Carl E. Koppenhaver

“ Luther had long been aware of the need for reform in the church. As his ideas developed it became apparent that the pope was not above human weakness. The church militant needed an earthly head, and for the sake of good order it was necessary that he be obeyed. But that didn’t make him infallible. After all, he was human.
Now this same reasoning had pushed from Luther’s lips the admission that councils could err also. Unwittingly Eck had contributed what probably was the greatest outcome of the debate—Luther’s growing conviction that even general councils could be unreliable. ”

“ Man, therefore, does not make himself righteous. It is God who makes man righteous. He makes man 13 righteous as a free gift (grace) so that he can be saved. Out of this came the doctrine of “justification by faith.”
At this point Luther still felt that he was in total agreement with the teachings of the Roman Church. In a humble way he believed that he had discovered for himself what always had been—that he had just been slow in catching on. Deeper study, however, made it clear to him that there was a great difference between his own and the theology of the middle ages. ”

“ Priests should be servants of the people who comprise the church, rather than servants of a papal hierarchy. They cannot interfere with grace. It is God’s free gift to the individual believer.
In the course of his treatise Luther also asserted that there 28 are only two sacraments—baptism and the Lord’s Supper—rather than seven as taught in Roman Catholicism. A sacrament, he held, had to be instituted by Christ, contain a divine promise of the forgiveness of sins, and make use of an earthly element (water, bread, wine) . ”

“ There had been a growing dislike of the indulgence system and of the pope’s interference in what, to the Germans, were strictly their own national affairs. The theses now became a rallying point not only for those who opposed Rome’s continuous exploitation of German finances but also for those who resented the dominating attitude of a foreign power. Even though they attacked one of his own pet institutions, the Elector Frederick stood by his daring young monk.
As the Augustinians rallied around Luther, the Dominicans upheld the cause of Brother Tetzel. ”

“ The Turk was slashing his way up the valley of the Danube into the heart of Europe. God sat far off, not as a loving father but as a vengeful law-court judge inflicting all sorts of misery on mankind. ”

“ Frequently the solution to great problems comes quite undramatically as one goes about the daily tasks. Luther’s awakening to a God who makes man righteous in order to save him came in such a way. He knew the teaching that the righteous shall be saved by faith. ”

“ His parents were God-fearing people whose piety undoubtedly had an early influence on him. He shared fear of the horrors of hell, purgatory, and the last judgment which was common to people at the close of the middle ages. In the university library he had found a complete Bible and was tremendously impressed with his own ignorance of its contents. He attended church and daily chapel devotions regularly 7 all through school. His introspective nature made him starkly aware of his sins and shortcomings. Life as a monk was held to be the best way to forgiveness and heaven. ”

“ Now it became the Lord’s Supper—a communion of the believing Christian with his Saviour. Both the bread and the wine should be received by the communicant, Luther insisted. While Christ is really present in the elements, the bread does not become flesh nor the wine blood through a magical act called transubstantiation. Moreover, Christ is not sacrificed anew whenever the mass is celebrated. His sacrifice on the cross was for all time. Through that sacrifice a man’s sins are remitted if he has faith. ”

“ Luther maintained, in his theses, that repentance should be a lifelong experience and should manifest itself in a continuing effort to overcome sinful desires. Indulgences, he said, are simply remissions of penalties which the church has imposed. They have no effect on the souls of the departed and they don’t remit sin; only God can do that.
Luther believed he was being a loyal defender of the Roman Church by attempting to correct these abuses, and correspondence 17 revealed that he thought the pope was unaware of what was going on. ”

“ Luther was frankly disappointed with the outcome of the debate. He had hoped his opinions would be accepted and reformation of the church effected.
The controversy did much, however, to crystallize his own views: The pope did not have absolute authority; a council can err in its decisions; the Bible is above popes and councils in authority; the Church of Christ is not limited to the Roman 24 fellowship alone but is the community of believers throughout the world. ”

“ The third wall tumbled through Luther’s insistence that every man, as a priest, shares responsibility for right management in the church.
The Babylonian Captivity
Before his letter to the nobility was off press, Luther was writing his second treatise, “The Babylonian Captivity of the Church.” The first had been primarily for lay people while the second was for theologians. It aimed directly at freeing the Christian fellowship in Europe from the “captivity” of the Roman sacramental system. ”

“ This freedom affects a man’s whole life. Not only is he free from the consequences of sin, but he is no longer shackled by his own hates, passions, and wilful desires. Because this freedom is based on his own personal relationship with God, no one can interfere. ”

“ Since all Christians are priests before God, Luther held it was incumbent upon them and particularly upon Christian rulers to feel responsible for the conduct of the church within their domains. As Christians they should abhor vice and wickedness regardless of whether it flourished on the main street or in the monastery. ”

