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Foremost among
those who were called to lead the church from the darkness of popery
into the light of a purer faith, stood Martin Luther. Zealous,
ardent, and devoted, knowing no fear but the fear of God, and
acknowledging no foundation for religious faith but the Holy
Scriptures, Luther was the man for his time; through him God
accomplished a great work for the reformation of the church and the
enlightenment of the world.
Like the first heralds of the gospel,
Luther sprang from the ranks of poverty. His early years were spent in
the humble home of a German peasant. By daily toil as a miner his father
earned the means for his education. He intended him for a lawyer; but
God purposed to make him a builder in the great temple that was rising
so slowly through the centuries. Hardship, privation, and severe
discipline were the school in which Infinite Wisdom prepared Luther for
the important mission of his life.
Luther's father was a man of strong
and active mind and great force of character, honest, resolute, and
straightforward. He was true to his convictions of duty, let the
consequences be what they might. His sterling good sense led him to
regard the monastic system with distrust. He was highly displeased when
Luther, without his consent, entered a monastery; and it was two years
before the father was reconciled to his son, and even then his opinions
remained the same.
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Luther's parents bestowed great care
upon the education and training of their children. They endeavored to
instruct them in the knowledge of God and the practice of Christian
virtues. The father's prayer often ascended in the hearing of his son
that the child might remember the name of the Lord and one day aid in
the advancement of His truth. Every advantage for moral or intellectual
culture which their life of toil permitted them to enjoy was eagerly
improved by these parents. Their efforts were earnest and persevering to
prepare their children for a life of piety and usefulness. With their
firmness and strength of character they sometimes exercised too great
severity; but the Reformer himself, though conscious that in some
respects they had erred, found in their discipline more to approve than
to condemn.
At school, where he was sent at an
early age, Luther was treated with harshness and even violence. So great
was the poverty of his parents that upon going from home to school in
another town he was for a time obliged to obtain his food by singing
from door to door, and he often suffered from hunger. The gloomy,
superstitious ideas of religion then prevailing filled him with fear. He
would lie down at night with a sorrowful heart, looking forward with
trembling to the dark future and in constant terror at the thought of
God as a stern, unrelenting judge, a cruel tyrant, rather than a kind
heavenly Father.
Yet under so many and so great
discouragements Luther pressed resolutely forward toward the high
standard of moral and intellectual excellence which attracted his soul.
He thirsted for knowledge, and the earnest and practical character of
his mind led him to desire the solid and useful rather than the showy
and superficial.
When, at the age of eighteen, he
entered the University of Erfurt, his situation was more favorable and
his prospects were brighter than in his earlier years. His parents
having by thrift and industry acquired a competence, they were able to
render him all needed assistance. And the influence of
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judicious friends had somewhat lessened
the gloomy effects of his former training. He applied himself to the
study of the best authors, diligently treasuring their most weighty
thoughts and making the wisdom of the wise his own. Even under the harsh
discipline of his former instructors he had early given promise of
distinction, and with favorable influences his mind rapidly developed. A
retentive memory, a lively imagination, strong reasoning powers, and
untiring application soon placed him in the foremost rank among his
associates. Intellectual discipline ripened his understanding and
aroused an activity of mind and a keenness of perception that were
preparing him for the conflicts of his life.
The fear of the Lord dwelt in the
heart of Luther, enabling him to maintain his steadfastness of purpose
and leading him to deep humility before God. He had an abiding sense of
his dependence upon divine aid, and he did not fail to begin each day
with prayer, while his heart was continually breathing a petition for
guidance and support. "To pray well," he often said, "is the better half
of study."-- D'Aubigne, b. 2, ch. 2.
While one day examining the books in
the library of the university, Luther discovered a Latin Bible. Such a
book he had never before seen. He was ignorant even of its existence. He
had heard portions of the Gospels and Epistles, which were read to the
people at public worship, and he supposed that these were the entire
Bible. Now, for the first time, he looked upon the whole of God's word.
