[Gary Petty] This is the Wittenberg Castle
Church in Wittenberg, Germany. On October 31, 1517, a disgruntled and relatively
unknown Catholic monk, named Martin Luther, posted his 95 Theses on the front of this
church. The average German couldn’t read what Luther
posted because it was written in Latin. Luther intended his work to be read by priests
and monks. The 95 Theses listed changes he felt were
needed in the Catholic Church. Within a short time, Luther’s Theses were
translated into German and--in addition to members of the clergy--a number of lay people
began to agree with him. Little did he know that this simple act of
defiance would spawn not just an attempt to reform Catholicism, but a revolution that
would break the church’s imposing power over the spiritual life of Europe. Within a few years, Western Christianity would
begin to split into competing denominations. The world would really never be the same. Martin Luther and other Protestants--reformers
who protested the Catholic Church--had enormous influence on the development of the western
world. One of Luther’s primary goals was for the
church to return to the Bible as the source of Christian teachings. He felt that the church had become mired in
human traditions and non-biblical doctrines. We’re going to explore some of the life
and teachings of Martin Luther here in Germany where he launched the Reformation. We will also seek to answer, “Did his religious
revolution totally restore the Bible as the source of truth in Christianity? Or, are there aspects of biblical truth that
many Christians are still missing?” Join us on this very special edition of Beyond
Today as we examine: “Martin Luther: The Unfinished Reformation.” The
Wittenberg Castle Church is the epicenter of the Protestant Reformation. At the core of theological thought in the
Middle Ages was the absolute terror of going to hell. Religious teaching emphasized original sin
and that every human being is a corrupt, evil sinner damned to everlasting torment. Salvation was introduced to humanity through
Jesus Christ--but they were plagued by a nagging question, “what if a person in this life
wasn’t totally cleansed from sin?” To die while still in “mortal sin” was
terrifying. If a priest wasn’t present to perform last
rites, a person could end up being eternally tormented by demons. And then there was the problem of venial sin. Venial sins are sins that are not worthy of
eternal damnation but do require punishment. To deal with this problem, the Medieval Church
became obsessed with the concept of purgatory. Purgatory was a place where Christians would
go after death for punishment and purification. Now, it wasn’t hell--where the eternally
damned had no hope of escape--but it was a place of unthinkable anguish where the souls
of Christians faced punishment for venial sins. You can imagine the anxiety experienced by
pious Medieval Catholics obsessed with thoughts of loved ones bound in a moment-by-moment
torturous existence waiting to be freed to join Jesus and the saints in heaven. Was there anything a person could do to help
a loved one who was being tormented in purgatory? Well in fact, in Catholic theology there was. In Luther’s day, priests could perform private
mass. People paid for these sacraments as a means
to lessen the time their loved ones had to spend in purgatory. Other practices included the selling of “indulgences.” In the sixteenth century, an indulgence was
a promise by the church that when a person performed a pious act like saying a prayer
at a shrine--and paid a sum of money to the church--well, he could reduce the amount of
time a loved one spent in purgatory. A person could even buy an indulgence for
himself--a kind of spiritual debit card. Paying for masses and selling of indulgences
were so common that the Catholic Church in Rome became extremely wealthy. One of the issues Luther attacked in the 95
Theses was the sale of indulgences. When many Germans read Luther’s post, they
began to question the validity of the church to demand money as a way to get loved ones
out of purgatory. The result was that the entire economy of
the Catholic Church--the way the Vatican financed building projects and maintained military
power--was under attack. This unknown monk was on a collision course
with the Pope. In 1508, eleven years before he posted the
95 Theses, Luther arrived in Wittenberg. He was a very troubled man. Earlier in his life, he had no intention of
joining the clergy. Luther grew up in a rough and tumble mining
town. His father was a well-respected copper smelter. His desire was for young Martin to attend
school and achieve success as a lawyer. But a dramatic event changed the course of
young Martin’s life. In his early twenties, Luther was almost struck
by lightning. Now at the time, most people believed that
lightning was caused by the Devil or by demons. The idea that he could suddenly die without
receiving the sacrament of last rites was terrifying. In Luther’s mind, he could be lost forever. He cried out to St. Anna--the patron saint
of miners--and made a promise to become a monk if he survived. Well, Luther joined a monastery, took a vow
