by Pastor James Lee

As a junior at UCLA, I read Roland Bainton’s classic biography on the life of Martin Luther. It affected me deeply, and it still does. My favorite entry describes April 1521 when a humble, yet fearful monk named Martin Luther when ordered to recant replied, “This touches God and His Word. This affects the salvation of souls. Of this Christ said, ‘He who denies me before men, him will I deny before my Father.’ To say too little or too much would be dangerous. I beg you, give me time to think it over.” Granted a clemency by the emperor, he was given one more day to think it over. With the anguish that only true integrity can bring, Luther famously responded the next day, as it has been passed down to us, to the command to recant by replying, “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 my conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.” What about us? Are our minds captive to the Word of God today? Is our response to our Lord’s will, promises, and commands, “Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise?”

Luther was a man of conviction! And because he was a man of conviction, he was also a man of great humility, passion, zeal, energy, and impact. Eric Liddell, whose story was told in the movie Chariots of Fire, was the real-life Scottish runner who distinguished himself by refusing to race on the Lord’s Day during the Olympics. He was a man of conviction. When the martyr Chrystodom was brought before the Roman emperor, the pontiff threatened him with banishment if he remained a Christian. Chrystodom replied, “Thou canst not banish me, for this world is my Father’s house.”“But I will slay thee,” said the emperor. “Nay, thou canst not,” said the noble champion of the faith, “for my life is hid with Christ in God.” “I will take thy treasures.” “Nay, but thou canst not, for my treasure is in heaven and my heart is there.” “But I will drive thee away from man, and thou shalt have no friend left.” “Nay, thou canst not, for I have a friend in heaven from whom thou canst not separate me. I defy thee, for there is nothing that thou canst do to hurt me.” These men held and lived the truths they proclaimed with deep personal conviction. They are the truths for which Christians would die. Conviction is what they had. Conviction was the difference.

Webster’s dictionary defines “conviction” as, “the state of being convinced; firm belief; convincing, as of a truth.” It’s been accurately said, “Men hold opinions, but convictions hold the man.” Dr. Alex Montoya said, “Convictions are spiritual instincts that drive us to action regardless of the circumstances.”

Are you and I, men or women, of conviction? Do we really believe, own, and obey what God’s Word says? How does the imminent return of Christ positively affect us? Is our identity joyfully grounded in Christ? Do we embrace our spiritual responsibility to disciple our children and remember His grace in that very role? Is the grid and lens in which we view our studies, our problems, our workplace, our weaknesses, and our churches in line with what we claim to hope for and who we profess to worship? What real convictions are functionally displayed by our testimonies as husbands, wives, in-laws, etc? How does our “wisdom” reflect the Lord’s revelation? Do we believe every false word, careless word, hurtful word is dangerous to the soul, and that every encouragement, kindness, and correction are wonderful opportunities to build up?

History is replete with examples of men and women, ordinary, weak, and sinful like you and me, who stood for what they believed, who were willing when called upon, to suffer unspeakable harm for their convictions, even to die for what they believed was pleasing to the Lord. God powerfully used them:

• The conviction of Joshua – “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
• The conviction of restored Samson – “Let me die with the Philistines!” (Judges 16:30)
• The conviction of Ruth in relation to Naomi – “Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.” (Ruth 1:17)
• The conviction of Samuel – “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?… Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23)
• The conviction of Nathan the prophet – who had to rebuke David even at the risk of execution, proclaiming, “You are the man!” (2 Sam 12:7)
• The conviction of Elijah, battling the prophets of Baal – “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21)
• The conviction of Esther – “… and if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)
• The conviction of Job even after great loss and Satan’s attacks – “Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10)
• The conviction of Daniel – “Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8)
• The conviction of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (or Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) in being thrown into the fiery furnace rather than bow down to an idol – “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:18)
• The conviction of John the Baptist – “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7) and “It is not lawful for you to have her” (speaking to Herod about his incestuous marriage; Matthew 14:4)
• The conviction of the apostles – “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20) and later in Acts 5:29, “We must obey God rather than men.”
• The conviction of Stephen – “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just what your fathers did.” (Acts 7:51) and later as he was being stoned by those he confronted, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7:60)
• The conviction of Paul – “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21)
• The conviction of John – “I… was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” (Rev 1:9)
• The conviction of Jesus – “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.” (Luke 9:22)

These are godly examples for us, not just to admire from a distance, but for us to be encouraged by and live out in the allotment that God has assigned each of us. Conviction involves far more than the content of our belief, it involves the crucial question if we really believe what we claim to believe and if we really trust Him who is Faithful. Hebrews 12:1-3 exhorts us, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” Let us hear our Lord’s oft repeated and loving call, “Be strong and courageous!”