Joshua 24:15
“Will you choose to live or die? What do you say?
The questioner was Henry VIII, the king of England, who had unrestrained power in the land. The “criminal” who stood before him, charged with heresy, was John Lambert, a Greek and Latin tutor.
Lambert audaciously challenged his pastor for delivering a sermon that didn’t agree with Scripture. Lambert was brought before the archbishop of Canterbury and later before King Henry. Quoting from the Scriptures and explaining the original Greek, Lambert presented his case to an assembly of bishops, lawyers, justices and peers. The two sides argued strenuously back and forth until Henry, bored with it, presented Lambert with a final choice: “After all the reasons and instructions of these knowledgeable men, are you now satisfied? Will you choose to live or die? What do you say?”
Lambert took a deep breath and answered confidently, “I commend my soul to the hands of God, but my body I give to your clemency.”
“You must die,” Henry answered scornfully, “for I will not be a patron to heretics.” Convicted of heresy, Lambert was burned at the stake. Lambert was unbowed in his slow, torturous death. He lifted up his hands in worship, declaring, “None but Christ! None but Christ!”
In the modern age of possibilities, our right to choose has grown nearly insatiable. Two hundred television channels are a “basic” right, tantamount to freedom itself. We want options. Variety. Assortment. Even mundane decisions are delivered daily to our doorstep—what to wear, eat, drive, or do. However, our choices are no longer utilitarian—they are virtually limitless. In contrast, when life’s greater questions come to us, we have only one answer to give: “None but Christ.” Is there another way to heaven? None but Christ—he is the Way. Is there another priority in life that deserves one’s full devotion? None but Christ—he is supreme. Can someone else satisfy the longing of the human heart? None but Christ can satisfy. Truth has no alternative, you see. When life’s greater questions come, and they will, are you prepared to testify that of all the possibilities “none but Christ” will satisfy?
Readings taken from
Extreme Devotion: The Voice of the Martyrs
“Will you choose to live or die? What do you say?
The questioner was Henry VIII, the king of England, who had unrestrained power in the land. The “criminal” who stood before him, charged with heresy, was John Lambert, a Greek and Latin tutor.
Lambert audaciously challenged his pastor for delivering a sermon that didn’t agree with Scripture. Lambert was brought before the archbishop of Canterbury and later before King Henry. Quoting from the Scriptures and explaining the original Greek, Lambert presented his case to an assembly of bishops, lawyers, justices and peers. The two sides argued strenuously back and forth until Henry, bored with it, presented Lambert with a final choice: “After all the reasons and instructions of these knowledgeable men, are you now satisfied? Will you choose to live or die? What do you say?”
Lambert took a deep breath and answered confidently, “I commend my soul to the hands of God, but my body I give to your clemency.”
“You must die,” Henry answered scornfully, “for I will not be a patron to heretics.” Convicted of heresy, Lambert was burned at the stake. Lambert was unbowed in his slow, torturous death. He lifted up his hands in worship, declaring, “None but Christ! None but Christ!”
In the modern age of possibilities, our right to choose has grown nearly insatiable. Two hundred television channels are a “basic” right, tantamount to freedom itself. We want options. Variety. Assortment. Even mundane decisions are delivered daily to our doorstep—what to wear, eat, drive, or do. However, our choices are no longer utilitarian—they are virtually limitless. In contrast, when life’s greater questions come to us, we have only one answer to give: “None but Christ.” Is there another way to heaven? None but Christ—he is the Way. Is there another priority in life that deserves one’s full devotion? None but Christ—he is supreme. Can someone else satisfy the longing of the human heart? None but Christ can satisfy. Truth has no alternative, you see. When life’s greater questions come, and they will, are you prepared to testify that of all the possibilities “none but Christ” will satisfy?
Readings taken from
Extreme Devotion: The Voice of the Martyrs
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