Alva Review-Courier -

There comes a time in your life that you have to stand up and be counted for the truth. We find that hard to do.

Five hundred years ago this last Friday a man stood up and was counted for the cause of Christ. His stand forever changed the course of history. In 1517 on Oct. 31 a lowly monk of the Roman Catholic Church challenged the problem of indulgences. Indulgences meant that you could buy your way into heaven. Martin Luther nailed his complaints on the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany (today we would call this social media). They were known as his Ninety-Five Theses.

Instead of addressing the problem the church called him a heretic and wanted to burn him at the stake if they could get their hands on him. The church gave anyone the right to kill him if they found him. The result of his Ninety-Five Theses brought the Protestant Reformation, which said the final authority was the Bible not the Pope (at the time they had three Popes).

Paul stood for the truth and his own Jewish people hated him because he said that salvation comes through Jesus and not good works. Festus, the governor of the Judea, said, “When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priest and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned” (Acts 25:15). Paul stood for the truth and had a powerful impact on those around him.

May we make our stand for the truth and we will change our world.