“ Although his heart was not at rest, Luther continued to perform his priestly duties and undertake any new tasks assigned to him. In the fall of 1508 he was appointed to the chair of moral philosophy which had been entrusted to the Augustinians by the faculty at the newly established University of Wittenberg. Desiring to teach theology rather than logic and ethics, he availed himself of this opportunity to study for a bachelor’s degree which would permit him to lecture on certain books of the Bible. ”

“ The second proposition indicates that the free man’s life takes a different direction. Originally he was concerned with himself, but now the reborn person, in gratitude for his own freedom, serves his neighbor. His motive is not merely humanitarian, but stems out of a sincere desire to help others become free too. Love permits him to do no less than become the servant of all.
The treatise and letter would have scant effect on Pope Leo. Five months previously he had signed a bull excommunicating Luther. ”

“ A plan was evolved whereby a select group of theologians would call on Luther and try to effect a reconciliation through persuasion. The discussion always bogged down when Luther insisted he must be persuaded on the basis of Scripture.
Having received a twenty-one-day safe-conduct Luther set out for Wittenberg on April 26. The diet closed officially on May 25, and the next day, following a rump session of prejudiced nobles, the emperor signed the Edict of Worms. According to it, Luther was the devil himself in a monk’s habit. ”

“ Wide distribution of the Ninety-five Theses and other writings, as well as prominence resulting from the Leipzig encounter, had fixed the eyes of many Germans upon Luther. When Charles failed to step into the role of national figure they switched their enthusiasm to Luther. Few understood his ideas on Christianity but they believed he could lead them to political, intellectual, and economic freedom. Scholars, princes, knights, and commoners gathered about the Wittenberg professor who had demonstrated his fearlessness in the face of tyranny. ”

“ Accompanying the letter was a copy of Luther’s latest pamphlet, “A Treatise on Christian Liberty.” It expresses calm Christian reflection quite different from the theological conflicts which were carried forward in his other treatises. At the outset it poses two propositions which seem to be a paradox: “A Christian man is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none,” and “A Christian man is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” ”

“ Gradually a custom developed which permitted one to purchase indulgences to offset purgatorial punishment. It was at this point that Luther’s theology conflicted with the church’s practice. Grace was God’s gift, but indulgences implied that man can earn grace. ”

“ Unless convinced by the testimony of Scripture or right reason—for I trust neither the pope nor councils inasmuch as 36 they have often erred and contradicted one another—I am bound in conscience, held captive by the Word of God in the Scriptures I have quoted. I neither can nor will recant anything, for it is neither right nor safe to act against conscience. ”

“ The first proposition acknowledges man as a sinner, but one who has been liberated and restored to a right relationship with God through justifying grace. In justifying man, God has freed him from the consequence of his sins because of Christ’s atonement. ”

“ On December 10, probably in reprisal for a book-burning at Cologne, Melanchthon posted a notice on the Wittenberg University bulletin board inviting students and faculty to a bonfire outside the Elster gate of the city. Books on scholastic theology, and especially those works of canon law on which the pope and the Roman hierarchy based their claims to power, were tossed into the flames. Then Luther stepped forward quietly and with a prayer on his lips added the booklet containing the papal bull to the fire. ”

“ When Luther worried about his children’s future he overcame it with faith. A pious training is most important, he wrote. It is good to leave an inheritance, but preparing children to manage wisely is more important. We parents are fools if we don’t train them to fear God, to control themselves, and to live honorably.
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45 A CHURCH REBORN The National Conscience
The people at Wittenberg and in other cities of influence were gradually learning to think of the church as separate from the Roman hierarchy. ”

“ Matters concerning salvation were of an individual nature and could not be legislated. Conscience bound them to oppose the resolution. Principles which the Wittenberg monk had declared only eight years before were becoming the national mind.
The Augsburg Confession
Sparks of the Reformation had caught fire elsewhere in Europe developing into Reformed, Mennonite, Anabaptist, and other denominations. A major purpose of the diet called by Emperor Charles at Augsburg in 1530 was to harmonize these various groups and attempt a final reconciliation with Rome. ”

“ The emperor commissioned the Roman theologians to prepare a refutation. On the basis of it he rejected the Lutheran confession, ordered church property restored to Roman bishops, and forbade witnessing and the printing or sale of Lutheran writings. ”

“ On August 7, 1518, Luther received notice to appear in Rome for trial within sixty days.
By no means a coward, Luther was nonetheless unwilling to be the victim of a mock-trial in the territory of the enemy. He asked Elector Frederick to have the trial transferred to German 18 soil where he might at least have the benefit of impartial judges. ”