To appreciate Luther’s work one must understand the world in which Luther lived. He ministered in a day where priests were padding their pockets on the sale of indulgences, taking advantage of people by selling worthless certificates. They taught that it was of more value to purchase indulgences than to help the poor; the money collected from indulgences was used for the priests to buy promotions for themselves and their friends.
Luther also pointed out that God alone has the power to forgive sin, yet the church was selling forgiveness. The church was teaching that through seven sacraments the priests could give salvation to the laity, independent of faith or repentance. When they administered the Lord’s Supper, the priests taught that they were sacrificing Jesus all over again, and each sacrifice would guarantee salvation to the one who received it. Because the Bible was written in Latin, the common person could not read it for himself and had to take the priest at his word. Luther learned Latin and Greek, and slowly realized how the church had mishandled God’s Word.
Martin Luther found himself faced with a choice: he could go along with the system and profit from it, or he could expose it and try to correct it. The former promised him a good life, while the latter promised excommunication and shame. He had earned the right to live by the system; he paid his dues as a monk, secured his Phd, and lectured at the university, but Luther decided to throw that away and do what he knew was right. When he nailed his document to the church door he forever severed himself from his old life; he was soon excommunicated and forced to spend time disguised and in hiding; he even staged a fake arrest and lived in prison for a time. While he escaped martyrdom, Luther led a lonely, dangerous life.
Luther is proof that God can accomplish great things through one obedient person.
No comments:
Post a Comment