Man of the Millennium: Martin Luther

[Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] 500 years ago an event took place here that shook the world and changed the course of human history a young german monk strode to this door and challenged the power and authority of the most powerful empire on earth an empire that had ruled for a thousand years his actions put him on a collision course with the most powerful people of his time the emperor and the pope and set in motion a train of revolution war and conflict that would reshape western civilization and lift it out of the dark ages luther's story still resonates half a millennium on it's a story that includes parental conflict spiritual agony castles kidnapping daring escapes humor and romance and what's more it's the story of the birth of the modern age but perhaps even more importantly it's a story that could bring you peace and freedom and change your life forever you won't want to miss it [Music] the rhine river is one of europe's grand waterways and one of the most appealing and spectacular sections of this mighty river flows through germany's rhine valley this is an area of outstanding beauty idyllic villages appear around each bend their half-timbered houses and gothic church steeples seemingly plucked from the world of fairy tales forested hillsides alternate with craggy cliffs and steep terraced vineyards romantic castles are perched on virtually every hilltop yes the rhine valley is a place of romance and beauty but its peaceful setting belies the unrest that rippled through this region 500 years ago in the early 16th century picture the scene that fateful afternoon of october 31 1517 [Music] here in the university town of wittenberg not all that far from the rhine river a young german monk strides down the busy street to wittenberg's castle church the most prominent and important building in the town on the church door he nails a sheet of paper with a list of 95 theses that challenges the power and authority of the most powerful empire on earth an empire that had ruled for a thousand years now he's on a collision course with the most powerful people of the time the pope and the emperor with the posting of his 95 thesis martin luther launched what became known as the reformation the blows of his hammer was soon heard in every country in europe and marked a turning point in history and the beginning of a new epoch in our civilization back in the first century christianity was a crime christians worshiped god and not the emperor they were seen as a threat to the empire and so firestorms of persecution swept through the church as nero and other roman emperors massacred thousands of believers in jesus those early christians suffered horrifying deaths because of their belief in jesus but despite this terrible persecution the church stood firm and true to the bible and the pure teachings of jesus but sadly with the second and third generation of christians came compromised with paganism and apostasy in the fourth century emperor constantine tried to hold the roman empire together by uniting pagans and christians in one great system of religion as a direct result christianity was corrupted beliefs practices and doctrines that had never been taught by jesus doctrines that are not found in the bible crept into the church and many of the great truth jesus gave were lost now should this surprise us didn't the bible predict that this very thing would happen to the church notice the warning of peter the apostle there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies and many will follow their destructive ways and this is exactly what took place it didn't happen overnight the decay of truth took centuries at first the enemy of god tried to destroy the church with persecution it didn't work so he resorted to deception he determined to undermine christianity from within and so for centuries the truth lay buried beneath tradition rights and ceremonies that jesus paul and peter never heard of crept into the church the church had been corrupted instead of freely offering the gospel of jesus the church turned religion into a business and began to sell forgiveness and salvation a price list was developed whereby the church sold forgiveness for every imaginable sin and crime even murder had its price the more the people sinned the richer the church became by selling entrance to heaven the church became the wealthiest most powerful organization in the world the people were banned from reading the bible in fact the death penalty was enforced on anyone caught reading the bible in this way the corrupted church kept its adherence blindly following its false teachings and as the light of god's truth was hidden from the people an age of darkness descended upon the world but god wasn't caught unprepared god in his mercy sent messengers to reform the church they passionately desired that the church reform from within and correct the abuses that had crept in over many generations sadly the church rejected their calls for reform and either attacked or executed these men however their efforts were not in vain because their work vision and sacrifice laid the groundwork for the dramatic events that were soon to follow and it was this realization that led the augustinian monk martin luther to nail his 95 theses to the wittenberg cathedral door and launch the reformation luther's story begins here in this house in iceland a small town in the region of saxony in modern germany where he was born in 1483. the luther memorial in the town market square depicts luther in larger than life-size holding a bible in his hands early in his childhood martin's family moved to mansfield it was in this mining town that martin was taken to the parish church and introduced to a religion that was filled with purgatory hell angels demons sin and judgment it instilled the fear of god in him martin shivered whenever he looked up at the stained glass window in the church and saw the frowning face of jesus coming to judge him and so from an early age he saw god as a harsh and angry judge he was terrified of god but towering high above the town is the seat of the counts of mansfield this fortress impressed young martin and it was his memory of this fortress that later inspired him to write the words of his most famous hymn a mighty fortress is our god martin having completed his schooling at 18 made his way to the city of erfurt where he enrolled in the local university in 1501 the city of erfurt boasted one of the leading universities of the time and it was here that martin luther earned both