The Life of Martin Luther

The need for a Reformation

Martin Luther For the first 500 years after the time of Christ, the Christian church continued to grow and spread in spite of persecutions and attacks by false teachers. About A.D. 600 two things happened which were very harmful for the Christian church: one was the Mohammedan conquest and the other was the rise of the bishop of Rome.

The army of the Mohammedans conquered North Africa, Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor. This conquest destroyed Christian churches in all these places.

In Western Europe the bishop of Rome became the leader of the Christian church. He was head of the church in Spain, France, England, Germany, and Italy. He became known as the Pope and claimed that he was appointed by Christ to rule over everyone, including kings. The Pope did not use his power to serve Christ. Instead, he introduced anti-Christian doctrines. One was purgatory. Another was that salvation is not by faith alone but also by good works. In addition, he led people to believe that they could receive God's grace only through the bishops and priests whom he appointed. When some people showed that what the Pope was teaching was wrong according to the Bible, he ordered punishment for everyone who read the Bible without his permission.

As a result of the conquest by the Mohammedans and the rise of the Pope, the truth of the gospel had almost disappeared. A reformation was needed to restore the Bible to its proper place and to bring back the truth about salvation. God used Luther to bring about this reformation.

Luther's birth (1483) and education

In 1483, nine years before Columbus discovered America, Luther was born in the small town of Eisleben, Germany. His parents were poor, but they knew that Martin was a bright boy so they sent him to school. When Luther was 14 years old, he had to leave home in order to continue his education. Together with some of the other boys who didn't have much money, Luther had to earn some of his meals by singing at the homes of wealthy people. In spite of this he did so well in his studies that his teachers encouraged him to go on to college.

By this time Luther's father was earning enough money to pay some of Martin's expenses, so Luther went to the University of Erfurt. Luther studied to become a lawyer and again did very well as a student. He gained the respect of all who knew him and enjoyed the company of his fellow students. In 1505 he graduated with a Master of Arts degree. But Luther was not really happy.

Luther the monk (1505)

When Luther was a child, his parents taught him to pray to the saints to respect the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, and to do good works. Although Luther did all these things quite faithfully, his sins still troubled him very much. He knew that God was angry with man because of sin. So he lived in constant fear that death would mean that he must face the terrible punishment of God for his sins. To find peace for his soul, he decided to enter a monastery and become a monk.

In the monastery Luther followed all the rules which were supposed to make his life as a monk more holy. He even tortured himself by sleeping on a hard floor and by beating his body. In 1507 he became a priest and celebrated his first Mass. But none of this gave Luther the peace of mind which he was seeking.

Luther at Wittenberg (1508)

Dr. Staupitz, the head of the monastery, decided to send Luther to Wittenberg to ready himself to teach the Bible at the new university which the Elector (Ruler) of Saxony had just started. Staupitz hoped that this new assignment would give Luther more opportunity to study the Bible. He also hoped that teaching would keep Luther so busy that he would have much less time to think about his sins.

Already while Luther was in the monastery, Staupitz had told Luther that in Jesus he could find the peace he was seeking. Luther's study of God's Word as a professor at Wittenberg gradually led him to know the love of God in Christ. Through the Bible he finally found the peace he had been seeking so urgently.

Luther soon earned the reputation of being a very good teacher and preacher. Students came from many places to be in his classes. People came in such large numbers to hear him preach that he was given the assignment to preach in the Town Church in Wittenberg. It was not only the forceful way Luther taught and preached but also the "new" things he said that made people want to hear him.

"Forgiveness of sins," he said, "is not something which we earn for ourselves by our own good deeds. Rather, it is a free gift which God gives to us as a result of all that Jesus did for us as our Savior. Salvation, therefore, is completely and only by faith in Jesus."

Luther's 95 Theses (1517)

This "new" teaching of Luther, which was really a return to the simple truth of God's Word, did not cause any great excitement until 1517. In that year an event took place which marked the beginning of the Reformation.

To raise money for the building of St. Peter's Church in Rome, the Pope allowed the sale of indulgences all over Germany. Luther objected to these worthless pieces of paper which promised people release from the punishment of their sins in purgatory in exchange for a payment of money. He wrote 95 theses or statements in Latin which showed that the sale of these indulgences was contrary to the Bible. On October 31, 1517, Luther nailed his theses on the door of the Castle Church. This church door was often used for the posting of public announcements in Wittenberg.

Luther's purpose in posting these statements was merely to challenge someone from the university to debate them with him. That is why he wrote them in Latin. The 95 theses, however, were quickly translated, printed, and spread over much of Germany and other parts of Europe. Wherever they were spread, they stirred up much excitement.

Finally, the Pope ordered Luther to appear in Rome to answer charges of false teaching. Luther's ruler, the Elector (Ruler) of Saxony, used his influence to insist that Luther's case be settled in Germany instead.

