We know Luther’s words. “I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.” Luther stood against the false teachings of the church of his day. He risked his life to do so. He stood against indulgences, works righteousness, and the undermining of Scriptural authority.
At the same time, Luther also stood for truth. Luther stood for grace alone, for faith alone, and for Scripture alone. His conviction of these truths gave him the courage to risk his life and stand against the falsehoods that assaulted him.
Paul reminds us to stand against. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). The devil uses many schemes to erode faith, and we err greatly if we exclude abortion and the increasing receptivity of assisted suicide from his arsenal. Worse, we become co-schemers when we consign such assaults on life to the political or social realm and do not stand against them as “spiritual forces of evil” (6:12). We risk insults, controversy, division, and, perhaps sooner than we might think, our lives to take such a stand.
As for Luther, our courage to stand against comes from standing for God’s truth. We stand for His Trinitarian truth about life. He creates each life. He has redeemed each life. He desires to call each life. Nothing else matters when it comes to assigning value to human life. We have a positive message to share. We have a message that sends the devil scurrying. We have a message that changes hearts and lives.
Luther did not just stand against what the church of his day taught. He stood for the truth that God taught. We do not just stand against what our culture is for when it comes to the value of life. We stand for what our God is for! He gives us His armor to stand against. He gives us His truth to stand for.
We at Lutherans For Life wish you a blessed Reformation celebration.