The LUTHERAN REFORMATION: 500 YEAR COMMEMORATIVE EDITION
SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE REFORMATION
W
e say the Reformation began on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. But actually, Luther himself still needed to “get there.” The reformation of Luther himself hadn’t been completed yet. The 95 Theses were the result of the “indulgence controversy,” which had been going on for several years. Even in 1514, Luther complained that people were trying to make the way to heaven easy with indulgences. As a preacher in the Augustinian monastery, he included in some of his sermons criticism of indulgences. But
FORGED –
a treatise on indulgences that he wrote during this time shows that he still was uncertain about purgatory and did not yet reject the false teaching that the merits of Christ were dispensed by the pope. The 95 Theses actually belong to Luther’s pre-reformation theology. He was “not there” yet. But he was getting there. Arriving at the truth does not happen all at once, but it does happen through the Word. Luther’s “Reformation discovery” came through spiritual attacks from the devil, both outwardly and inwardly. But only his meditation on God’s Word – driven there by these outward and inward struggles – brought Luther true faith in Christ. We learn from his example that outward conflict in this world, inward struggles of conscience, and even the need to help others in their struggles of faith all serve to drive us to the comfort of Christ revealed in God’s Word. In 1509, Luther’s superior in the monastery, Johann Staupitz, had directed Luther to pursue a theology degree that qualified him to be a professor of the Bible. As Luther lectured in the monastery on the Psalms in 1515, on Romans in 1515-16, on Galatians in 1516-17, and on Hebrews in 151718, he spent hours immersed in the Scriptures. Not
The Making of Luther the Reformer REVEREND
JERRY GERNANDER CONTRIBUTING WRITER BETHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH & SCHOOL PRINCETON, MN
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THE LUTHERAN SENTINEL
MAY–JUNE 2017