being said.  That’s unfortunate.

And finally, one thing that makes me admire Luther so much was the way he approached his life under duress.  A witness to his famous 18 day debate reported “He (Luther) is equal to anything.  In company he is vivacious, jocose, always cheerful and gay no matter how hard his adversaries press him.  Everyone chides him for the fault of being a little too insolent in his reproaches and more caustic than is prudent for an innovator in religion or becoming to a theologian.” (p.87) 

Now you can see why I have so much admiration for Martin Luther.  He had spunk and yet he was dedicated to the word.  He wouldn’t back down in the face of opposition but he was open to what anyone had to say.  He was willing to defend his beliefs without losing his objectivity.  He was always seeking the truth.  He was willing to risk his life for what he thought was right. 

I hope I can grow up to be like him.  I hope you can grow up to be like him as well.  It’s a little scary.  There are safer courses to take.  There are less confrontational paths.  But they don’t get you where you need to go.  So I encourage each of you to stand up for what you believe while keeping an open mind and a loving spirit.  God Bless you as you grow up toward him.  Dennis