Worship: Progress of Reform in Germany / Wellness: “You must die of something, but…”

“The tidings that he was safe, though a prisoner, calmed the fears of the people, while it still further aroused their enthusiasm in his favor. His writings were read with greater eagerness than ever before. Increasing numbers joined the cause of the heroic man who had, at such fearful odds, defended the word of God. The Reformation was constantly gaining in strength. The seed which Luther had sown sprang up everywhere. His absence accomplished a work which his presence would have failed to do. Other laborers felt a new responsibility, now that their great leader was removed. With new faith and earnestness they pressed forward to do all in their power, that the work so nobly begun might not be hindered.{GC 185.3}

“But Satan was not idle. He now attempted what he has attempted in every other reformatory movement—to deceive and destroy the people by palming off upon them a counterfeit in place of the true work. As there were false Christs in the first century of the Christian church, so there arose false prophets in the sixteenth century. {GC 186.1}

“A few men, deeply affected by the excitement in the religious world, imagined themselves to have received special revelations from Heaven, and claimed to have been divinely commissioned to carry forward to its completion the Reformation which, they declared, had been but feebly begun by Luther. In truth, they were undoing the very work which he had accomplished. They rejected the great principle which was the very foundation of the Reformation—that the word of God is the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice; and for that unerring guide they substituted the changeable, uncertain standard of their own feelings and impressions. By this act of setting aside the great detector of error and falsehood the way was opened for Satan to control minds as best pleased himself. {GC 186.2}

“… Wittenberg itself, the very center of the Reformation, was fast falling under the power of fanaticism and lawlessness. This terrible condition had not resulted from the teachings of Luther; but throughout Germany his enemies were charging it upon him. In bitterness of soul he sometimes asked: ‘Can such, then, be the end of this great work of the Reformation?’—Ibid., b. 9, ch. 7. Again, as he wrestled with God in prayer, peace flowed into his heart. ‘The work is not mine, but Thine own,’ he said; ‘Thou wilt not suffer it to be corrupted by superstition or fanaticism.’ But the thought of remaining longer from the conflict in such a crisis, became insupportable. He determined to return to Wittenberg. {GC 188.2}

“Without delay he set out on his perilous journey. He was under the ban of the empire. Enemies were at liberty to take his life; friends were forbidden to aid or shelter him. The imperial government was adopting the most stringent measures against his adherents. But he saw that the work of the gospel was imperiled, and in the name of the Lord he went out fearlessly to battle for the truth. {GC 188.3}

“With great caution and humility, yet with decision and firmness, he entered upon his work. ‘By the word,’ said he, ‘must we overthrow and destroy what has been set up by violence. I will not make use of force against the superstitious and unbelieving…. No one must be constrained. Liberty is the very essence of faith.’”—Ibid., b. 9, ch. 8. {GC 189.2}

“. . . We have a right to speak: we have not the right to act. Let us preach; the rest belongs unto God.  . . .”

(This study is based on chapter 10, “Progress of Reform in Germany,” in the book The Great Controversy (GC), by Ellen G. White.)