of poverty, received a doctorate in theology and was ordained a priest. His days were filled with prayer, ceremonies,
self-denial and religious studies. But he struggled with the concept of sin and
how a person could be accepted by God. He was wracked with guilt, depression and
a sense of self-loathing. He concluded that God would only forgive a
sinner who was consumed with self-hatred. In 1511, Luther goes to Rome. The journey involved walking hundreds of miles--crossing
the Alps--facing hardships and danger. But for Luther, this was a chance of a lifetime. It was an opportunity to see the Eternal City--visit
the holy sites--and obtain some indulgences. He is so excited that when he saw the city
he shouted, “Hail! Holy Rome.” It wasn’t long though before the idealistic
monk began to experience some grave disappointment. He was shocked by how priests hurried through
mass so that they could get paid for the next one. There was a staircase in Rome that was reported
to be the very steps Jesus climbed to appear before Pontius Pilate. Luther wanted to help his grandfather spend
less time in purgatory. So he climbed the steps on his knees--stopping
on each step to kiss it and say a prayer. Later, he would say that while climbing the
steps, he wondered if anything in this ritual was true. He was also disillusioned with the opulence
of Rome and the immorality he witnessed in Roman clerics. Luther undertook the difficult trip back to
Germany, but something had happened. The naive and idealistic monk--who thought
that the way to God was through self-hatred and rituals--was now plagued with doubts about
the teachings of his church. His posting of the 95 Theses was only the
beginning of Luther’s battle with the papacy. His disagreements with Catholicism would eventually
lead to Luther’s exile to the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach. This is the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach. This place would be very important in Luther’s
battle with the papacy. Posting the 95 Theses back in Wittenberg gained
Luther notoriety, but as far as Rome was concerned, he was still a rather unimportant monk in
a German backwater. When Luther returned, he continued to struggle
with his guilt and how he could earn God’s love and forgiveness. He concluded that the buying of indulgences
wasn’t the answer. Over time he developed a new understanding
of the gospel and how he could be accepted by God. He concluded that God’s good news is that
Christ has been sent as payment for human sins. To be accepted by God, all a person has to
do is believe God’s promise in Christ. Justification--how a person becomes free from
guilt and sin--comes through faith--not in the elaborate ceremonies of Catholicism or
by any human work. Luther concluded that we come to God through
His grace exhibited in Christ. Therefore--just believe. Finally, the self-loathing that consumed Luther
could be partly alleviated by what he saw as the love of God in Christ. There was no need for Mary or the saints to
act as intercessors between Christians and God. Christ was the intercessor. Luther was a prodigious writer. His books became popular and Rome began to
take notice. Especially a book published in 1520 titled,
The Babylonian Captivity of the Church. In this work, Luther claimed that the papacy
was antichrist. Of course, the Pope couldn’t stand for this
and condemned Luther’s writings and commanded that his books be burned. Luther responded by publicly burning the Pope’s
decree. He had now burned his bridges and all ties
with the Catholic Church. The next year Luther was called before the
German emperor and was condemned as a heretic. The unknown monk was now famous. He was also faced with the reality that there
were a number of very powerful men who wanted him dead. And that’s how he ended up here in the Wartburg
Castle. After being declared a heretic, Luther was
now a wanted man. Not long after he was declared a heretic,
it was reported that Luther had been kidnapped. It was quite sensational. People wondered: Where was he? What had happened to him? Well in truth--the kidnapping was staged and
he was brought here to this castle to hide out. He grew a beard and dressed as a nobleman
going by the title of Knight George. And it was here--between 1521 and 1522--that
Luther would undertake a project that forever changed the Western world. Here he translated the New Testament from
Greek into German. In our world of books and internet access
to information, it is difficult to understand just how monumental it was for Luther to complete
this translation. For over 1,000 years the Catholic Church had
maintained power by making sure the Bible didn’t get translated into common languages. The study of the Bible was mainly reserved
for monks and priests either in Latin or the original languages of Hebrew and Greek. Even the mass was said in Latin. This meant that most people throughout Christendom
didn’t even understand the words of the mass. Less than a hundred years before Luther’s
translation, the printing press had been developed here in Germany. The first book printed--the Gutenberg Bible. Now this relatively new technology was used
