The Just Shall Live By Faith pt. 2

What the Bible says about salvation:
Read John 3:16; Romans 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; I John 1:1-2; Psalm 103:12

Martin Luther and the Reformation: (From Christianitytoday.com)

Martin Luther was born in 1483 in Germany. His father was in the mining business and served on the local town council. He was said to be an ambitious man. Being the first born son, there was a lot of pressure placed on Martin to be a success in life. Luther’s father wanted/demanded that his son become a lawyer – a profession that brought respect and wealth. Hans sent Martin to Latin school and then, when Martin was only 13 years old, to the University of Erfurt to study law. There Martin earned both his baccalaureate and master's degrees in the shortest time allowed by university statutes. He proved so adept at public debates that he earned the nickname "The Philosopher."

Luther entered law school in 1505 but became more interested in spiritual matters than law school. He became concerned about his eternal fate. As the 21-year-old Luther was on his way to law school, a severe thunderstorm arose and a bolt of lightning struck the ground near him. Afraid, Luther cried out "Help me, St. Anne (mother of Mary and patron saint of miners)!" Luther screamed. "I will become a monk!" Luther fulfilled his vow: he gave away all his possessions and entered the monastic life to the disappointment of his father.

Luther was extraordinarily successful as a monk. He plunged into prayer, fasting, and ascetic practices—going without sleep, enduring bone-chilling cold without a blanket, and flagellating himself. As he later commented, "If anyone could have earned heaven by the life of a monk, it was I." He sought by these means to love God fully, he found no consolation. He was increasingly terrified of the wrath of God: "When it is touched by this passing inundation of the eternal, the soul feels and drinks nothing but eternal punishment." Luther described this period of his life as one of deep spiritual despair. He said, "I lost touch with Christ the Savior and Comforter, and made of him the jailor and hangman of my poor soul."

Martin Luther visited Rome. While there he visited the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs) which, according to the Christian tradition, are the steps that Jesus Christ walked on his way to his trial before Pontius Pilate. Pilgrims ascended the stairs on their knees and offered prayers each step of the way. Martin Luther climbed these steps on his knees in 1510. As he did so, the Holy Spirit, reminded him of the Bible verse, "the righteous/just shall live by faith.” Luther began to question what he was doing – attaining God’s favor by works and not by faith. This was a turning point in Luther’s life, as he placed his faith in God, rather than trying to earn his way to heaven.

What does "the righteous/just shall live by faith" mean? It’s not what we do that makes us righteous (the sacraments or buying indulgences), but what we believe in – Jesus Christ and the meaning of his death (took upon himself our punishment) and resurrection (gift of eternal life.) This faith is a steadfast, rooted, unwavering faith (faith that enabled Moses to stand before Pharaoh, David to stand before Goliath, Elijah to stand before the king of Israel and a thousand false prophets)… one that Luther up till now, never had.

In 1511, Luther was ordered to take his doctorate in the Bible and become a professor at Wittenberg University. During lectures on the Psalms and a study of the Book of Romans, Luther’s understanding of salvation fully matured. "At last meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I ... began to understand that the righteousness of God is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith… Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open." On the heels of this new understanding came others. To Luther salvation came not by the sacraments as such but by faith. Faith no longer consisted of assenting to the church's teachings but of trusting the promises of God and the merits of Christ.

In 1516 and 1517, a papal commissioner named Johann Tetzel travelled through Germany to raise money for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica. (Pope Leo X wanted a church more befitting the head of the Church.) Tetzel did so by selling indulgences - documents prepared by the Church and bought by individuals either for themselves or on behalf of the dead that would release them from punishment due to their sins. Tetzel came up with an advertising slogan - "Once the coin into the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs!" People all over Germany quickly purchased the indulgences. When they came to confession, they presented their written indulgences to the clergy which they had paid good silver money for, claiming they no longer had to repent of their sins, since the document promised to forgive all their sins.
Luther was outraged that people had paid money for what was theirs by right as a free gift from God. On All Saints' Eve, 1517, Luther wrote down 95 objections to the concept of indulgences which are famously known as the 95 theses. Ex. Thesis 86 - "since the pope's income to-day is larger than that of the wealthiest of wealthy men, why does he not build this one church of St. Peter with his own money?" Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door of the Catholic church in Wittenberg and challenged anyone to a public debate on the matter. Thanks to the printing press, copies of Luther’s 95 theses spread across Germany in a matter of weeks and throughout Europe in a matter of months. Suddenly, the issue quickly became not indulgences but the authority of the church: Did the pope have the right to issue indulgences? (There were individuals who criticized the Church – 100 years before Luther there was Jan Hus and before Hus there was John Wycliffe. If the printing press had been around in the days of Hus and Wycliffe, the Reformation would have happened sooner.)

Events quickly accelerated. At a public debate in Leipzig in 1519, when Luther declared that "a simple layman armed with the Scriptures" was superior to both pope and councils without them, he was threatened with excommunication. The Church gave Luther 60 days to recant his words. Luther’s response to the threat was increased criticism of Church teachings. He completely undermined the Church’s teaching on salvation by reducing the seven sacraments to two (baptism and the Lord's Supper).

In 1521 Luther was called to an assembly at Worms, Germany, to appear before Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor defender of the papacy as well as the most powerful political rulers and church officials in the German states. Luther arrived prepared for another debate; he quickly discovered it was a trial at which he was asked to recant his views. Luther was presented with copies of his writings laid out on a table and asked if the books were his, and whether he stood by their contents. Luther confirmed he was their author, but requested time to think about the answer to the second question. He prayed, consulted friends, and gave his response the next day.

“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason-for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves-I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one's conscience is neither safe nor sound. God help me. Amen.”

What gave Luther the ability to stand before the most powerful individuals in Europe … the most powerful institution in Europe – the Church … knowing that death would soon follow, and say the words he said? “The righteous/just shall live by faith.”

The Church branded Luther a “heretic” and condemned to burning at the stake. A local German ruler “kidnapped” Luther while he was returning to Wittenburg and brought Luther to his castle for his safety. During his stay, Luther translated the New Testament into German and continued to write treatises against Church practices that were not Scriptural. (Talk about importance of being able to read the Bible in your own language. It’s as if God Himself is speaking to you in your language.)