In the early 1500’s, the strength and power of the Roman Catholic Church had reached its height, and so had corruption, spreading even to the Pope himself. The dominion of the Pope was world-wide. While he ruled circa sacra (concerning sacred matters), Emperor Charles V ruled world-wide circa civilia (concerning civil matters.) The King ruled men’s bodies, the Pope ruled men’s souls. The King had the power of the sword while the Pope had the power of the Keys to Heaven and Hell. This was the world in which Martin Luther lived.
The Catholic Church was strong and immensely wealthy. Priests owned large estates, (Also at this time, Priests owned 1/3 of all European land), they had the right to require 10% of all other property as a tithe. They received money for baptisms, marriages, attending deathbeds, conducting funerals and saying masses. They were very wealthy, yet none wealthier than Pope Leo X.
In those days, Bibles were very large, and one Bible was given for each town chained to a podium in the Catholic Church. The problem was that it was written in Latin! It was illegal for Bibles to be translated into any language but Latin, meaning that normal towns people could not read nor understand God’s Word, they relied on what Priests told them. Why were Bibles only allowed in Latin? Because the Pope didn’t want anyone challenging his authority or doctrine. This is why they burned William Tyndale at the stake, because he translated the first English Bible. You and I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to William Tyndale for giving us our first English Bible.
Indulgences
It was the selling of indulgences that pushed Martin Luther over the edge. An Indulgence was a certificate the Catholic Church sold that promised to remove people’s loved ones out of purgatory into Heaven if they paid enough money. In other words, it was a Salvation certificate. The Catholic Church believes that the Pope has the power to transfer a soul from Purgatory to Heaven. This troubled Martin Luther and he began to speak against it.
The Pope claimed the money was going toward wars being fought in the name of the Church, yet in reality, the money went toward constructing St. Peter’s Church in Rome and collecting even more expensive art and artifacts for the Pope. A man by the name of John Tetzel was commissioned by the Pope himself to go from town to town selling these certificates to the poor. When he came to the towns near Wittenberg, Germany, Luther’s people began going and purchasing these certificates though they were poor farmers. This outraged the righteous soul of Martin Luther!
The 95 Theses
Luther sat down and composed 95 challenges to the Catholic Church. He wrote the 95 Theses to challenge the practices and abuses of the Indulgences. It angered him that the Pope had the authority to release souls from Purgatory, yet he refused to help the poor who had no money. He finished the 95 Theses on October 31, 1517 and took them straight to the Castle Church of Wittenberg, Germany and nailed his challenges to the door.
Most people think he defiantly and rebelliously did this to split the Church. This was not Luther’s intention at all. Nailing the 95 Theses to the Church doors was not an act of rebellion. It was a place of public announcements. Furthermore, Luther wrote the 95 Theses in Latin to where only Priests could read it. The local town’s people couldn’t have read it for themselves. His intent was to bring reform to the Church, not split the Church.
Luther discovered justification by faith alone and began changing his beliefs and doctrine. He could no longer accept the teachings of purgatory, praying to dead saints, the devotions to Mary and the sole authority of the Pope.
Diet of Worms – 1521
Word quickly came to the Pope Leo X in Rome of the young monks actions. Furious, the Pope called on Emperor Charles V to put an end to this. Luther was summoned to the Diet of Worms, a Council of 200 princes and the Emperor himself.
In 1521, Luther stood before this mighty Council. They demanded Luther recant. He was intimated and begged for a day to think and pray. They granted him one day to think over his actions. He returned the next day full of faith and boldness. They demanded again that he recant or he would be condemned a heretic of the Church.
Luther boldly said, “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of the Popes and Councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” That day they condemned Luther as a heretic.
The Reformation Spreads
Things were changing throughout the world, greatly due to Johann Gutenberg inventing the movable type printing press in Germany. He printed a Bible as the first book printed by a machine.
At the same time of the Reformation in Germany, Switzerland was undergoing a Reformation led by Ulrich Zwingli. The printing presses now allowed ideas and Scriptures to spread throughout all of Europe at an unprecedented pace.
Along the same time, God raised up another man that would bring change to the face of the Church. A French Theologian named John Calvin. While it was Luther that ignited the flames of the Reformation, it was Calvin that began to link the Church with his thoughts and writings. His writings were similar to Luther and soon connected churches throughout Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary, England, France and elsewhere. A true Reformation was underway!
The story of the Reformation began with John Wycliff (known as the Morning Star of the Reformation) who discipled John Hus (who was burned at the stake) who influenced Erasmus, who laid the groundwork for Martin Luther, who paved the way for John Calvin, William Tyndale and John Knox. It was the firm belief of these men that every person should have a copy of the Bible,
We owe so much to those who bravely fought, consistently prayed and courageously smuggled Bibles all over Europe, across the English Channel, through the Swiss Alps, Down the Danube River and into Scandinavia. God’s story of Redemption continued to grow with each generation because the Fathers of the Reformation fought for such a cause.
So why is there so much Reformation history in this October issue? The reason is because the last Sunday of the month of October is celebrated as Reformation Sunday. When you’re at your church October 25th, say a prayer of thanks for the Reformers God raised up, “For such a time as this.”
