As we left the coach, we were directly in front of the Castle Church door. It's been replaced since Luther's day, and now has a Brass door with the 95 Theses embossed.
In 1517, Martin Luther nailed the "95 Theses" - a series of statements that were meant to be debated by theologians and Bible teachers. He wanted to start a public debate about the use of indulgences - he ended up beginning the Reformation!
Luther went to Wittenberg at the invitation of the Elector - the Prince in charge of the territory which was Saxony. The Prince had wanted to build a university and wanted Pastors and Theologians to give the best theological education. Luther came as a young Augustinian Monk with his Doctor's degree in Theology. Eventually he would be joined by a young man named Phillip Melanchthon on the faculty, and he also became the Parish priest - they all preached.
Luther usually preached down from the Castle church. The Church still stands, and is being restored over a 5 year project. Still, the outside looked liked this:
We went inside and I walked around, and noticed the pulpit Luther preached from. I couldn't help but walk up the steps to stand where Martin Luther stood some 500 years ago.
Luther was a remarkable individual. He didn't start off thinking he was going to reform the church. His goal was to check the insane practices of selling indulgences. This money raising gimmick was used by Catholic hucksters to raise money for Rome's building of St. Peter's Cathedral. When the Catholic priest name Tetzel came to Wittenberg, he promised the people that if they threw money into the coffers, their loved ones would get years taken off of purgatory. (Sadly, indulgences have changed, but the principle is still taught in the Catholic Church). It incensed Luther, and the reason why was because of the changes in his understanding of the Gospel that had occurred over the last few years.
When Luther began to teach and preach he started with teaching through Psalms and then Romans. When he got to Psalm 22, he read:
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?"
An Augustinian monk, and doctor of theology, he had only known that Jesus died, but not that he had substituted his life for ours. He wondered, how could the Jesus say these words from the Psalm. Why was he forsaken? Why did God not come to save him? He couldn't understand as of yet what God had done, because he was steeped in a system of "earning" one's salvation through the merits of the church. He had become a Monk almost ten years before because he was convinced he would not be saved without practicing the holy orders. "If anyone was to be saved by monkery, I was him".
In 1516-17 at Wittenberg, in his study at the Monastery, teaching in the classroom, and in the Parish church preaching, the light began to come on. When he arrived in Romans it became clear. He read Romans 1-3 and the words began to sink in.
"...as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12 ESV)
No One, Martin read.
No One is righteous in and of themselves...
no one has the ability to come to a righteous God on the basis of their merits - no matter how many of them they have accrued.
There can never be enough to satisfy the righteous character of God. He read and concluded with Paul...
"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:21-26 ESV)
The truth came in as light streaming through a darkened window, and Luther was giddy with joy. No longer did he feel condemned, even hating God's righteousness. Now he felt the freedom of the Gospel.
He said later of this time, "I felt like I was born again"... He was.
As the Parish pastor and theologian he took on the task of challenging the indulgence practices, and the church condemned him. He stood his ground and when 5 Papal Bulls (letters of condemnation) were issued...in fact, he burned them right here.
The Reformation spread like a wild-fire. It spread all over Germany, and into Switzerland and France, and then on to England...and we know it's kept going since then.
As Luther preached the righteousness of God by Grace through Faith, people saw that the merit system of the church was false. One of those institutions was the practice of celibacy. When Priests realized they didn't have to be celibate, they began to marry. Nuns began to leave convents and marry. Luther arranged for 13 nuns to escape a nunnery, and they came to Wittenberg. One of those Nuns wouldn't marry any of the arranged marriages being sought for her. Luther discovered a spunky woman who was not afraid of him, and who he discovered he loved. He married her and I got to see where he lived with his wife Katherine.
The house is a museum of the life and times of Luther in Wittenberg. What a great and memorable day it was.
I'll catch up more later....peace
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