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The Importance of Martin Luther's Stand
By Adam Bartlett
Martin Luther was a great man of faith and fortitude and boldness who would not waiver from what he believed in a hostile environment. To put things into perspective we must not forget that Martin Luther was a devout catholic, in fact this is but a brief summary of his position:
"According to legend it was during a terrible storm that Luther decided to become a monk. He did not change his mind when his friends and father tried to convince the successful student to continue his law studies. He entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt in 1505 and took his monk's vow in 1506.
The life of a monk during Luther's time was hard, and consisted of fasting, prayer and work. A monk's day began at 3 am with the first hourly prayers. This time molded Luther, above all he found a close relationship to the Bible which characterized his later life and work.
In 1507, Luther was ordained as a priest in Erfurt and started studying Theology at the University of Erfurt.
Martin Luther as Professor in Wittenberg (1512-17)
After receiving his doctorate in Theology in 1512, Luther took a position as Theology Professor at the Wittenberg University 'Leucorea'. He gave lectures over the Psalms (1514-15), Letter to the Romans (1515-16), Letter to the Galatians (1516-17), and Letter to the Hebrews (1517-18).
This time is characterized by Luther's grappling with religious understanding. His decisive religious enlightenment is said to have come during his intensive study of the Letter to the Romans during which time he realized that people receive justice through the grace of God, not through good works: "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous will live by faith." (Romans 1:17)
Luther himself stated that he came to this decisive realization in the study room of the Wittenberg monastery. When this actually happened is disputed; it is also known as the Tower experience (Turmerlebenis).
A circle of theologians began to form around Luther, among them Niklaus von Amsdorf and Karlstadt (Andreas Bodenstein).
In 1514 Luther became priest for Wittenberg's City Church."
Martin Luther had a lot to lose by taking the stand that he took especially with his position in the catholic church. That is why it is all the more important that catholics see the importance of what exactly he did. He knew from his studies exactly what the catholic church taught and by that knowledge he knew what he was saying would cause him to be ostracized. It is absurd to believe that Luther was simply doing this to make a name for himself. In fact just the opposite is true, this was an offense worthy of a terrible death at the hands of the catholic church. There were many men dying during this time for standing against the beliefs of the catholic church and Martin Luther knew this before he made his stand.
It proves that he was not afraid to die to expose the truth about this institution in which he has gained his knowledge. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that caused this burning within him that he could not ignore. You will see the same examples in the book of Acts and throughout the Gospels when simple men would stand in the face of death to declare the truth. What Martin Luther was doing was the same thing Jesus did that caused so much hate toward Him. They were both exposing a "Religion" of man and "Pharisaical" belief system that was not honoring God and enslaving men to its rituals.
Exposing this truth about the catholic church was a threat to its existence and power over the people and political systems. The catholic church was no different than the Romans and their Coliseum murders of Christians with the exception of how they justified it. The Roman Catholic church killed hundreds, yet thousands of men and women who dared to stand up and expose the errors of their belief as compared to the Holy Bible.
Martin Luther was not killed by the church during this time but many were and I challenge any reader of this to get a copy of Foxxe's Book of Martyrs and read it. It contains all the history of those that died during this time at the hands of this self-imposed, self-acclaimed "perfect church."
Martin Luther indeed took a bold stand and we need more men like him in this day to expose the errors of the many false teachings that are out there.
Again, please read the "Foxxe's Book of Martyrs" and I guarantee you will have a new perspective on this "catholic church."
Letter to John Staupitz
Letter to Pope Leo X
Letter to the Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz
Dr. Martin Luther to the Christian Reader
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