Martin Luther was a man that was loved by many and yet hated by many others. The reason that he was loved and hated at the same time is because he was a man that spoke the truth boldly and did not know what it meant to back away from his convictions. At times Luther was too bombastic and wrong. However, he was the man God chose to start the Reformation. His strengths were many and were his weaknesses at times. Luther had great insight into the nature of many things. One of them reflects on why the church is so terribly weak now and under the judgment of God. One of those signs of judgment is that men would rather have peace than stand for the truth.
In his book on The Bondage of the Will Luther shows how vital it is to stand for truth:
“You make it clear that this carnal peace and quiet seems to you far more important than faith, conscience, salvation, the Word of God, the glory of Christ, and God himself. Let me tell you, therefore-and I beg you to let this sink deep into your mind-I hold that a solemn and vital truth, of eternal consequence, is at stake in this discussion; one so crucial and fundamental that it ought to be maintained and defended even at the cost of life, though as a result the whole world should be, not just thrown into turmoil and uproar, but shattered in chaos and reduced to nothingness” (p. 90).
On the next page (91) he shows what happens if we don’t stand for truth: “For your teaching is designed to induce us, out of consideration for Popes, princes and peace, to abandon and yield up for the present the sure Word of God. But when we abandon that, we abandon God, faith, salvation, and all Christianity! How much sounder is Christ’s advice, that we should rather despise the whole world!” He said this about the teaching of the bondage of the will.
Luther preferred true peace rather than a carnal peace and quiet. It is so easy to desire peace and apply some verses of Scripture to that and seek for a peace. Conflict is hard. But as Luther points out, the Word of God, the glory of Christ, and God Himself are more important than peace. There are times when we will either have peace or God Himself. Luther was discussing the issue of the bondage of the will and how vital it was for the Gospel. The issue of the will is not mere metaphysical speculation or doctrinal niceties; it is at the very heart of the Gospel. It is a vital teaching because it is vital to the Gospel of grace alone through faith alone. According to Luther, if we choose peace rather than dispute over this teaching of Holy Writ we “abandon God, faith, salvation, and all Christianity.” This teaching is so important that we should be willing to die for it and watch the whole world be shattered. The Gospel is that important. A church and a leader in the church that will not stand for the Gospel (and according to Luther, the bondage of the will which is necessary for the Gospel) is under the judgment of God.
In what follows some texts will be given to show that the desire for peace can be a sign of the judgment of God.
11 But I am full of the wrath of the LORD; I am weary with holding it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street And on the gathering of young men together; For both husband and wife shall be taken, The aged and the very old. 12 “Their houses shall be turned over to others, Their fields and their wives together; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD. 13 “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely. 14 “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6).
It does not take a person with profound insight to see the application of this passage to the Church today. The wrath of God was going to be poured out on the physical nation because the people were greedy for gain (the US and the Church today?) and the religious leaders were healing the brokenness of God’s people superficially by declaring peace when there was no peace. When a false gospel is taught by any minister, that minister is crying peace when there is no peace. God’s judgment is on that minister because of a false gospel and all who do not truly believe the Gospel are under God’s wrath. It is also true that God hates religious hypocrisy.
8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us’? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie. 9 “The wise men are put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, And what kind of wisdom do they have? 10 “Therefore I will give their wives to others, Their fields to new owners; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is greedy for gain; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone practices deceit. 11 “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. (Jeremiah 8).
Again we see a chilling text of Scripture. People had the Word of God but it was rejected in the sense that teachers of the day had changed it and declared peace when there was no peace. The Word of God is changed when the meaning is changed. We know what happened when the Church was Roman Catholic. It was taken into bondage by a teaching that was not true grace and ended up with indulgences and purgatory that enriched the religious leaders. Roman Catholicism preached peace with God to the people when there was no peace with God. Then God sent the Protestant Reformation. The core of the Gospel was recovered and proclaimed and so there was true peace with God. But what is going on with that Gospel today? There is a marked turn from it in our day and so also a turn from true peace.
This is a touchy issue and a politically incorrect one too. People are seeking peace with God on their own terms, which is not real peace. Denominational leaders are crying out for peace and yet true peace is only in the true Gospel. Where the Gospel is lacking there is no peace despite all the cries for peace among the leaders. Why is the judgment of God seen in a lack of spiritual understanding and darkness upon the Church? Why has the power of God been withdrawn and why are alliances and organizations not built around the Gospel that thundered forth during the Reformation? We must be careful to search the Scriptures and the leaders of the Reformation in our search for the true Gospel. It is possible that leaders within denominations and organizations within those denominations are more concerned with peace than with the Gospel itself despite words to the contrary.
9 “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations… 10 “It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash; 11 so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall… 14 “So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation is laid bare; and when it falls, you will be consumed in its midst. And you will know that I am the LORD. 15 “Thus I will spend My wrath on the wall and on those who have plastered it over with whitewash; and I will say to you, ‘The wall is gone and its plasterers are gone, 16 along with the prophets of Israel who prophesy to Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ declares the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 13)
We live in a time of much positive thinking and much crying out for gracious language and winsome behavior. We would be better off crying out to God for repentance of our sin of no love for His truth and weeping over our sin and hard hearts in our desires to be loved by others rather than to love God. Without the true Gospel there is no true peace. We have to be trying if we don’t know of the great problems within the SBC and other denominations. We can try to set out various programs and methods to cure the outward ills, but the real issue within any denomination has to do with God and His Gospel. It is God that we have to deal with. It is the betrayal of God and His Gospel that brings so much trouble to a denomination. The Roman Catholic devastation previous to Luther should show what religious dressing apart from the Gospel will do. The effort at trying to save Roman Catholicism was not based on the Gospel but other things. The real issue within the SBC and others is the Gospel as well.
To put it candidly, we are under the judgment of God. Part of the cause of the judgment and yet also the judgment itself is that so many have been told that they have peace when there is no peace. That is an issue of the Gospel. God’s glory is one with the true Gospel and all false gospels are a false witness to Him and His glory. When the Gospel is set aside because of political expediency or any other reason, it is still set aside. In that case we have abandoned God, faith, and Christianity. We can be very upset that the SBC has more people on its roles than attend, but the reason for that is because of the loss of the true Gospel. We can be upset because of many things within the SBC, but the real reason is because people are not gathered around the true God by the real Gospel. It matters little whether men and women claim to be Reformed if they do not have the historical and biblical Gospel. It matters little if we say that Luther and the Reformers were correct in their battle with Roman Catholicism if we don’t see as wrong the essential issue that the Reformation was over. Luther was willing to die and see the world descend into chaos because of his belief that the core of the Gospel itself was focused on the teaching of Scripture about the will. The Gospel that thundered in the Reformation was a Gospel with the bondage of the will at the core of it that enabled the Gospel to be by grace alone. Without that, we are not Reformed regardless of how many doctrines we have in common with the Reformers. Without it we still teach peace without a real peace. Without it we will remain under the judgment of God crying peace to those with no real peace. While it may be seen as less than gracious, it is the Gospel that is all of grace. While it will be seen as divisive, it is the Gospel of grace alone by which we may have peace with God and true unity with true believers. By grace, stand for the historical Gospel.
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