The Dark Ages… the common people lived in spiritual darkness… the Church was the most powerful entity in Europe and controlled every aspect of life. The Pope, then the leader of the Catholic Church, had greater political and military influence than some emperors and kings. However, some within the church believed that the church had become increasingly corrupt.
One of the most well known advocates for a reformed Christian Church was a German priest named Martin Luther. He began to question the Church in the early 1500s believing it was abusing its power and disagreed with some of its practices. For instance, Martin Luther challenged the church’s doctrine that stated the Pope, not the Bible, was the ultimate spiritual authority. He also criticised the Church for selling indulgences, the practice of purchasing forgiveness for one’s sins by giving money to the Church. “When the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs!”… or as Luther believed “someone in Rome can buy more things!”
Through his own study of the scriptures, Luther believed that it was God’s grace alone that can save - there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves - we can neither add nor subtract from the sacrifice that Christ made as payment for our sins on the cross. No relic, no indulgence or Pope can do more than what Christ alone has already done on the cross. Christ is the only one who can save and He has paid all our debts through His death on the cross! This is the Good News of the Gospel! The Bible says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
So Martin Luther took a stand. In what’s considered the birth of the Protestant Reformation, Luther is said to have nailed 95 theses or arguments against the Church, onto the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther was later put on trial in front of the German King Charles V and other dignitaries. He bravely defended his written works against the Church and refused to recant. The Church declared Luther a heretic and excommunicated him. While Luther’s membership with the Church ended, the reformation he argued for started to gain momentum. Martin Luther’s courageous stand sparked the Protestant reformation that swept Europe and eventually the world. Unlike Luther’s predecessors who challenged the Church, Luther had one tool at his disposal that they didn’t have. The printing press. Luther was able to distribute his works far and wide. Convinced that the Bible is the foundation of every Christian’s faith, Luther worked tirelessly to translate it into German. Soon every person in his country could read the Bible for themselves, and by doing so, come to understand, as Luther himself had, that salvation is by faith alone.