With mingled awe and wonder he turned the sacred pages; with quickened
pulse and throbbing heart he read for himself the words of life, pausing
now and then to exclaim: "O that God would give me such a book for
myself!"-- Ibid.,
b. 2, ch. 2. Angels of heaven were by his
side, and rays of light from the throne of God revealed the treasures of
truth to his understanding. He had ever feared to offend God, but now
the deep conviction of his condition as a sinner took hold upon him as
never before.
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An earnest desire to be free from sin
and to find peace with God led him at last to enter a cloister and
devote himself to a monastic life. Here he was required to perform the
lowest drudgery and to beg from house to house. He was at an age when
respect and appreciation are most eagerly craved, and these menial
offices were deeply mortifying to his natural feelings; but he patiently
endured this humiliation, believing that it was necessary because of his
sins.
Every moment that could be spared from
his daily duties he employed in study, robbing himself of sleep and
grudging even the time spent at his scanty meals. Above everything else
he delighted in the study of God's word. He had found a Bible chained to
the convent wall, and to this he often repaired. As his convictions of
sin deepened, he sought by his own works to obtain pardon and peace. He
led a most rigorous life, endeavoring by fasting, vigils, and scourgings
to subdue the evils of his nature, from which the monastic life had
brought no release. He shrank from no sacrifice by which he might attain
to that purity of heart which would enable him to stand approved before
God. "I was indeed a pious monk," he afterward said, "and followed the
rules of my order more strictly than I can express. If ever monk could
obtain heaven by his monkish works, I should certainly have been
entitled to it. . . . If it had continued much longer, I should have
carried my mortifications even to death."--
Ibid., b. 2, ch. 3. As the
result of this painful discipline he lost strength and suffered from
fainting spasms, from the effects of which he never fully recovered. But
with all his efforts his burdened soul found no relief. He was at last
driven to the verge of despair.
When it appeared to Luther that all
was lost, God raised up a friend and helper for him. The pious Staupitz
opened the word of God to Luther's mind and bade him look away from
himself, cease the contemplation of infinite punishment for the
violation of God's law, and look to Jesus, his sin-pardoning Saviour.
"Instead of torturing yourself on
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account of your sins, throw yourself into
the Redeemer's arms. Trust in Him, in the righteousness of His life, in
the atonement of His death. . . . Listen to the Son of God. He became
man to give you the assurance of divine favor." "Love Him who first
loved you."-- Ibid.,
b. 2, ch. 4. Thus spoke this
messenger of mercy. His words made a deep impression upon Luther's mind.
After many a struggle with long-cherished errors, he was enabled to
grasp the truth, and peace came to his troubled soul.
Luther was ordained a priest and was
called from the cloister to a professorship in the University of
Wittenberg. Here he applied himself to the study of the Scriptures in
the original tongues. He began to lecture upon the Bible; and the book
of Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles were opened to the
understanding of crowds of delighted listeners. Staupitz, his friend and
superior, urged him to ascend the pulpit and preach the word of God.
Luther hesitated, feeling himself unworthy to speak to the people in
Christ's stead. It was only after a long struggle that he yielded to the
solicitations of his friends. Already he was mighty in the Scriptures,
and the grace of God rested upon him. His eloquence captivated his
hearers, the clearness and power with which he presented the truth
convinced their understanding, and his fervor touched their hearts.
Luther was still a true son of the
papal church and had no thought that he would ever be anything else. In
the providence of God he was led to visit Rome. He pursued his journey
on foot, lodging at the monasteries on the way. At a convent in Italy he
was filled with wonder at the wealth, magnificence, and luxury that he
witnessed. Endowed with a princely revenue, the monks dwelt in splendid
apartments, attired themselves in the richest and most costly robes, and
feasted at a sumptuous table. With painful misgivings Luther contrasted
this scene with the self-denial and hardship of his own life. His mind
was becoming perplexed.
At last he beheld in the distance the
seven-hilled city.
