When it comes to dealing with persecution, Luther offers much to imitate. He certainly experienced significant persecution. The pope, who by his calling ought to have defended Luther and promoted the gospel, did the opposite. He declared Luther a heretic and commanded that all of Luther’s writings be burned. The emperor declared Luther an outlaw, threatening to pursue and punish Luther for the crime of treason because of his divisive teaching. That persecution, however, did not surprise Luther or shake him to the core of his being. For this reason, first: he believed what the Scriptures said about the devil. He knew that the Christian’s struggle is “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph 6:12 NIV). This was not the stuff of science fiction for Luther, but his day-to-day reality. The devil and the evil angels are real and powerful. They desire to destroy God’s new creation, his Church, and to silence the gospel by which the Lord builds his Church. Luther traced many of the challenges he faced to the devil, who was seeking to derail him from carrying out his calling as a gospel preacher.
The more the Scriptures govern our thinking, the more readily we see the devil at work persecuting the Church. Are we a bit hesitant to speak of persecution in those terms? Does it seem a bit “out there” to speak of evil beings that people cannot see? The Scriptures do not hesitate to speak of “spiritual forces of evil,” and neither should we. When we are persecuted, we need to connect it to the spiritual battle in which we are engaged. This is serious business; life with God is at stake. However, while Luther was quick to recognize the devil’s activity, the devil did not terrify him. He trusted the Lord’s promise that Christ had defeated the devil, once and for all, in his rising from the dead. [1] Because Jesus lives, he reigns.[2] He rules over everything for the good of his Church, even over the devil’s attempts to silence the preaching of the gospel through persecution. We imitate Luther’s faith as we cling to the promise that our Savior has authority over the spiritual forces of evil. Jesus has crushed the devil’s head. The victory is his. And since we have been baptized into Christ, the victory is ours, too.
[1]. One cannot help but think of Luther’s great hymn on Psalm 46: “Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us, We tremble not, we fear no ill; They shall not overpow’r 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.”
[2]. LW 48:198, as referenced earlier. “But Christ lives, and we shall enter Worms in spite of all the gates of hell and the powers in the air.” In a letter to Spalatin in December 1520, Luther wrote, “For He who saved the three men in the furnace of the Babylonian king still lives and rules.” LW 48:189, emphasis mine.