his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees but a terrifying experience near the town influenced him to change his career his decision changed the course of history on a hot and sultry july afternoon in 1505 martin luther trudged along this rutted roadway near stotterheim on his way back to erfurt after visiting his parents in mansfield suddenly and without warning the sky became overcast a gusty wind whipped through the trees and a torrential downpour unleashed its fury on the lonely traveler pills of thunder rocked the countryside and then it happened a bolt of lightning zigzagged through the black clouds and sent luther reeling to the ground terrified by the thought that he'd been struck down by god martin luther cried out to his patron saint saint anne help me and i will become a monk this stone monument near stodderheim commemorates this turning point in luther's life he kept his promise neither his angry father nor the persuasive arguments of his friends could change his mind he dropped out of law school and two weeks later luther entered the monastery of the augustinian order in erfurt to become a monk and begin a monastic life martin luther desperately wanted to find peace of mind and the assurance of ultimate salvation he wanted to appease the angry god he'd seen as a boy on the church window at mansfield so luther determined to become holy to rid himself of sin and save his soul by his own good works if he could become good enough then god would accept him he shrank from no sacrifice whether physical pain or mental stress in his quest to gain god's approval later luther said if anyone could have earned heaven by the life of a monk it was i but despite his rigorous efforts to satisfy what he thought to be an angry god luther never felt the ledger was balanced the harder he tried the more sinful he felt inner peace and assurance eluded him he felt he could not do enough to merit god's forgiveness and favor when the augustinian monasteries selected him to head a delegation to rome in 1510 luther was overjoyed here was an opportunity to use the traditional remedies provided by the church to find forgiveness and peace [Music] no city on earth had so many holy relics or spiritual indulgences as rome here was his chance to earn merit and secure the personal peace he wanted so badly but it proved to be a profoundly disappointing experience he was shocked by the corruption of the roman church he climbed the scala sancta the holy stares that tradition claimed were the stairs jesus ascended when he appeared before pilate the priest claimed that god forgave the sins of those who climbed the stairs on their knees luther did so repeating the lord's prayer kissing each step and seeking peace with god but when he reached the top step he looked back and thought who knows whether this is true he felt no closer to god and returned to the monastery more troubled and disillusioned than ever he began to study the bible as never before determined to find the answer to this most important question how is a person accepted by god and saved even as he struggled with these questions luther impressed his superiors with his intellectual abilities and they selected him for further education at the university of wittenberg [Music] wittenberg is a pretty town located on the banks of the elbe river in central germany when martin came here as an unknown monk he lived in the local augustinian monastery still searching for an answer to his question how is a person accepted by god and saved to his surprise as he studied god's word he found no teaching of trying harder of winning merit or making yourself holy or earning god's acceptance or buying forgiveness as he studied the bible book of romans he made a discovery that would forever bring peace to his troubled heart the just shall live by faith luther finally grasped the truth that salvation comes by faith by believing in jesus christ he understood that penances pilgrimages and vigils fasting and climbing stairs on hands and knees did nothing for salvation rather the christian god is a god of love and mercy who accepts people just as they are on the basis of their faith in him joy filled luther's heart finally his troubled conscience found peace in discovering that forgiveness and salvation come to us freely from christ alone martin luther had made the greatest discovery of all time a discovery that would change the course of history and bring peace and assurance to millions of people as they receive christ's righteousness for themselves but this discovery that brought peace to his troubled conscience also brought luther into conflict with the church it made him a heretic in his church a criminal in society and an outlaw throughout the empire the battle broke out over indulgences not far from wittenberg john tetzel was selling indulgences to raise money to finance the building of saint peter's cathedral in rome indulgences were letters of pardon that the church claimed guaranteed forgiveness of sins it was a way of selling forgiveness and salvation and of raising money for the church luther saw this as a perversion of the gospel he had recently discovered he really wanted to share the good news that had set him free that had brought him inner peace and assurance and so on october 31 1517 he posted a list of 95 objections to the sale of indulgences on the door of the wittenberg castle church he invited scholars to debate the issue of indulgences a copy fell into the hands of a printer and soon luther's theses spread throughout europe unleashing a storm luther hadn't intended to revolt only to reform but his teachings and action challenged the church's claim of the right to control people's conscience and personal faith and provide salvation his teachings soon aroused religious and political turmoil throughout the vast territory of the holy roman empire something had to be done to quell the crisis finally charles v summoned luther to trial in the city of worms situated on the banks of the rhine river near the city's great cathedral stood the imperial palace where the trial was conducted here on the 18th of april 1521 luther stood before an imperial diet convened by emperor charles v he was accused of renewing the teachings of wycliffe and huss by making the bible his final authority surrounded by princes nobles generals and church leaders luther defended himself against the charge of heresy he concluded his defense with the famous words unless i am convinced by the testimony of scripture or by clear reason i am bound by the scriptures i have quoted and my conscience