Friday, October 29, 2010
Romans 8:37 In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
ONE LITTLE WORD CAN FELL HIM
Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us.
We tremble not, we fear no ill, They shall not overpower us.
This world's prince may still Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none, He's judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 262:3)
Danger threatened Luther from every side. Armies threatened. Friends over-reacted. Temptations to personal pride and self-centeredness reared up as the Reformation spread across Europe.
Martin Luther also realized that others would be confronted with Satan's evil workings -- his threats and temptations. If he trembled at times -- and he did -- others would too. Luther had no doubt of the truth of his stand on God's justifying grace in Christ. But how could he best help others who would one day take the same stand. He could, he would, give them the one weapon the Holy Spirit gave him -- the only weapon Christ's people need: the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
At the Castle Wartburg Luther knew his safety lay not in walls and ramparts but in the LORD and in His Word. So into his tower study he went with his Greek New Testament ... and to work. He must place that strong Word in the hand of princes and servants and plowboys. He must put it into the language they understood and spoke. And so he translated, early and late, coming down from "the place of the birds" only to don his knight's garb and to stroll marketplace, street or lane -- to get just the right word to convey a Scripture's meaning.
With the Word God meant them to have in hand and heart, prince and professor and peasant became in Christ what the Apostle described in Romans 8:37. They dared to stand before heads of state and church and say: THIS WE BELIEVE, TEACH AND CONFESS.
All centered on Christ, just as the Scriptures do. And because Christ is Satan's destroyer, the Evil One cannot withstand the power of the Scriptures. "One little word can fell him."