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With deep emotion he prostrated himself
upon the earth, exclaiming: "Holy Rome, I salute thee!"--
Ibid., b. 2, ch. 6. He entered
the city, visited the churches, listened to the marvelous tales repeated
by priests and monks, and performed all the ceremonies required.
Everywhere he looked upon scenes that filled him with astonishment and
horror. He saw that iniquity existed among all classes of the clergy. He
heard indecent jokes from prelates, and was filled with horror at their
awful profanity, even during mass. As he mingled with the monks and
citizens he met dissipation, debauchery. Turn where he would, in the
place of sanctity he found profanation. "No one can imagine," he wrote,
"what sins and infamous actions are committed in Rome; they must be seen
and heard to be believed. Thus they are in the habit of saying, 'If
there is a hell, Rome is built over it: it is an abyss whence issues
every kind of sin.'"-- Ibid.,
b. 2, ch. 6.
By a recent decretal an indulgence had
been promised by the pope to all who should ascend upon their knees
"Pilate's staircase," said to have been descended by our Saviour on
leaving the Roman judgment hall and to have been miraculously conveyed
from Jerusalem to Rome. Luther was one day devoutly climbing these
steps, when suddenly a voice like thunder seemed to say to him: "The
just shall live by faith." Romans 1:17. He sprang to his feet and
hastened from the place in shame and horror. That text never lost its
power upon his soul. From that time he saw more clearly than ever before
the fallacy of trusting to human works for salvation, and the necessity
of constant faith in the merits of Christ. His eyes had been opened, and
were never again to be closed, to the delusions of the papacy. When he
turned his face from Rome he had turned away also in heart, and from
that time the separation grew wider, until he severed all connection
with the papal church.
After his return from Rome, Luther
received at the University of Wittenberg the degree of doctor of
divinity. Now he was at liberty to devote himself, as never before, to
the
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Scriptures that he loved. He had taken a
solemn vow to study carefully and to preach with fidelity the word of
God, not the sayings and doctrines of the popes, all the days of his
life. He was no longer the mere monk or professor, but the authorized
herald of the Bible. He had been called as a shepherd to feed the flock
of God, that were hungering and thirsting for the truth. He firmly
declared that Christians should receive no other doctrines than those
which rest on the authority of the Sacred Scriptures. These words struck
at the very foundation of papal supremacy. They contained the vital
principle of the Reformation.
Luther saw the danger of exalting
human theories above the word of God. He fearlessly attacked the
speculative infidelity of the schoolmen and opposed the philosophy and
theology which had so long held a controlling influence upon the people.
He denounced such studies as not only worthless but pernicious, and
sought to turn the minds of his hearers from the sophistries of
philosophers and theologians to the eternal truths set forth by prophets
and apostles.
Precious was the message which he bore
to the eager crowds that hung upon his words. Never before had such
teachings fallen upon their ears. The glad tidings of a Saviour's love,
the assurance of pardon and peace through His atoning blood, rejoiced
their hearts and inspired within them an immortal hope. At Wittenberg a
light was kindled whose rays should extend to the uttermost parts of the
earth, and which was to increase in brightness to the close of time.
But light and darkness cannot
harmonize. Between truth and error there is an irrepressible conflict.
To uphold and defend the one is to attack and overthrow the other. Our
Saviour Himself declared: "I came not to send peace, but a sword."
Matthew 10:34. Said Luther, a few years after the opening of the
Reformation: "God does not guide me, He pushes me forward. He carries me
away. I am not master of myself. I desire to live in repose; but I am
thrown into
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the midst of tumults and
revolutions."--D'Aubigne, b. 5, ch. 2. He was now about to be urged into
the contest.
The Roman Church had made merchandise
of the grace of God. The tables of the money-changers (Matthew 21:12)
were set up beside her altars, and the air resounded with the shouts of
buyers and sellers. Under the plea of raising funds for the erection of
St. Peter's Church at Rome, indulgences for sin were publicly offered
for sale by the authority of the pope. By the price of crime a temple
was to be built up for God's worship--the cornerstone laid with the
wages of iniquity! But the very means adopted for Rome's aggrandizement
provoked the deadliest blow to her power and greatness. It was this that
aroused the most determined and successful of the enemies of popery, and
led to the battle which shook the papal throne and jostled the triple
crown upon the pontiff's head.
