Love Under Fire

Noble Stand of the Princes

King Ferdinand, the emperor's representative, tried the art of persuasion. He “begged the princes to accept the decree, assuring them that the emperor would be greatly pleased with them.” But these faithful men answered calmly: “We will obey the emperor in everything that may contribute to maintaining peace and the honor of God.” LF 86.6

The king finally announced that “their only remaining course was to submit to the majority.” Having said this, he left the chamber, giving the Reformers no opportunity to reply. “They sent representatives begging the king to return.” He answered only, “It is a settled affair; submission is all that remains.”⁵ LF 86.7

The imperial party believed smugly that the cause of the emperor and the pope was strong and the Reformers’ position weak. If the Reformers had depended on human aid alone, they would have been as powerless as the Catholic side supposed. But they appealed “from the report of the Diet [Council] to the word of God, and from the emperor Charles to Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” LF 87.1

Because Ferdinand had refused to honor their conscientious convictions, the princes decided not to let his absence stop them, but to bring their protest before the national council immediately. They drew up a solemn declaration and presented it to the diet: LF 87.2

“We protest by these words ... that, for us and for our people, we neither consent to nor accept in any manner whatsoever the proposed decree, in anything that is contrary to God, to His holy word, to our right conscience, to the salvation of our souls.... For this reason we reject the yoke that is imposed on us.... At the same time we expect that his imperial majesty will behave toward us like a Christian prince who loves God above all things; and we declare ourselves ready to offer him, as well as to you, gracious lords, all the affection and obedience that are our just and legitimate duty.”⁶ LF 87.3

The majority were amazed and alarmed by the boldness of the protesters. Dissension, war, and bloodshed seemed inevitable. But the Reformers, relying on God's omnipotent arm, were “full of courage and firmness.” LF 87.4

“The principles contained in this celebrated protest ... constitute the very essence of Protestantism.... Protestantism sets the power of conscience above the ruler, and the authority of God's word above the visible church.... It ... says with the prophets and apostles, ‘We must obey God rather than man.’ In the presence of the crown of Charles the Fifth, it uplifts the crown of Jesus Christ.”⁷ The Protest of Spires was a solemn witness against religious intolerance and an assertion of the right of all people to worship God according to their own consciences. LF 87.5

The experience of these noble Reformers contains a lesson for all ages to follow. Satan is still opposed to making the Scriptures the guide of life. People in our time need to return to the great Protestant principle—the Bible, and the Bible only, as the rule of faith and duty. Satan is still working to destroy religious liberty. The anti-Christian power that the protesters of Spires rejected is now seeking to reestablish its lost supremacy. LF 87.6