You know what to say.
Have you ever walked away from a conversation and think of something you should have said but in the moment, you were too flustered to think of a good come back? Maybe your friends are talking about gender identity. They are arguing that gender is fluid and should be determined by a person’s feelings. You disagree and say, “gender is assigned by God at birth.”. They say, “it’s not physical features, hormones, and chromosomes are irrelevant.”. It sounds absurd but, in the moment, you honestly don’t know what to say. Or maybe you invite a neighbor to come to church with you, but they tell you they don’t believe in organized religion. You tell them how much you enjoy going to church how you have possibly the coolest pastor this side of the Mason Dixon line, but they say, “church is a man-made construct invented to control people.”. It sounds absurd but, in the moment, you honestly don’t know what to say. Or maybe you are having a glass of wine with some friends and the conversation turns to a woman’s right to choose. You take a big gulp and ask, “what about the baby’s right to life?”. They look at you like you are a chauvinist pig and say, “a fetus doesn’t have any rights”. It sounds absurd but, in the moment, you honestly don’t know what to say.
Conversations such as these are a regular occurrence in our lives. People have passionate opinions and argue those opinions with ferocious tenacity. They become so entrenched in their own ideology that they consider anyone who would dare disagree with them to be closed minded and hateful. In the face of such fierce opposition sometimes it is hard to know what to say.
Do you ever wish you were the kind of person who knew what to say? There are people like that, people who always seem to know just what to say. They always have a quick response to give or have a cleaver comment to make. Martin Luther was one of those quick witted and cleaver people who always seemed to know what to say.
Luther had grown increasingly uneasy with the abuses of power that existed in the Catholic church. Pieces of paper called Indulgences were being sold to the people under the guise that these pieces of paper could forgive sins and thus reduce one’s time in purgatory. However, the reality was the revenue from these indulgences was being used to build Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Luther posted 95 theses, that is 95 statements he wished to discuss and debate concerning the abuses he observed in the church. However, the church was not interested in discussion or debate that might reduce revenue. So, they sent Cardinal Cajetan not to discuss or debate but to force Luther to recant, that is take back, what he had said. Cajetan was a Master of Theology and a fierce supporter of papal supremacy. He threatened to have Luther declared a heretic and arrested if Luther would not recant. Luther would not and did not recant. Instead, Luther told Cajetan, “As long as these Scripture passages stand, I cannot do otherwise, for I know that one must obey God rather than men”.
It was exactly the right thing to say, but it did not go over well with the papacy. The pope declared Luther a heretic, excommunicated him, and called for the Emperor to sign a death warrant for Luther. In reply, Luther writes, “I protest before God, our Lord Jesus, his sacred angels, and the whole world that with my whole heart I dissent from the damnation of this bull, that I curse it as a sacrilege. If the pope does not retract and condemn the bull and punish Dr. Eck, then no one is to doubt that he is God’s enemy, Christ’s persecutor, Christendom’s destroyer, and the true Antichrist. Christ will judge whose excommunication will stand.”
Once again Luther knew exactly what to say, but as you might expect, calling the pope the antichrist increased tensions. Tensions continued to grow until they came to a climax in the city of Worms. There Luther found himself standing before Emperor Charles V, who was the most powerful man on the planet and a political ally of the pope. Once again Luther was called upon to recant. In the face of such fierce opposition Lutheran said, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in the councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted, and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.”.
Even when his opponents were entrenched in their own ideology and passionately professed their opinions with ferocious tenacity Martin Luther always seemed to know what to say. I wish I was more like Martin Luther. Don’t you? Don’t you wish you were the kind of person who knew what to say?
In Mark 13:9-11 Jesus tells us how to be the kind of people who know what to say. Jesus did not want His disciples to be under any delusion that life as a Christian would be easy. Jesus told them “9… You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.” Luther wasn’t the first to face opposition on account of Jesus. All of Jesus’ disciples eventually stood before councils and synagogues, governors and kings. Luther wasn’t the first to face opposition on account of Jesus and as you very well know Luther was not the last. Facing opponents who are entrenched in their own ideology and passionately profess their opinions with ferocious tenacity is something Christians have been doing since the dawn of Christendom. Jesus told His disciples, when that happens; when you face fierce opposition on account of me, you will know what to say. Jesus said, “11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” Don’t worry about what to say, Jesus told His disciples, the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say.
