Originally published on The Electric Gospel on October 7, 2015. Students in my Modern West college course had read a biography of Martin Luther, which highlighted not only his personal history but the main themes of the Reformation movement. This student essay captured an important point about a Christian’s conscience.
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The Committed Conscience
by Monica Rehberger
In many respects, Martin Luther was like any other man in 16th century. He was raised as a peasant, had a fairly common education, and held to the Roman Catholic faith. But Martin Luther was driven by a very active conscience: sensitive, guilty, and always accusing. He could not silence the continuous reminder that God was the wrathful judge, and he the sinner that could never make amends. However, Luther’s active conscience guided his words and actions throughout his whole life.
Once Martin Luther left law studies to become a monk, he sought to quiet his dark thoughts with a rigorous life of hardship, including physically punishing himself. But it was to no avail; he still realized that the thoughts which came every second tainted his soul with sin. Confession only reinforced this idea for Luther. While he was in the very act of repenting, he would remember another sin or have a wayward thought, demanding more confession and penance. The vicious cycle would occur over and over again within Luther’s conscience, compounding desperation and despair, until he was filled with doubt and hatred for God. Even into his teaching years, Luther suffered from heavy self-accusation.
However, once Martin Luther realized the true grace of God—as a result of study in the Word of God—his conscience was set free. He now knew that God did not expect atonement of sins to come from people themselves; rather it was a full and free gift, paid for by Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Because Luther’s mind was now released by that good news, he wished to help others with their burden of sin, primarily as a pastor caring for his flock. Luther did this in several ways. He told monks not strive for complete purity, because they would never achieve it and were focusing only on themselves. He comforted dying Christians that, despite their many sins, God would not abandon them, but would bring them home to heaven. He also encouraged all to take comfort and joy in one another when they were assailed with doubt and fear. In all these ways, Luther looked out for the peoples’ consciences throughout his pastoral ministry.
Martin Luther also addressed issues of the conscience as a theologian. After all, at the Diet of Worms his pinnacle “famous” moment was when he publicly and directly stated the relationship between his will and Scripture: “My conscience is captive to the Word of God—then I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor wise to act against conscience.” Earlier than this, Luther had also written a book, On the Freedom of a Christian, in which he explained practical applications for a Christian’s life. Each person could do what they wished, in keeping with God’s Word, without their conscience being bound to a certain practice or ideal – but at the same time were conscience-bound to act in love toward their neighbors, sharing the love of Christ. Later during the Heidelberg Disputation, Luther highlighted the idea that every person’s natural will is completely tainted by sin; if one’s mind is saying that he is doing right for himself, then he is in the wrong and just adding sin to more sin. Only through grace can one do good works.
Each person’s conscience is a gift from God, a form of the natural law written on the heart. Martin Luther had a conscience that drove him to seek the truth in Scripture, and then share that with others, whether by preaching, teaching, writing, or singing. Luther described the conscience as being of utmost importance in a life of faith. It is this that Satan most fiercely attacks, but amidst this struggle of faith one always may look to Christ for forgiveness. This was Luther’s comfort in life, and is the comfort that believers today can use in soothing their troubled minds. God has completely wiped away all of our sins. Because of grace in Jesus, we live now with unburdened consciences, and we will live forever in freedom in his presence.
