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MARTIN LUTHER

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GERMAN PROTESTANT REFORMATION CLERGYMAN & EDUCATOR

MARTIN LUTHER November 10, 1483 - February 18, 1546 Martin Luther was born in Eiseleben, Germany to a middle class family. He was sent to school in Mansfeld and at the age of 14 entered the latin High school at Magdeburg, sixty miles from his home. He then attended the University of Erfurt in order to study law. He quit the University and became a Monk at the Augustinian monestary at Erfurt. In 1507, he was made a priest, and then taught at the University of Erfurt and the University of Wittenburg. In 1512 he received his Doctor of Divinity and also began preaching in the Castle Church. He had made his discovery that salvation was by faith and not by works. On October 13, 1517 he posted his Ninety Five Thesis as a protest against the selling of indulgences by John Tetzel. In 1521 he appeared at the Diet of Worms and was declared an outlaw by the Catholic church. He then became the strong proponent of Reformation theology in Germany, out of which came the Lutheran church.

CLICK ON THE CITATION TO VIEW THE ARTICLE "A Beautiful Sermon On The Law & The Gospel" "In this Gospel Christ answers the question the Pharisees put to him: Which is the greatest commandment in the Law ? and in turn asks them the question: What think ye of the Christ, whose son is he ? Thus this Gospel presents to us that which we continually hear and should hear, so that these two sermons must continue to be preached in Christendom, namely: the first, the teaching of the Law or of the ten commandments, and the second, the doctrine concerning the grace of Christ. For if either of these fall it pulls the other with it; while on the other hand, wherever the one remains steadfast and is faithfully put into practice, it brings the other with it." "Christ Our High Priest" "Christ, in the exercise of his priestly office, in the sacrifice on the cross, was not adorned with silk and gold and precious stones, but with divine love, wisdom, patience, obedience and all virtues. His adornment was apparent to none but God and possessors, of the Spirit, for it was spiritual." "Christ's Holy Sufferings" "Fourthly, they meditate on the Passion of Christ aright, who so view Christ that they become terror-stricken in heart at the sight, and their conscience at once sinks in despair. This terror-stricken feeling should spring forth, so that you see the severe wrath and the unchangeable earnestness of God in regard to sin and sinners, in that he was unwilling that his only and dearly beloved Son should set sinners free unless he paid the costly ransom for them as is mentioned in Is 53:8: 'For the transgression of my people was he stricken.'" "Christ's Warnings Of False Prophets" "We must boldly consider the two kinds of doctrine, the true and good, and the false and erroneous, and that they will always accompany each other, for thus it has been from the beginning, and thus it will continue to the end of the world. Hence it will not do for us to creep along in silence, and resort to a safe and secure manner of life. The evil teachings of men and the doctrines of devils, and all our enemies oppose us without ceasing, and hence we dare not think that the issue is settled." "Concerning Christian Liberty" "A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one." "The Fifth Commandment Explained" "In this Gospel the Lord takes in hand the office of extolling and explaining the law of Moses, for It would not have been becoming for him to have insisted in an unfriendly manner to make the people pious. He in not a lawgiver, but a Savior, who never takes aught from anyone, but always gives. So he also in this instance proves his kindness in explaining the law and gently instructing; as there is need and want, he does not sternly insist, as did Moses, who without much ado wished that people were either pious or dead. For this reason Christ's action on this occasion is to be considered one of great benefit to us, in that he teaches us where we fail and come short. Here he particularly treats of the failings due to wrath, which causes so much havoc among men, as is seen on every side, yea, nearly the whole world is under its sway." "The 95 Thesis" The document which began the Reformation in Germany. "Of The Office Of Preaching" "This Gospel treats of the office of the ministry, how it is constituted, what it accomplishes and how it is misused. It is indeed very necessary to know these things, for the office of preaching is second to none in Christendom. St. Paul highly esteemed this office for the reason that through it the Word of God was proclaimed which is effective to the salvation of all who believe it." "On Faith, And Coming To Christ, And The Bread Of Heaven" This Gospel text teaches exclusively of the Christian faith, and awakens that faith in us; just as John, throughout