The Need for Reformational Boldness

Picture this scene: It is April 18th, 1521, and a German Monk is standing trial before an assembly of the Holy Roman Empire. Pope Leo X has called upon him to either recant his views and thus secure his place in the Roman Catholic Church or reaffirm his theological dissent from Rome, and thus secure his excommunication from Roman Catholicism, and possibly worse.

The scene of April 18th, 1521, did not occur in a vacuum. It cannot be understood without also looking to October 31st, 1517. On this day, nearly four years prior, this same German Monk stands before the Castle Church of Wittenberg. While this formed the north wing of the castle, originally built for the Electors of Saxony, by 1502, it had become a center for academic life. If someone wished to have an academic debate or discussion, it was common practice to hang announcements for scholarly debates on the wooden doors.

Standing before these very doors, the Monk holds a hammer and nail (allegedly), and a parchment containing his 95 Theses. Within this document, he merely wishes to question the Roman Catholic Church’s practice of selling indulgences to whisk people out of purgatory and directly into Heaven itself. His question—if it may be summarized as such—was whether this was truly a biblical practice. Could one truly earn one’s salvation by giving money to the Church? More importantly, could one truly earn or merit their salvation at all?

He does not know it yet, but Martin Luther’s publication of these 95 Theses is about to ignite a spiritual fire around the world. The Roman Catholic Church, as he knows it, will never be the same again. Reformation is coming. The Protestant Church will be born. And, with men like Luther, Calvin, and Knox at the helm of the Reformation across Europe, the true gospel of justification by faith alone in Christ alone will be preached in such a way that the flame of the Reformation will burn bright across the world and throughout the ages.

Fast-forward to our modern day, and it would not be inaccurate to say that our churches need Reformation once more. Our culture needs genuine revival.

If it appears that the flame of the Reformation no longer burns so brightly, or that the Church of Jesus Christ may perhaps be on the wane, it is not because God has changed, or because His Word has lost its power. God cannot change (cf. Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8), and His Word is living and active, sharper than any sword (Heb. 4:12). So, if the problem is not with our God, and if His Word is as powerful as it ever was, what is the source of this decline?

I would wager that the problem lies with the Church herself, which has weakened over the centuries. She has lost her spine of steel and replaced it with something far more gelatinous.

Modern Christians could learn a great deal from the Reformers and their courage. One quality that the Magisterial Reformers possessed, that we so desperately need today, was a boldness to stand upon the Word of God, no matter what adversity came their way. And, as it turns out, boldness is commanded of the Christian.

The Need for Reformational Boldness Today

The need of the hour is courage. Christians need the same Reformational Boldness that Martin Luther displayed when he wrote and then published the Ninety-Five Theses, and again when he refused to recant his theological beliefs. Without such courage, the Church as we know it today would not exist. And, worse yet, if we do not manage to find some of this courage for ourselves, then our eternal state is in jeopardy, for a mark of a genuine Christian is courage. God even warns, in Revelation 21:8, that cowards will not inherit eternal life with Christ: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

If we will find any courage at all, we must first recognize the fear this verse should impart within our hearts. Cowards will not enjoy eternal life with Christ. The new heavens and earth will be a place of glory, but they will be devoid of cowards. This text ought to compel us to seek some Reformational Boldness for ourselves. We need courage. But how?

When I was younger, I was really struck one day by how incredible Acts 4 is. In this chapter, we find the Apostles, who, at the end of the Gospel accounts, were essentially in hiding as cowards. At the same time, Jesus was being crucified, now standing in the open, publicly, and loudly declaring that Jesus is risen from the dead, and that salvation is to be found in Christ alone. They are threatened with stopping, but instead, they continue preaching, thereby defying the tyrannical orders and threats of corrupt leaders to cease preaching the gospel.

This text so struck me that I went over to a whiteboard hanging on the back of my bedroom door and wrote out verse 29 of Acts 4: “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.” I can remember standing there and praying, “Lord, make me bold like this.”

A cowardly approach to serving Christ would likely make life less trying this side of eternity. If Luther had crumbled beneath the threats of his accusers at the Diet of Worms and recanted, he could likely have enjoyed a somewhat cushiony life, freed from the stress and anxiety of being hunted like an animal by those who despised him for defying the Pope and Rome. The same goes for the Apostles. In fact, the same goes for you and me: If my conscience were not so bound to God’s Word, and if I were not so inclined towards boldness, I would likely have fewer problems, fewer enemies, and more money.

The only problem? Such a life would not be pleasing to God.

If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you can probably relate. There is this perennial fear that often cripples us before a watching world, restraining us from speaking the Word of God openly, or living openly for Jesus, or even simply calling sinners to repent. The desire to be liked, to have job security, to be well-respected, or to make more money are all temptations that may prevent us from serving Christ as we are meant to. However, here is the truth of the matter: If cowardice prevents you from openly following Jesus, if fear stops you from standing upon the principles of God’s Word, if anxiety makes it so that your neighbors, co-workers, and friends have no inkling that you are a Christian, you may not be a Christian.

The Reformers, like Luther, and the Apostles in Acts 4, teach the desperate need for Reformational Boldness, so that we might live for Christ, courageously believe His Word, and loudly proclaim it. But again, how do we do this? Where do we find Reformational Boldness?