by Luther’s supporters to publish many copies of his New Testament. It was now possible for literate people throughout
Germany to obtain a copy of the Scriptures in their own language. They read the Bible for themselves instead
of relying entirely on being told what to believe. And this was just the beginning. The Reformation would spread across Europe. Throughout the sixteenth century, there were
numerous translations of the Bible into English culminating in 1611 with the Authorized King
James Version. Most of his life Luther was plagued by what
he called battles with demons and with Satan himself. He claimed that these battles were the reason
for his rather severe mood swings. Now according to legend, it was here in this
room where Luther drove off the devil by throwing a bottle of ink at him--represented by this
figurine here hanging in this room. Modern scholars tend to think that what Luther
meant was that he drove Satan away by writing--putting ink to paper. After spending less than two years here in
the Wartburg Castle, things finally quieted down and Luther could return to Wittenberg
to publish his translation of the New Testament. In a strange twist, he would return to live
in the very monastery that he had left to carry out his religious revolution. In 1524, German peasants revolted against
the princes. Luther chastised both sides but in the end,
he felt he could not justify rebellion and sided with the princes by saying that they
had the authority to stop the revolt. The Peasant’s War ended in catastrophe. At least 100,000 peasants died. Now during the war, this monastery was abandoned--and
since Wittenberg was the epicenter for Lutheranism--the building was given to him. The next year, Luther did something else that
shocked the Catholic world. In spite of his priestly vow of celibacy,
Luther married. And he didn’t just marry a common local
girl--he married a reformed nun named Katharina von Bora--or Katy as Martin called her. They seemed to have enjoyed a happy marriage
and had six children together. It would seem that Luther could finally settle
down to pastoring and enjoying family life, but his break with Rome had other serious
consequences. More Protestants began to stand up to Catholicism. Most Protestants shared many of Luther’s
biblical interpretations--but they also had some different biblical views of their own. Luther would now spend his time not only defending
himself against Rome, but attacking other Protestants with the same vigor he used against
the Catholics. Let’s go inside. We are here in probably the most famous room
in Luther House. It is here where Martin would meet with his
friends and have long discussions about the most important topics. And he would do his famous table talks. Luther’s most lasting legacy is his teaching
that justification--being made right before a righteous God--is through faith alone. Since all human beings are sinners--and our
very nature is corrupted by sin--no one can come and earn eternal salvation through any
good works or rituals before God. Now one passage that was foundational to his
teaching is in the book of Romans where the apostle Paul wrote: “...for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood,
through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed
over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness,
that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:23-26,
NKJ). Here Paul presents the good news that our
sins are forgiven because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as our substitute. Since no human works can forgive us of our
sins--or earn God’s forgiveness--then we are justified when we have faith in God’s
promise and embrace Christ’s sacrifice for us. Luther concluded that to be justified all
one has to do is believe. Salvation requires nothing more than belief
in the sacrifice of Jesus for your sins. He again began to point to Paul’s writings
in Romans where the apostle used Abraham as an example. In Romans, Paul wrote that God promised Abraham
descendants in number like the stars in heaven--even though Abraham and his wife Sarah were childless—and
well beyond childbearing years. Paul quoted from a passage in Genesis that
states, “And he [speaking of Abraham] believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for
righteousness” (Romans 4:3). Paul taught that Abraham was brought into
a relationship with God through his faith not because of any actions or works on Abraham's
part. For Luther, this produced an open and shut
case. Believe and you are justified. Once justified--you are saved--and remain
saved without any influence of works--good or bad. But Luther had a problem--the New Testament
book of James teaches something different than faith as simple belief. James wrote, ‘Thus also faith by itself,
if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and
I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and
I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that
faith without works is dead?” (James 2:17-20). Luther saw this as an affront to Paul’s
teaching. In his Preface to the Epistles of St. James
