The Pastor’s File

Balthasar Hubmaier was one of the most influential leaders of the Anabaptist Movement of the sixteenth century. He often closed his writings with the statement, “Truth is immortal.” Or as it has sometimes been translated, “Truth is unkillable.”

One of his most influential works was: Concerning Heretics and Those Who Burn Them (1524). In this treatise, he demonstrates that the gospel of Christ does not allow for coercion, but persuasion. A man must be persuaded in his conscience to trust Christ and become His disciple. He insisted that the state had no right to interfere with religious matters, and that every man must decide for himself what he would do with the Saviour. He even extended this religious freedom to atheists, consider the following quote: “It is well and good that the secular authority puts to death the criminals who do physical harm to the defenseless, Romans 13. But no one may injure the atheist who wishes nothing for himself other than to forsake the gospel.” (Estep, Anabaptist Beginnings, p. 51)

Because Hubmaier would not give up his belief in the truth of the Scriptures he was burned at the stake on March 10, 1528, by the Roman Catholic authorities. However the truth that he stood for is still very alive today.

It is in this spirit that I stand where I do today. Hubmaier understood that God’s truth will stand. The simple fact that men do not accept the truth makes no difference. My understanding of a fact has absolutely no bearing on the fact itself. Men have ridiculed, scoffed, attacked, and tried to completely eradicate the Bible, but God has promised it will stand(Psalm 12:6-7; Psalm 119:89; Matthew 5:18; Luke 16:17). My purpose in the blog is not to purposely offend, but to examine issues in the light of God’s Holy Word. I cannot force any man to accept the truth of God, I can only declare the truth and do my best to persuade others of it. Every man will stand accountable to his Creator.

In spite of popular opinion, truth is not relative, it is absolute, and in fact it is immortal. You can kill the messenger of truth, but you can never kill the truth for which he is willing to die.