Sabbath Thought - Martin Luther

In late October of 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany.  Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany in 1483, and went on to become one of Western history's major figures.  He spent his early years in relative anonymity as a monk and scholar.

One of the primary practices Luther came to hate was the corruption he saw in the Catholic Church through the selling of indulgences.  Luther's 95 Theses was a list of propositions primarily for an academic debate.  As a teacher of Catholic doctrine and as a student of the Bible, he created his list to highlight his positions against what he saw as the abuse of the clergy selling plenary indulgences - certificates believed to reduce the time spent in purgatory for sins committed by the purchasers or their loved ones.  In the Theses, Luther claimed that the repentance required by Christ in order for sins to be forgiven involves inner spiritual repentance rather than merely external sacramental confession. He argued that indulgences avoided true repentance and sorrow for sin, believing that people could forgo true repentance by purchasing an indulgence.  The only doctrine Luther directly challenged in teaching (not in belief) was the doctrine of purgatory - and that was only in connection to indulgences.

The bigger disagreement Luther had with indulgences (as did many others), was that indulgences were simply a means by which money would flow into the Papal treasury.  One big ticket item was the financing of St. Peter's Basilica.  In a more general sense, the common person saw the unfairness of indulgences because those who had wealth were able to simply buy themselves out of the penalty of any sin.  Luther nailed his Thesis to the door of the Catholic Church in Wittenberg because the selling of indulgences in Wittenberg were forbidden for a time, but embraced when church leaders considered the money leaving their state.  Luther sent copies of his Thesis to various church leaders (including his superior), but received very little response.  Seeing no other recourse to discuss this matter, he nailed a copy of his Thesis to the church door in Wittenberg.

His discourse was quickly reproduced and spread - with a copy making its way eventually to Rome which lead to his excommunication in 1521.  By the time Luther died of natural causes in 1546, his challenge of Catholic teachings formed the basis for the Protestant Reformation.  The religious and political implications would play out over the next three centuries and would revolutionize Western civilization. 

Ultimately, Luther didn't really change much doctrinally.  There were some during that time who said, "If Rome is wrong on these things, shouldn't we look at the doctrines they taught as well?"  Unfortunately, the anti-Semite teachings of Rome (and Luther) continued - anything taught in the Hebrew Scriptures, or that Christ or the apostles taught from those same scriptures was rejected.  Pagan synchronistic teachings continued and the only major change in doctrine was the primacy of the Pope and priests being able to marry.

The Protestant Reformation broke the monopoly of the Catholic Church, and so when the dust settled there were dozens of new denominations.  More importantly, the Bible was translated into many different languages and was spread freely around the world.  This facilitated the preaching of God's Word (Mark 16:15) on a worldwide level never seen before in mankind's history.

You and I are recipients of God breaking the strangle-hold on His Word being preached to all of the world (Matthew 24:14).  We had the Gospel preached to us, God opened our minds and we responded.  We have been called out of this world to be a living example of God's way of life.  This Sabbath and the Holy Days we just celebrated show us God's plan of salvation for all of mankind.

For now we enjoy the right to assemble peaceably, and to teach God's truth from Scripture.  While that will change in the near future we need to make the most of the freedom we have now.  I encourage you to spend this Sabbath day studying God's Word and internalizing it.  Remember to pray for each other and for His Word to go out to the world.  Night is coming when we won't be able to work.

I wish you a profitable and value filled Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

25 October, 2019