and St. Jude, Luther claimed that James’ letter is “in direct opposite to St. Paul,
and all the rest of the Bible, it ascribes justification to works...” (Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings
by John Dillenberger). James wrote in his letter, “Was not Abraham
our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together
with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says,
‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works,
and not by faith only” (James 2:21-24). James used the same quote from Genesis to
make his point that Paul used in Romans to make his point. Luther saw these two statements as incompatible. “Scripture alone” was one of Luther’s
guiding principles, and yet here he was with a problem. How does he take the writings of Paul and
the writings of James and put them together to make sense? Was Luther right? Are Paul and James incompatible? Are they promoting two ways to be justified? The answer lies in the way both writers used
the example of Abraham. Paul is writing to the church in Rome to explain
how both Jews and Gentiles can come into a relationship with God. Both are justified by God’s grace and faith
in the work of Christ. Paul clearly teaches that no one can earn
God’s favor because of good works. God initiates any relationship through His
favor, His grace. None of us can knock on heaven’s door and
demand a visit with God. Abraham was called by God. Abraham believed and entered into a relationship
with His Creator. Paul was dealing with the issue of whether
gentiles had to convert to Judaism before then could have a relationship with God (Romans
3:29). He shows that all come to God through faith
in the work of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22). James now is dealing with a different problem. He is dealing with the wrong idea that faith
and belief are exactly the same thing. Remember what we read just a minute ago, he
wrote that Satan and the demons believe in God and fear His awesome power and glory (James
2:19). Our faith must be much more than Satan’s
belief. Faith involves trusting God--and trusting
God is a motivation for obedience. Let’s think about James’ argument. Abraham believed God’s promise that his
son Isaac would give him descendants. Then God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his
son. God’s promise and command for obedience
seem inconsistent--to say the least. Think about this. What if Abraham would have said to God, “I
believe your promise to give me descendants through Isaac--and since that can’t happen
if I sacrifice him--I have decided to disobey you. But I still believe in your promise.” James argues that if Abraham had refused to
obey God then his belief would not have been real faith. If a person truly trusts God then his actions
will be rooted in that trust. We can’t erase our own sins or somehow impress
God enough to earn salvation, but belief is not the same as faith. Faith must submit to God’s work in us. In our submission, real, living faith, produces
works. Paul was correct. James is correct. Faith without works is dead. Martin Luther exposed the greed, ritualism,
and non-biblical dogmas of Catholicism. He stood up to a religious system that had
misinterpreted and misused the Scriptures. It was an awakening that unleashed the Protestant
Reformation. Five centuries after Luther posted the 95
Theses, it is time for Protestants to examine the unfinished Reformation. Consider this on a personal level: How many
times do Christians excuse living with a boyfriend out of wedlock--disregarding one of the Ten
Commandments--or living a lifestyle like unbelievers with the simple argument, “I’m justified
without works, I’m saved by grace, God loves me just the way I am”? This way of thinking is nothing more than
using God’s grace as a license to sin, and it has serious consequences. Jesus gives this warning in the Sermon on
the Mount, “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders
in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never
knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'” (Matthew 7:21-23). This is a terrifying statement. Jesus will use these words at His return to
some who claim to believe in Him. Paul and James aren’t contradicting each
other. When we combine the teachings of these inspired
writers, we see that living faith is more than simple belief. It is the surrender of the will and body,
heart and mind, thoughts and works to the sovereignty of God and His power in us. When a person surrenders his will to God,
and in faith accepts Christ as Savior and Master, then God will guide him with His power
to do good works. Salvation is more than God’s forgiveness. Salvation is God’s work in human beings
to create eternal children. It is a work that we participate in as we
faithfully submit to His working in us. The world needs a spiritual awakening. We need to return to the Bible as the guiding
Word of God. Pick up the Book and prayerfully ask for God’s
guidance. Let God’s spiritual revolution begin with
you. For Beyond Today I’m Gary Petty. Thanks for watching. [Announcer] We would like to help you explore
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