Luther at the Diet of Worms and the Wartburg (1521)

In 1518 Luther appeared before Cardinal Cajetan, whom the Pope had sent as his representative. Cajetan would not discuss the 95 theses with Luther. Instead he demanded that Luther admit his writings were wrong. Luther said he could not do this unless Cardinal Cajetan could show him from the Bible that he was wrong. A year later, in a debate with a German church scholar named Dr. Eck, Luther said that it was not necessary to obey the Pope in order to be saved.

As a result of these statements the Pope sent out an official notice called a papal bull (from bulla, meaning seal) which said that Luther would no longer be a member of the Roman Catholic Church and that all his writings should be burned if he did not retract.

In 1521 Emperor Charles summoned Luther to come to a meeting of the German princes called the Diet of Worms. The Emperor hoped that at this diet he could end the religious differences between the German princes, so that they would help him stop the invasion of the Turks. He told Luther that he did not want to hear a debate on Bible teaching but only an admission from Luther that his teachings were wrong.

After prayerfully thinking over his answer for a day, Luther said, "Unless you can prove from the Bible that I have made wrong statements, I cannot and I will not take back anything. My conscience is bound by the Word of God. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen."

Because of Luther's refusal the Emperor declared him an "outlaw" whom anyone could kill after 20 days. Elector Frederick, however, saved Luther by having him kidnapped and taken to a secluded castle called the Wartburg. Luther stayed in hiding at the Wartburg for about a year. During this time he translated the New Testament into German, so that all his countrymen could read the Word of God for themselves.

Luther's return to Wittenberg and death (1546)

Luther was able to return to Wittenberg in 1522 because God was keeping Emperor Charles busy with serious problems in the other parts of his empire. It was not until after Luther's death more than 20 years later in 1546 that the Emperor again was able to turn his attention to dealing with the Lutherans in Germany. By that time God had enabled Luther and his helpers to establish the Reformation so firmly that the Emperor was not able to destroy it.

The last 20 years of Luther's life were very busy. He taught regularly at the University of Wittenberg and preached in the Town Church. Together with his helpers he published a translation of both the Old and New Testaments in German and constantly worked to improve it so that the Bible could be read and understood by everyone. He wrote hymns so people could sing the truths they learned from the Bible. He wrote many letters to people about the Bible and its teachings. He wrote explanations of Bible books called commentaries and hundreds of essays on what the Bible says about many different religious topics.

Luther married a former nun, Catherine von Bora, and the Lord blessed them with six children.

On February 18, 1546, Luther died. His body was placed in a vault just beneath the pulpit in the Castle Church.

Luther's prayer on his deathbed:

O, my heavenly Father,
alone God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You God of all consolation,
I thank you for revealing to me your dear Son, Jesus Christ,
in whom I believe,
whom I have preached and confessed,
whom I have loved and praised,
yet whom the shameful Pope and all the godless revile,
persecute, and scorn.
I pray you, Lord Jesus Christ
Take pity on my little soul.
O, heavenly Father,
if I must now leave this body and be torn away from this life,
I know yet for sure that I shall live with you forever
and that no one can tear me away from your hands.

Luther and the Small Catechism

Luther often showed his deep concern for the Christian training of young people. He urged people to provide and support Christian schools for their children. When Luther found that many pastors and parents did not know how to instruct children in the main teachings of the Bible, he wrote the Small Catechism.

Luther's chief purpose in writing the Catechism was to lead children to know and believe that the only way of salvation is by faith in Jesus. He wanted the Catechism to be simple, yet to include all the main teachings of the Bible. The six main parts of the Small Catechism are:

1. The Ten Commandments.
2. The Apostles' Creed.
3. The Sacrament of Holy Baptism.
4. The Sacrament of Holy Communion.
5. The Use of the Keys and Confession.
6. The Lord's Prayer.

Our use of the Catechism

The Lutheran Church has always considered the Catechism the very least that every Christian should know about Bible teachings. For over 400 years the Catechism has served well as the basic book for teaching both young and old. Everything written in the Catechism is based on the Bible. In the explanation of Luther's Catechism, the words of Luther's Catechism are compared with the Bible to assure that the Catechism truly teaches God's Word. Then we can memorize and use the words of the Catechism as a simple summary of the main truths which God teaches us in his Word. This summary will also serve as a foundation on which we can continue to build as we seek to strengthen our faith by Bible study throughout our entire life.

Though the Catechism is simple, we need to study it carefully to know and understand better the Bible truths which it summarizes. Once Luther asked his son Hans how much he knew. Hans answered rather proudly, "The whole Catechism, Papa, because I know that by heart." "Is that so!"

Luther said. "If you really understand that much, you are wiser than I am. I still have to study it every day." May we, like the author of the Small Catechism, treasure the Bible truths it teaches us and study them diligently!

David Kuske is a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon.

Reprinted from Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod publications. For more information on Luther, visit the WELS resource page on him.