The official appointed to conduct the
sale of indulgences in Germany--Tetzel by name--had been convicted of
the basest offenses against society and against the law of God; but
having escaped the punishment due for his crimes, he was employed to
further the mercenary and unscrupulous projects of the pope. With great
effrontery he repeated the most glaring falsehoods and related marvelous
tales to deceive an ignorant, credulous, and superstitious people. Had
they possessed the word of God they would not have been thus deceived.
It was to keep them under the control of the papacy, in order to swell
the power and wealth of her ambitious leaders, that the Bible had been
withheld from them. (See John C. L. Gieseler,
A Compendium of Ecclesiastical History,
per. 4, sec. 1, par. 5.)
As Tetzel entered a town, a messenger
went before him, announcing: "The grace of God and of the holy father is
at your gates."--D'Aubigne, b. 3, ch. 1. And the people welcomed the
blasphemous pretender as if he were God Himself come down from heaven to
them. The infamous traffic was set up in the church, and Tetzel,
ascending the
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pulpit, extolled the indulgences as the
most precious gift of God. He declared that by virtue of his
certificates of pardon all the sins which the purchaser should afterward
desire to commit would be forgiven him, and that "not even repentance is
necessary."-- Ibid.,
b. 3, ch. 1. More than this, he
assured his hearers that the indulgences had power to save not only the
living but the dead; that the very moment the money should clink against
the bottom of his chest, the soul in whose behalf it had been paid would
escape from purgatory and make its way to heaven. (See K. R. Hagenbach,
History of the Reformation,
vol. 1, p. 96.)
When Simon Magus offered to purchase
of the apostles the power to work miracles, Peter answered him: "Thy
money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God
may be purchased with money." Acts 8:20. But Tetzel's offer was grasped
by eager thousands. Gold and silver flowed into his treasury. A
salvation that could be bought with money was more easily obtained than
that which requires repentance, faith, and diligent effort to resist and
overcome sin. (See
Appendix note for page 59.)
The doctrine of indulgences had been
opposed by men of learning and piety in the Roman Church, and there were
many who had no faith in pretensions so contrary to both reason and
revelation. No prelate dared lift his voice against this iniquitous
traffic; but the minds of men were becoming disturbed and uneasy, and
many eagerly inquired if God would not work through some instrumentality
for the purification of His church.
Luther, though still a papist of the
straitest sort, was filled with horror at the blasphemous assumptions of
the indulgence mongers. Many of his own congregation had purchased
certificates of pardon, and they soon began to come to their pastor,
confessing their various sins, and expecting absolution, not because
they were penitent and wished to reform, but on the ground of the
indulgence. Luther refused them absolution, and warned them that unless
they should
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repent and reform their lives, they must
perish in their sins. In great perplexity they repaired to Tetzel with
the complaint that their confessor had refused his certificates; and
some boldly demanded that their money be returned to them. The friar was
filled with rage. He uttered the most terrible curses, caused fires to
be lighted in the public squares, and declared that he "had received an
order from the pope to burn all heretics who presumed to oppose his most
holy indulgences."--D'Aubigne, b. 3, ch. 4.
Luther now entered boldly upon his
work as a champion of the truth. His voice was heard from the pulpit in
earnest, solemn warning. He set before the people the offensive
character of sin, and taught them that it is impossible for man, by his
own works, to lessen its guilt or evade its punishment. Nothing but
repentance toward God and faith in Christ can save the sinner. The grace
of Christ cannot be purchased; it is a free gift. He counseled the
people not to buy indulgences, but to look in faith to a crucified
Redeemer. He related his own painful experience in vainly seeking by
humiliation and penance to secure salvation, and assured his hearers
that it was by looking away from himself and believing in Christ that he
found peace and joy.
