March 10, 2023 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Friends, today we have an amazing story to share as we continue following the inspiring courage of Martin Luther as outlined in the book, The Great Controversy by Ellen White.
As you might recall, Luther earned the wrath of the Roman Church for preaching and teaching Scriptural truth regarding salvation. He faced trial at Augsburg, Germany, where he stood up in the strength of God and presented a clear, concise, and forcible presentation. Unwilling to retract biblical teachings, Luther promptly withdrew and escaped on horseback early the next morning. Luther’s enemies were furious and urged the pope to excommunicate the “heretic.” Nevertheless, Luther remained faithful, and when a Papal Bull arrived condemning him, he burned it publicly. He pressed on, determined to preach what God had revealed to Him through His Word.
Before long, a new emperor, Charles V, ascended the throne of Germany, and the representatives of Rome quickly congratulated the young emperor and encouraged him to use his power against the growing Reformation, including an imperial edict sentencing Luther to death. However, the elector of Saxony, a powerful German noble, urged the young emperor not to take any action against Luther until he granted him a hearing.
At that time, a national council, known as “The Diet,” was about to convene in the imperial city of Worms. It was here where, for the first time, the princes of Germany were to meet their youthful monarch in an official deliberative assembly. There were important questions and interests to be considered, and dignitaries of church and state from all across the kingdom assembled for this national council.
Ellen White describes the scene like this: “Secular lords, highborn, powerful, and jealous of their hereditary rights; princely ecclesiastics, flushed with their conscious superiority in rank and power; courtly knights and their armed retainers; and ambassadors from foreign and distant lands,—all gathered at Worms. Yet in that vast assembly the subject that excited the deepest interest was the cause of the Saxon Reformer” (The Great Controversy, p. 146).
While the powers of Rome worked vigorously to prevent Luther from addressing the Diet, God overruled, and the Reformer was summoned to appear before this august assembly. Nevertheless, Aleander, the pope’s special legate to whom Luther’s case had been entrusted, urged the Emperor to allow him to address the Diet ahead of Luther, which the young ruler granted.
It was a proud day for Aleander. We are told “he had the gift of eloquence, and he rose to the greatness of the occasion. . . . With all the power of learning and eloquence, Aleander set himself to overthrow the truth. . . .’In Luther’s errors there is enough,’ he declared, ‘to warrant the burning of ‘a hundred thousand heretics'” (The Great Controversy, p. 148).
He continued hurling baseless accusations against the Reformer, and in conclusion attempted to cast contempt upon those who followed Luther’s teachings, calling them insolent, corrupt, ignorant, degraded, perverted, imprudent, small in number, weak, and other derogatory labels.
Commenting on this, Ellen White writes, “With such weapons the advocates of truth in every age have been attacked. The same arguments are still urged against all who dare to present, in opposition to established errors, the plain and direct teachings of God’s word. . . . These are the arguments that have a telling influence upon the world; but they are no more conclusive now than in the days of the Reformer.”
She continues, “The Reformation did not, as many suppose, end with Luther. It is to be continued to the close of this world’s history. . . From that time to this, new light has been continually shining upon the Scriptures, and new truths have been constantly unfolding” (The Great Controversy, pp. 148, 149).
While it seemed that Rome had won the day with Aleander’s eloquence, it was actually the beginning of its loss.
The Holy Spirit moved upon a member of that august assembly to give a true account of the effects of papal tyranny. “With noble firmness, Duke George of Saxony stood up in that princely assembly and specified with terrible exactness the deceptions and abominations of popery, and their dire results. In closing he said: ‘These are some of the abuses that cry out against Rome. All shame has been put aside, and their only object is . . . money, money, money. . . .” (The Great Controversy, p. 149).
We are told that angels of God were in that magnificent room, shedding beams of light amongst the darkness of error and opening minds and hearts to receive the truth. The stage was now set for the Reformer to address this grand assembly, presenting to them simple, divine truth.
Friends, as the great controversy continues, God is calling for men and women today to stand up and speak His truth in love, bringing into people’s lives the power of Scripture and the hope that it brings. Are you willing, in His power, to stand up for Him today? If so, I invite you to tell Him so just now as we pray together.
Father in heaven. We thank you for giving Martin Luther the courage to stand up, to speak out with love but conviction about the precious Bible truth that so many of us take for granted. Help us, Lord, to be firmly grounded in that Bible truth, to read it, to pray about it, to be instructed, and then to live it all through your power. Help us, Lord, to stand for you as we see the soon coming of the Lord appearing. Help us to stand through the difficult times ahead and realize just as you stood with Martin Luther, you will stand with us. Thank you for the Word of God and for the encouragement it brings to our hearts and for the vision it gives to us about the culmination of the great controversy when Jesus will return. Thank you for hearing us. In Jesus name, Amen.