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CONTEND FOR THE FAITH Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. (Jude 3)
Although we recognize October 31, 1517, as the beginning of the Lutheran Reformation, one could argue that April 18, 1521, defined it. When Luther nailed his now famous “95 Theses” to a church door in Wittenberg, he was still hopeful that the Roman Catholic Church could be reformed. He didn’t want to leave it or destroy it—only to see it reformed. But at the Diet of Worms three-and-a-half years later, when he stood before the most powerful secular and religious authorities of his time, it became clear that things would not end as he had hoped. If you are even a little familiar with Reformation history, you have likely heard Luther’s final words on that April day in Worms. When asked if he would retract what he had written and renounce his teachings, he declared, “Unless I am convinced of error by the testimony of Scripture or by manifest evidence . . . I cannot and will not recant, for we must never act contrary to our conscience. . . . Here I stand. God help me! Amen!” Luther literally put his life on the line that day to contend for the Christian faith. Pope and Emperor condemned Luther as a heretic and declared him an outlaw. As sons and daughters of the Reformation, we may envision ourselves standing where Luther stood—contending for the faith. In our hearts we want to make a bold confession of what we believe. And yes, we even believe that we would stake our life on it. But in reality we know how easy it is to compromise our beliefs and to conform our lives to things contrary to the Christian faith. The secular world screams about tolerance
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