Monday Reflection – July 06, 2020 Defiant Hus
Today the Moravian Church worldwide commemorates one of our Festivals – The Martyrdom of John Hus. Hus was burnt at the stake on July 6, 1415 on his 46th birthday for having led a movement against the false teachings and corrupt practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church had Hus killed because he challenged the status quo and defied the edict designed to silence him. As I reflected on the life of John Hus and the reflection of last Monday which was titled ‘Defiant Daniel’, it struck me again that Hus was defiant as he demonstrated a daring, open and bold resistance to authority.
While Daniel was defiant against the orders of King Darius who decreed that whoever prays to anyone, except him, for thirty days would be thrown into a den of lions, Hus was defiant against the beliefs, teachings, practices and systems that he believed were contrary to the principles of the Bible. Daniel was defiant against the political powers that threatened his worship life to God. Hus was defiant against the religious powers that threatened and undermined the authenticity of the gospel of Christ.
Today’s Watchword brings to the fore one of the main challenges that Hus had with the practices of the Church. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.” The Church then was engaged in the corrupt practice of selling indulgencies, where one could pay for their sins being forgiven by a priest. This irked Hus and he could not remain silent. He disagreed and proclaimed that only God could forgive sins; no priest or human had the authority or capability to forgive sins. There was no need to pay for one’s sins to be forgiven for Jesus had guaranteed our forgiveness of confessed sins, by his shed blood on the cross. He knew that only God could remove our transgressions from us. He also knew what Paul says in Romans 5:20, “Where sin increased, God’s grace abounded all the more”.
We learn from the life of Hus and the Scriptures that there is grave danger in being gullible, easily trusting everyone and everything, and being tossed to and fro by every wind and sound of doctrine, cunning craftiness and deceit (Ephesians 4:14). We must test every spirit by being armed with the word of God – the sword of the Spirit – and the indwelling and enabling power of the Holy Spirit. We learn from Daniel and Hus that we must be prepared to stand up for our faith and for the right, or we will fall for anything. Fortunately, Daniel survived the lion’s den, but Hus died for standing for the right. Reality check – we will not always survive standing for truth and righteousness. Some things will cost our lives. Even while being tied to the stake, the authorities persuaded Hus to recant and he would be spared. But he said that it is better he died for the truth than lived for a lie. He embraced the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”
Thank God that the forgiveness of our sins rests solely in His hands and His grace abounds and multiplies. Let us march forward with deep guts defying everything and everyone that opposes the sovereignty and principles of God, fully prepared to face whatever the cost. We press on guided by the Moravian motto, “Our Lamb has conquered, let us follow Him!”Jermaine Gibson