Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (Proverbs 30:5 ESV)
Recant day
501 years and one day ago at the Diet of Worms, Martin Luther uttered the immortal words that launched the Reformation, "Since your majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason--I do not accept the authority of popes and councils for they have contradicted each other--my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right not safe. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen
Today many of us do not understand Luther’s point. He was not claiming that HIS knowledge was greater than the slipping church of his day. He was claiming that God’s Word is supreme. The key misunderstood words are: “convinced by Scripture and plain reason.” Luther did not mean there were two ways of determining truth: Scripture and reason. He was claiming that the Words of the Bible, and what can be plainly reasoned FROM the Bible are the only reliable source of knowledge.
Not just what someone told us.
Not just what we think our conscience might be telling us.
Not just what we hope is true.
Not just what our Great Brains deduce.
Those things are ultimately unreliable, out of focus, self-aggrandizing, and probably wrong.
But God’s people, when we have ears to hear and eyes to read… know God’s truth. Speak those things, and we will not have reason to recant.
We are peculiar, we will not need to recant.