Martin Luther nails it!
On October 31st 1517 Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to a door of a church in Wittenburg Germany. Mostly Luther spoke against the concept of purgatory and paying money to purchase indulgences. To us such beliefs are clearly false doctrine but in Luther’s time no one questions these concepts and practices. Speaking against the these things was considered heresy and say them could have ended with Martin being burned at the stake. A common punishment in those days for heretics.
Luther risked his life for speaking the truth to a generation of people who were being taught lies in the name of religion. Now days, we can say “the just shall live by faith” and suffer no consequences. However, to say such a thing in the 15th century invited denunciation and possible death.
Every generation must speak it’s truth
Every generation has their truth to speak. In each century God wants to restore more of His truth and the religious establishment fights against it. Luther fought to restore salvation by faith. Anabaptist’s fought to restore the concept of baptism by immersion. Pentecostals fought to restore the concept of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. To this very day people fight against the notion that God is one and exclude those who dare to speak against the trinity. In every generation the cry of “heretic” falls from the lips of the deceived.
So, I ask you, are you going to nail it? Are you going to take the truth God is speaking to you and nail it to the church doors of our generation? Will you risk everything, even your life, to stand up for the truth God that is showing you? Are you going to liberate yourself and others by speaking the things of God? Luther did that and liberated the hearts of many in Germany and the movement birth the protestant reformation.
Taking God’s revelation to the limit
I have constantly fought to nail the truths of God to the church doors of my generation. Every word I write comes with a portion of doubt which says “have I gone too far?” I struggle to write plainly the truth of God (as I see it) knowing that what I write only invites denunciation as “heretic” from the religious people of my day. However, just ask Martin Luther did, “I’m going to nail it.”
I have come to realize that every restoration of biblical truth seems radical. These writings rail against the spiritual demagoguery of those who refuse to allow God’s people to listen to God’s voice just as Luther railed against those who taught that you could buy your way out of purgatory for a price. Luther had the radical idea of printing the Testament int he common tongue so that every German could read the world of God. That was consider blaspheme!
Today, people who say that all individuals can hear the voice of God for themselves and do the work of the ministry face the same backlash from religious forces. Dare to speak the word of God even if it disrupts the very foundations of dogma the churches holds dear. Accept that the current revelation of God will be the perceived heretical teaching of our day Nail it to the churches door just like Luther did. The people of God, yet again, must be freed from spiritual bondage and tyranny!
Go ahead, nail it!
I urge you to nail it. Nail hard and nail often. Take whatever revelation God has shown you and freely share it with the world. It does not matter whether others agree with what God says or not. Simply preach and teach the whole word of God to the limit of your current revelation. We are only responsible for the truth we have been given.
Finally, as Martin Luther said,
“You are not only responsible for what you say, but for what you do not say.
Amen