Good Words for Today: October 31
On this day five hundred years ago, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Though he only intended to stir up some theological debate, God in his wisdom used Luther to ignite the Protestant Reformation, which entailed recovering the gospel of the free grace of God. In 1521 he was forced to answer for his convictions at a trial called the Diet of Worms. When asked to recant his beliefs, he uttered these words that echo across the centuries:
“Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason (I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other) my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”
May God raise up a generation of men and women who stand for the truth in our day as Luther did in his day.October 31, 2017