Dead Folk You Should Know - Luther

Realise it or not we owe a huge debt to a German monk called Martin Luther! The principles he stood for flavour what we do week by week at our church. Colin Reed introduces us to this very relevant dead man we should know!

The Reformation that started in Europe in the 1500s was like a great tree, with many roots, drawing together into one trunk, then spreading out into many branches. All the roots drew on the same soil; the Word of God, and the belief that it is the only authority for the Christian Faith, not human traditions.

One of the great ‘roots’ was Martin Luther, a monk and Professor of theology in a German university. Like Wycliffe in England 150 years earlier, Luther was horrified at the wealth of the church, largely gained from poor people. He was appalled at the selling of ‘indulgences’, certificates saying that a person’s sins, and even those of their dead relatives, were wiped out when indulgences were purchased.

Luther himself struggled to find peace with God despite his vigorous efforts at the religious life. The great ‘light bulb’ moment for him came as he was reading Romans and Augustine’s commentary on it; Romans 1:17 ‘The just shall live by faith’. The trunk of the Reformation ‘tree’ was this, ‘justification by faith’; being right with God by trusting in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

The Reformations slogans were, ‘Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone and glory to God alone’. Inspired by Wycliffe, Luther translated the Bible into German so that people could read it for themselves. His writings spread widely.

In 1517 Luther posted on the door of his local church 95 questions calling for scholars to debate them, challenging the authority and the teachings of the Medieval Catholic Church. Instead, he was summoned to stand trial. Asked if he would recant and deny his Bible-based teachings. He refused. ‘Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise’.

Still today the church must stand on the authority of the Bible and reject teachings which oppose it. This is the reason for the contemporary split in the Anglican Church.

‘Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.’ May we be as firm on the Bible as Luther!

Grace and Peace,
Mark