February 14: COMPROMISE IS DEADLY
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18
Perishing or being saved . . . Beloved, it is for you to choose as to which of these processes you will allow to capture and engage your attention and activities. King Ferdinand chose to turn his back on the conscientious convictions of the German princes in order to retain favor with the pope. The German princes respectfully presented their protest to the national council without delay. This brilliant declaration was their answer to the deadly “compromise” proposed by Rome:
“We protest by these presents, before God, our only Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, and Savior, and who will one day be our Judge, as well as before all men and all creatures, that we, for us and for our people, neither consent nor adhere in any manner whatsoever to the proposed decree, in anything that is contrary to God, to His Holy Word, to our right conscience, to the salvation of our souls…We assert that when Almighty God calls a man to His knowledge, this man nevertheless cannot receive the knowledge of God [apart from the] sure doctrine but such as is conformable to the Word of God…this Holy Book is, in all things necessary for the Christian, easy of understanding, and calculated to scatter the darkness. We are resolved, with the grace of God, to maintain the pure and exclusive preaching of His only word, such as is contained in the biblical books of the Old and New Testaments, without adding anything thereto that may be contrary to it. This Word is the only truth; it is the sure rule of all doctrine and of all life and can never fail or deceive us. He who builds on this foundation shall stand against all the powers of hell, while all human vanities that are set up against it shall fall before the face of God. For this reason we reject the yoke that is imposed upon us. At the same time we are in expectation that his imperial majesty will behave toward us like a Christian prince who loves God above all things; and we declare ourselves ready to pay to him, as well as unto you, gracious lords, all the affection and obedience that are our just and legitimate duty.”
If the fledgling Reformation, after achieving a measure of success, had compromised by consenting to procure favor with the world, it would have forfeited the power of God in favor of the power of man, moving away from the true faith which it proclaimed and making sure of its own destruction.
Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 1 Peter 2:17