Very literally this is what happened on the great day of Pentecost when what seemed to be tongues of fire rested on the disciples’ heads and they began to “speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them”[1] This is how Peter knew what to say when he explained to the Rulers and elders of the people how he had healed a man. “filled with the Holy Spirit Peter said to them…It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.”[2] This is how Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul and all the authors of Scripture knew what to write “for prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”[3]
Jesus told His disciples not to worry about what to say when they faced fierce opposition because the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say. So, does this explain how Martin Luther always knew what to say? Well not exactly, but kind of. The Holy Spirit did rest what appeared to be a tongue of flame upon Luther’s head and miraculously reveal to Luther exactly what he was to say to Cardinal Cajetan, Pope Leo, or Emperor Charles. But the Holy Spirit did speak to Luther through the pages of Scripture. Through the pages of Scripture, the Holy Spirit spoke to Luther about a God who so loves the world that He gave His one and only Son, and about a Son Who demonstrated His own love for us in this that while we were still sinners, He died for us. Through the pages of Scripture, the Holy Spirit spoke to Luther about salvation by grace alone, about a righteousness apart from the law that is from God and comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ. Through the pages of Scripture, the Holy Spirit spoke to Luther about refusing to bend the knee before the princes of this world who pressure people to go against God.
Luther always knew what to say because through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit had given Luther the words to say. Did you notice a recuring theme in the way Luther responded to his fierce opposition. Luther did not try to rationalize or reason with his opponents; he didn’t share his thoughts, opinions, or feelings with them. Luther simply said what had been given to him to say; Luther spoke the Word of God to them.
Luther always knew what to say not because he was quick witted or cleaver, Luther always knew what to say because Luther read his bible. This is good news for those of us who wish we could be more like Luther; good news for those of us who wish we were the kind of people who always know what to say. The Holy Spirit continues to give God’s people the words to say, not miraculously, as He did for the disciples, but through means, through the pages of Scripture. If you want to be the kind of person who always knows what to say, read your bible. Learn timeless truths from the Alpha and the Omega who is and who was and who is to come. Learn absolute truth from the one who knows all and sees all. Learn irrefutable truth from the One to Whom the angels of heaven sing Holy, Holy, Holy. If you want to be more like Luther, If you want to be the kind of person who knows what to say, then do what Luther did. Read your bible and you will know what to say.
Read your bible and the next time you find yourself talking to a person who is entrenched in their own ideology and passionately defending their opinions with ferocious tenacity you will know what to say. You will know what to say when you find yourself in a discussion about gender identity. You will say in Genesis[4] the Holy Spirit says that God specifically created Adam and Eve to be male and female and in that same context God describes the purpose of them being made male and female, which is to be fruitful and increase in number by becoming one flesh, which is a pretty clear reference to the body parts necessary to make babies. Or when someone questions the purpose of the church you will know what to say. You will say in Hebrews[5] the Holy Spirit says that God established the church as a place where believers can come to be encouraged and encourage one another all the more as the day approaches. Then you will also say in Ephesians[6] the Holy Spirit says that God gives those believers a pastor that they might be built up for works of service. Or the next time you are sipping wine and discussing abortion you can say in the Psalms[7] the Holy Spirit says that a person is sinful from birth, sinful from the time their mothers conceive them. If a person is sinful from the moment they are conceived, that means they have a soul at conception, which means life must begin at conception, which means ending life after conception is not a right it’s murder.
Your life is full of conversations such as these. In the face of such fierce opposition, it is easy to get flustered and not know what to say. Thankfully the Holy Spirit continues to give us the words to say. So don’t worry. “11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, Or simply find yourself in a heated discussion with your friends, family, neighbors, classmates, or coworkers do not worry beforehand about what to say. Keep reading your bibles my friends and the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say. Amen
[1] Acts 2:4
[2] Acts 4:8-10
[3] 2 Peter 1:21
[4] Genesis 1-2
[5] Hebrews 10:25
[6] Ephesians 4:11-12
[7] Psalm 51:5