is captive to the word of god i cannot and will not retract anything since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience i cannot do otherwise here i stand may god help me amen the actual building where the trial was conducted has been demolished and its site is now occupied by this garden a plaque marks the site where luther stood as he made his heroic defense the historical and theological significance of martin luther is encapsulated in the memorial in the center of worlds luther is surrounded by some of the most important people who paved the way for the reformation they include john wickliffe jan huss and girolamo savinarola they laid the foundation for martin luther luther's message was clear conscience must answer to god alone salvation comes freely by faith alone and the bible is the only source of spiritual authority not church tradition or the decrees of its leaders [Music] because of these beliefs luther was declared a heretic and an outlaw to be captured and killed on site his fate was settled however luther's friends intervened on the way back from forums they pretended to kidnap luther and spirited him away under the cover of darkness [Music] he was taken into hiding at the wartburg castle the most famous fortress in all germany here martin luther found refuge from his persecutors he hid in this castle for almost a year disguised as a nobleman luther lived in this room and it was here that he worked on translating the bible into the german language the room has remained practically unaltered from the time of luther luther was strongly opposed to indulgences or relics or anything that detracted from the saving grace of jesus christ he opposed relics strongly but when he arrived here at the wartburg in his very room he found a whale bone that was considered sacred in order to show his disdain for relics luther said this whale bone has nothing to do with the bible or salvation and so he used it as a footrest to show that there was nothing sacred about this whale bone and rather people should focus their attention on jesus christ and his death on the cross when it comes to salvation and forgiveness from wartburg luther returned to the augustinian monastery in wittenberg and resumed leadership of the reformation luther married the former nun katarina van bora they had three sons and three daughters luther and his family lived here until his death despite widespread scorn and persecution luther's message took hold in the hearts of the common people and eight years after the council of worms a group of german princes took their stand with luther they met at the city of spair and formed an alliance protesting the abuses of the church and its attempt to crush the reformation from this protest of the princes at spair in 1529 the term protestant was born today a plaque marks the location where the princes made their protest after years of championing the cause of the reformation from his home in wittenberg a very sick luther was called to icelabben the town of his birth to help reconcile a dispute between two noblemen while here his life pilgrimage came to an end he died on the 18th of february 1546 in a house just a short distance from where he was born securing the knowledge that god loved him and that through jesus christ he was assured of eternal life the reformers body was brought to wittenberg the scene of his most important work they buried luther in the castle church where nearly 29 years previously it had all begun when he posted his 95 theses on the church's door a small event but one with enormous consequences his grave consists of a simple sandstone pedestal located near the pulpit from which he preached so what is luther's legacy well some believe his actions and ideas mark a major turning point in western history that brought about the birth of our modern age they see him as the most significant european figure of the second millennium the man of the millennium but perhaps even more importantly martin luther showed that people are saved not in the basis of your position or wealth or how good you are but because how good jesus is because jesus died for you because god is love because god loves you if you'd like to make that same discovery and experience inner peace and the assurance of salvation in your life why not ask for it right now as we pray dear heavenly father we thank you for your word the bible that guides us and teaches us your truth it tells us that we have a god in heaven who loves us and who cares for us lord we've all made mistakes in our lives and done things that we know are wrong and that we regret we thank you that through jesus all of our sins and mistakes can be forgiven and we can experience inner peace and the assurance of salvation grant us that privilege in the name of jesus we pray amen martin luther desperately wanted to find peace with god he wanted to find true happiness one question consumed him how is a sinful person made right before a holy god he came to realize that salvation was a gift for the guilty not a reward for the righteous people aren't saved by their good works or by the good things they do but by trusting in jesus and what he has done if you'd like to find true happiness in your life then i'd like to recommend the free offer we have for all our viewers today it's a booklet entitled the man of the millennium this booklet shares the secret about how we can find true happiness in our lives this booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free and there is no obligation whatsoever here's the information you need phone or text us at 0436 triple three triple five in australia or 020 422 2042 in new zealand or visit our website tij.tv to request today's free offer and we'll send it to you totally free of charge and with no obligation write to us at gpo box 274 sydney new south wales 2001 australia or p.o box 76673 manukau auckland 2241 new zealand don't delay call or text us now [Music] you

Channel: The Incredible Journey

Views: 10,858

Rating: 4.8910084 out of 5

Keywords: Martin Luther, protestant reformation, french reformation, reformers, christian reformers, 95 theses, christian history, gary kent, the incredible journey, Living reformation, neal a. maxwell institute, Eisleben, Germany, The Great Controversy, Catholic church, christianity, Jesus Christ, history videos, history of reformation, europe, martin luther movie, martin luther documentary, 500 years of reformation, protestant church, christian martyrs, bible history, saved by faith

Id: 6TGBvb0H5Q4

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 02 2020