1. The Christian must be bold in believing in the resurrection of Jesus.

In Acts 4:1-7, we find the Apostles driving the religious leaders of the Jews crazy because they “were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (vs. 2), and “many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand” (vs. 4). The Apostles are jailed and then questioned, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” (vs. 7b).     

You may wonder, “Why were the leaders so upset and annoyed over the disciples’ preaching about Jesus?” You need not wonder long. In Acts 5:17-18, we read that, “the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.”

Jealousy caused the religious leaders to hate the Apostles and other followers of Jesus. Jealousy over the fact that these were seemingly unlearned men, not part of their “good ol’ boys club,” if you will. Yet, they drew crowds and transformed culture through their preaching of the gospel, especially through their proclamation of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. This jealousy led to their persecution of the Apostles.

The disciples understood, however, that the resurrection is truly the hinge on which our faith turns. It is the evidence and proof that Jesus accomplished the work of our salvation, that our sins are truly forgiven in Christ, that He grants eternal life to us by faith alone, and that Jesus truly is the God-man. There can be no room for cowardice when it comes to the resurrection. In fact:

2. The Christian must be bold in the exclusivity of Christ.

As the Apostles begin to defend themselves before their accusers in Acts 4:8-12, they refuse to recant their preaching of the resurrection. In fact, they double down. Peter begins to exalt the exclusivity of Jesus Christ alone for salvation: “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (vs. 11-12).

Peter’s message was an unpopular one, even in his own day. In fact, these Jews were the very same who wanted Jesus to be crucified and killed. They were the ones who wanted to break apart this ragtag band of Christ’s followers. Yet, for all their scheming and plotting, they continually found themselves running into the brick wall that is the sovereignty of God.

So, Peter remained steadfast in his preaching of the gospel of Christ’s resurrection. He reminds them again that they may have rejected Jesus as the way of salvation, but that does not change the fact that this is who Jesus is. There is no salvation in any other. He alone is God, Redeemer, Savior, Prophet, Priest, and King. He alone is the Messiah—the Christ—and there is no other.

In our pluralistic and therapeutic age, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation is an unpopular message. Many believe that we can somehow maintain neutrality with the world, or with those who differ from this very particular worldview. But if Jesus is the only way of salvation, then every other way can only lead to hell. Those who differ from us in this regard must not be led to believe that we share some similarities or that they are okay to remain in their current beliefs. As Greg Bahnsen pointed out, “Attempting to be neutral in one’s intellectual endeavors (whether research, argumentation, reasoning, or teaching) is tantamount to striving to erase the antithesis between the Christian and the unbeliever.” [1]

There is an antithesis between Christianity and everything else, but there is no neutrality. Christ alone is the Savior. We must be bold in both our beliefs and our proclamations of these beliefs. This boldness should extend into every sphere in which the Christian is engaged.

3. The Christian must be bold in serving King Jesus.

Verse 13 is an incredible testimony about what happens when we are courageous in serving Christ: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

Ultimately, the religious leaders cannot do much to frighten the Apostles, and they really cannot kill them at this point, either. In verse 18, they attempt to persuade them to stop preaching. Peter and John respond, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (vs. 19-20). This is remarkably similar to the famous statement from Luther at the Diet of Worms, where he said he could not recant, for his conscience was captive to Christ and His Word. 

You can see the tyranny of these Jewish leaders on display, just as clearly as the tyranny of Rome at the Diet of Worms. These leaders, quite literally, want to control what Peter, John, and the other followers of Jesus say publicly. However, what they have so badly misunderstood is that the commandments of God trump everything else. If God tells us to do something—the Great Commission, for example—and someone else says, “Stop, don’t do that!” We obviously must obey God.

In fact, in chapter 5:29-32, we find Peter and the others on trial yet again. When they are questioned about why they keep preaching, Peter and those with him respond: “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.  And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

As John Knox famously said, “Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.” Yes, we are to submit to governing authorities as having been placed there by God; however, every law or decree that opposes God or something in His Word is, in turn, to be opposed as tyrannical—for example, the legalization of things like gay marriage and abortion. A Christian with Reformational Boldness must resist tyranny. If Jesus is our King, then we are obligated to boldly follow Him where He leads, to do as He calls us to do, to think as He calls us to think, and to say what He calls us to say.

4. The Christian must be bold to speak the Word of God everywhere.

If you had asked the Reformers, like Luther, Calvin, and Knox, where they received their courage from, they would have said that it came from praying and trusting in the Lord. We see the same thing happen for the Apostles in Acts 4:29-31:

“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They are made bold to go forth and proclaim God’s Word everywhere.

It has been said that if Jesus is King at all, He must be King overall. This may also be said about His Word. If His Word is authoritative at all, it must be authoritative overall. When you understand this, you will recognize that God is not merely concerned with the salvation of individual sinners—though that is a rather large part of God’s mission—but He is concerned also with our institutions, our politics, our culture at large. Because it all belongs to Him, He speaks to both individuals and their nations; churches and their towns; township workers and college professors; business owners and retirees. And it is our duty to proclaim the authoritative Word of God everywhere boldly.

Jesus did rise from the grave. That ought to give us courage.

Jesus alone is King of kings and Lord of lords. That ought to give us boldness.

And whatever your sins may be, Christ stands ready to forgive and to save. That ought to make us desire Reformation and revival.

We need Reformational Boldness in our service to Christ. There is no other way to claim culture for Christ.

 

[1] Greg Bahnsen, Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith (Nacogdoches: Covenant Media, 1996), 7.