his whole Gospel, simply instructs us how to trust in Christ the Lord. This faith alone, when based upon the sure promises of God, must save us; as our text clearly explains. "The Parable Of The Hired Laborers" - Matthew 20:1-16 "Thus they have now each a penny, that is, a temporal reward is given to both. But the last did not seek it, it was added to them because they sought first the kingdom of heaven, Mt. 6:33, and consequently they have the grace to everlasting life and are happy. The first however seek the temporal reward, bargain for it and serve for it; and hence they fail to secure grace and by means of a hard life they merit perdition. For the last do not think of earning the penny, nor do they thus blunder, but they receive all. When the first saw this, by a miscalculation they thought they would receive more, and lost all. Therefore we clearly see, if we look into their hearts, that the last had no regard for their own merit, but enjoyed the goodness of the householder. The first however did not esteem the goodness of the householder, but looked to their own merits, and thought it was their's by right and murmured about it." "Parable Of The King Who Made A Marriage Feast For His Son" - Matthew 22:1-14 "This Gospel presents to us the parable of the wedding; therefore we are compelled to understand it differently than it sounds and appears to the natural ear and eye. Hence we will give attention to the spiritual meaning of the parable, and then notice how the text has been torn and perverted. First, the King, who prepared the marriage feast, is our heavenly Father. The bridegroom is his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. The bride is the Christian Church, we and the whole world, in so far as we believe, of which we shall hear later." "The Parable Of The Sower" "This Gospel treats of the disciples and the fruits, which the Word of God develops in the world. It does not speak of the law nor of human institutions; but, as Christ himself says, of the Word of God, which he himself the sower preaches, for the law bears no fruit, just as little as do the institutions of men. Christ however sets forth here four kinds of disciples of the divine Word." "The Parable Of The Unforgiving Servant" "It is therefore decreed when we deal with God that we must stand free, and let goods, honor, right, wrong, and every thing go that we have; and we will not be excused when we say: I am right, therefore I will not suffer a man to do me wrong, as God requires that we should renounce all our rights and forgive our neighbor. Concerning this, however, our high schools and the learned have preached and taught quite differently, that we are not obliged to give way to another and surrender our rights, but that it is just for every one to secure his dues. This is the first rebuff." "The Pharisee And The Publican" "And the two kinds of righteousness, which are found on earth, are also represented; the one, which makes a great show before all the world and in the eyes of men, and yet before God it amounts to nothing, and is therefore condemned; the other, which is not known among men, and yet before God it is called righteousness and is pleasing in his sight." "A Sermon On Christian Righteousness or The Forgiveness Of Sins" "The theme of this Gospel is the great and important article of faith, called "the forgiveness of sins", which, when rightly understood, makes an honest Christian, and gives eternal life. Therefore it is necessary in the Christian Church to teach this article diligently and unceasingly, so that we may learn to understand it clearly and distinctly. For this is the one great and difficult art of a Christian, where he will have enough to learn as long as he lives, so that he need not look for anything new, higher or better." "The Ten Commandments" First and Second Commandments Third Commmandment Fourth Commandment Fifth Commandment Sixth Commandment Seventh Commandment Eighth Commandment Ninth Commandment Tenth Commandment Conclusion Of The Ten Commandments "The Twofold Use Of The Law & Gospel: Letter & Spirit" "The meaning here is; When the glory and holiness of Christ, revealed through the preaching of the Gospel, is rightly perceived then the glory of the Law--which is but a feeble and transitory glory--is seen to be not really glorious. It is mere dark clouds in contrast to the light of Christ shining to lead us out of sin, death and hell unto God and eternal life." "The Wheat And The Tares" "Now this Gospel teaches us how the kingdom of God or Christianity fares in the world, especially on account of its teaching, namely, that we are not to think that only true Christians and the pure doctrine of God are to dwell upon the earth; but that there must be also false Christians and heretics in order that the true Christians may be approved, as St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 2:19."

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