History of Bible-Believing Christianity VII

Bible Study at Gospel Light Christian Church, Singapore
by Pastor Dr Paul Choo
Mid-Week Teaching Service

Luther And The German Reformation (Part I)

The political scene at the time of Luther: Luther came on the scene about one hundred and fifty years after Wycliffe, and about one hundred years after Huss. God chose Luther, a German, to lead the Protestant Reformation because Germany was in the center of Europe (both geographically and politically).

The ancient Roman Empire had long since divided into two parts - Western and Eastern. The Turks had conquered the Eastern Empire, but the Western Empire continued on in a shadowy way. The Roman caesars were long gone but the popes had grouped the kingdoms of Europe into a federation, which was ruled by one of the European kings selected by the pope to be the Emperor. The Emperor's rule was largely nominal and the individual rulers continued to exercise much independence. The Empire was held together by a common faith (Romanism) and a common fear (the Turks). Besides the pope who was the most powerful person and the Emperor who was far less powerful, three other rulers exerted much influence during this period, namely, the kings of Spain, France and England. God often used the rivalry of these three kings to protect His people.

The religious scene at the time of Luther: The people were at the mercy of the church (and the pope), since they believed that there was no salvation outside of the church. No one dared to challenge the pope because they believed him to be infallible. He was to them "God on earth."
The Romanist doctrines of indulgence and purgatory were ingenious methods of amassing incredible wealth. Furthermore, the confessional box gained them confidential information, which could be used to "blackmail" the confessor.

The Roman caesars with their military genius conquered nations and plundered wealth. However, their greatest triumphs were no match for the genius of their papal successors.

The intellectual scene at the time of Luther: When Constantinople (the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire) was conquered by the Turks, the treasures of ancient literature that had been hid in the imperial libraries for centuries were brought to Europe. These literary treasures opened the minds of men dulled by the ignorance of the Dark Ages and sparked the period in European history called the Renaissance. No other age of history had ever produced so many great men. The only other period that almost matched this was the half century in Greece before the coming of Christ, when Greek philosophers "opened" the minds of the people. God had then prepared men's minds for Christ's coming and was now preparing them for the greatest reception of the Gospel.
Furthermore, the printing-press was invented shortly after this - and this invention made available large numbers of Bibles (especially those that were translated into local languages). God was preparing both minds and materials for the Gospel.

God's preparation: Wycliffe, the Lollards and the Hussites had prepared the ground for Luther. Rome had been challenged and biblical doctrines expounded and the world was ready for the Reformation. Barely three years after Luther's public appearance, half of Christendom (eg. Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Scotland) welcomed the Gospel. Normally it takes a generation before an idea can establish itself as a universal doctrine in the minds of men. From its onset, Luther's ministry progressed relentlessly with little setback.

Justification by faith: In Christendom of Luther's day, there were two main streams of thinking, namely, superstition and rationalism. Both "offered" salvation by works. The superstitious believed that they could save themselves by religious works (eg. penances, indulgences). The rationalists believed that by discovering truth, they could be spiritually illuminated and be acceptable to God. Luther's main ministry was to the superstitious. Therefore, his battle-cry was: "Justification by faith only" (in Latin: sola fide). Luther's Swiss counterpart, Zwingle, ministered to the rationalists. Therefore, his battle-cry was: "The sole authority of scripture" (in Latin: sola scriptura).

Luther's early training: Luther was strong-willed. Therefore, God gave him a father who was a strict disciplinarian. He was sent to a school where he was often whipped. The students of the school earned their support by singing from door to door - as a result of which they were often hungry. God was training him and humbling him for his future difficult ministry.

He studied at the University of Erfurt - one of the top universities in central Europe. He studied scholastic philosophy and was the top student. This training in logical reasoning proved very useful when he had to defend himself against Rome's finest theologians.

He saw the Bible (the Latin Vulgate) for the first time in his life at its library - and spent day after day reading it. Out the Bible at Oxford had come the pioneer of the Reformation, Wycliffe. Out of this Bible at Erfurt would come the hero of the Reformation. After receiving his PhD from Erfurt, he almost forgot God.

God calls Luther: One day a bolt of lightning almost struck Luther. In terror, he vowed to serve God. In those days, serving God meant being a monk. He walked straight into an Augustinian monastery - and was disowned by his father for doing so.

The other monks were illiterate and were envious of his education. So he was given the worst duties in the monastery. However, Luther gladly performed them hoping to earn his salvation by these works. He even fasted so determinedly that he nearly died from fasting. However, in spite of his good works he continued to be tormented in his conscience.

Luther is saved: Luther found a copy of the Bible chained to the monastery chapel and he zealously studied it. Sometimes he spent days meditating on one verse or one word. He also studied Hebrew and Greek. Once he studied for seven weeks with hardly a rest. God was showing him that salvation could not be earned.

A superior in the monastery shared the Gospel with him and after a great struggle to put away his belief that salvation was by works, he was finally saved. In spite of his salvation, he was unable to put away many Romanist beliefs till much later. After his salvation, he was ordained as an Augustinian monk.

Luther's ministry begins:
After his ordination, he became a lecturer at the University of Wittemberg. Shortly thereafter, he began public preaching. Because of his knowledge of scriptures and his eloquence, he preached like no German preacher before him had ever preached.

Luther had to go to Rome on official business. He expected to find a spiritual paradise in Rome. However, as he approached Rome he was shocked to find more and more corruption. The physical filth and decay of the city, in the midst of gorgeous cathedrals appalled him. Most of all he was shocked by the crime and immorality of the citizens and especially of the priests. Unlike the simple priests of Germany who sincerely believed what they practiced, he was shocked to see the Roman priests hypocritically and openly doing their religious duties for money. They in turn were shocked at how naïve he was. Luther remarked: "If there is hell, Rome is built over it!"

Though he was saved by faith, he was still shackled by many old beliefs. He visited all the holy places in Rome and said Mass at the altars of the "more holy" churches. As he was climbing the "Holy Stairs" on his knees to earn fifteen years of indulgence for every stair climbed, he was startled by a voice which seemed as if it came from heaven saying: "The just shall live by faith." From this time on, this doctrine stood out as the one great doctrine that he taught. This doctrine was the rallying cry of the German Reformation. From this point, Luther turned his back on Rome and looked to the Bible.

Though Luther saw Rome's corruption, he had no desire to leave it because he was still mysteriously enchanted by its "infallibility."