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 If you do not grasp that, if it leaves you unmoved, then mind your own business, and leave those to grasp it and be moved by it to whom it is given of God!” (Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will).
We live in a day where it seems to be more important to be gracious and winsome than it does to preach the truth. We have people crying for peace in denominations where the truth of the Gospel has been absent for some time. We have people who profess to be Reformed joining ranks with those who are essentially Pelagians though they call themselves Arminians. It is the same now as it was with Erasmus. It is thought that if we are united with those who are not quite the same as us but fairly close that we can reach more people and do more good. Luther put that to rest if anyone would care to read it. But at the very minimum people should at least realize how important the doctrine of the will was to Luther and the pioneer Reformers. This is not just some minor issue that rises here and there to catch the attention of those who are more precise than others, but instead this is at the very heart of the Gospel. If we listen to Luther, we will hear him tell us that this is a vital truth and we should die rather than give it up. We should hold to this truth even if holding to it means that the whole world would be shattered.
This might sound like it is from Luther’s bombastic methods or perhaps some his hyperbole. But it is not. It is the blunt honesty of a man gripped with the grace and glory of God. It is a man who sees what is utterly vital and will not let it go. Luther wanted Erasmus to wake up and see how important this issue was to the Gospel. The doctrine of the will was to Luther, even the bondage of the will, crucial and fundamental to the faith and to the Gospel. We will never understand Luther or the Gospel he wrote about and preached unless we grasp that point. Today, once again, despite the Gospel of grace that thundered forth in Germany and spread to many parts of the world, it seems that the vast majority have no idea of the importance of the doctrine of the will. People speak of and write books on justification by faith alone, but apart from an understanding of what Luther wrote on the will there will be no preaching and teaching of the doctrine of justification by faith alone as he preached and wrote about it.
It was said about Paul that he and his followers had upset the world (Acts 17:6). This was because they went out and preached the Gospel. Luther and the pioneer Reformers also upset the world when they preached the Gospel. But today, as with Erasmus, men want to get along with people and not teach what is necessary for men to come to Christ and for men to understand what justification by faith alone really means. Men get mad when they hear the truth of the Gospel, but they do not get mad when a modern version of justification by faith alone is preached. It is hard for denominations to get the funds needed to keep the machinery going and it is hard for churches to grow when people get mad and leave. So ways to dismiss the true Gospel are found and people are kept happy by preaching that does not reach the depths of their hearts, but it is nothing but preaching that tickles their ears.
Until people are awakened to the truth that the Gospel is truly offensive but that does not mean that we are to water it down, we will continue on in our blindness. Until men and women are willing to be ridiculed, mocked, and to receive the anger of others the Gospel will not be preached in our land. But it is not until either the world or our nation is upset or turned upside down with the Gospel that anything will really change. Until then those who want peace on all sides will have the absence of turmoil with others but the Gospel will not be preached. Preaching the Gospel as Paul and Luther preached will bring a disturbance and it will upset religious people as well. Denominational leaders will plead for more money to get the easy gospel out and religious people will give it, but no true Gospel will be preached. Pastors across the land including the professing Reformed will continue to preach what they call the Gospel apart from the truths that Luther and the pioneer Reformers preached and they will keep their jobs as they keep the peace, but that is a peace in which there is no peace. Luther said that this truth was so crucial and fundamental that it ought to be maintained and defended at the cost of life. The Gospel Paul preached caused turmoil wherever he went and eventually cost him his life. Luther’s words ring true. Meanwhile, the lovers of peace which is no peace will continue preaching a gospel that does not disturb. It is easier that way, but still damning. It is also more deceptive to the hearers and the preachers.
God Loves... Himself 
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