As Tetzel continued his traffic and
his impious pretensions, Luther determined upon a more effectual protest
against these crying abuses. An occasion soon offered. The castle church
of Wittenberg possessed many relics, which on certain holy days were
exhibited to the people, and full remission of sins was granted to all
who then visited the church and made confession. Accordingly on these
days the people in great numbers resorted thither. One of the most
important of these occasions, the festival of All Saints, was
approaching. On the preceding day, Luther, joining the crowds that were
already making their way to the church, posted on its door a paper
containing ninety-five propositions against the doctrine of indulgences.
He declared his willingness
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to defend these theses next day at the
university, against all who should see fit to attack them.
His propositions attracted universal
attention. They were read and reread, and repeated in every direction.
Great excitement was created in the university and in the whole city. By
these theses it was shown that the power to grant the pardon of sin, and
to remit its penalty, had never been committed to the pope or to any
other man. The whole scheme was a farce,--an artifice to extort money by
playing upon the superstitions of the people,--a device of Satan to
destroy the souls of all who should trust to its lying pretensions. It
was also clearly shown that the gospel of Christ is the most valuable
treasure of the church, and that the grace of God, therein revealed, is
freely bestowed upon all who seek it by repentance and faith.
Luther's theses challenged discussion;
but no one dared accept the challenge. The questions which he proposed
had in a few days spread through all Germany, and in a few weeks they
had sounded throughout Christendom. Many devoted Romanists, who had seen
and lamented the terrible iniquity prevailing in the church, but had not
known how to arrest its progress, read the propositions with great joy,
recognizing in them the voice of God. They felt that the Lord had
graciously set His hand to arrest the rapidly swelling tide of
corruption that was issuing from the see of Rome. Princes and
magistrates secretly rejoiced that a check was to be put upon the
arrogant power which denied the right of appeal from its decisions.
But the sin-loving and superstitious
multitudes were terrified as the sophistries that had soothed their
fears were swept away. Crafty ecclesiastics, interrupted in their work
of sanctioning crime, and seeing their gains endangered, were enraged,
and rallied to uphold their pretensions. The Reformer had bitter
accusers to meet. Some charged him with acting hastily and from impulse.
Others accused him of presumption, declaring that he was not directed of
God, but was acting from pride and forwardness. "Who does not
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know," he responded, "that a man rarely
puts forth any new idea without having some appearance of pride, and
without being accused of exciting quarrels? . . . Why were Christ and
all the martyrs put to death? Because they seemed to be proud contemners
of the wisdom of the time, and because they advanced novelties without
having first humbly taken counsel of the oracles of the ancient
opinions."
Again he declared: "Whatever I do will
be done, not by the prudence of men, but by the counsel of God. If the
work be of God, who shall stop it? if it be not, who can forward it? Not
my will, nor theirs, nor ours; but Thy will, O holy Father, which art in
heaven."-- Ibid.,
b. 3, ch. 6.
Though Luther had been moved by the
Spirit of God to begin his work, he was not to carry it forward without
severe conflicts. The reproaches of his enemies, their misrepresentation
of his purposes, and their unjust and malicious reflections upon his
character and motives, came in upon him like an overwhelming flood; and
they were not without effect. He had felt confident that the leaders of
the people, both in the church and in the schools, would gladly unite
with him in efforts for reform. Words of encouragement from those in
high position had inspired him with joy and hope. Already in
anticipation he had seen a brighter day dawning for the church. But
encouragement had changed to reproach and condemnation. Many
dignitaries, of both church and state, were convicted of the
truthfulness of his theses; but they soon saw that the acceptance of
these truths would involve great changes. To enlighten and reform the
people would be virtually to undermine the authority of Rome, to stop
thousands of streams now flowing into her treasury, and thus greatly to
curtail the extravagance and luxury of the papal leaders. Furthermore,
to teach the people to think and act as responsible beings, looking to
Christ alone for salvation, would overthrow the pontiff's throne and
eventually destroy their own authority. For this reason they refused the
knowledge tendered them of God and arrayed
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themselves against Christ and the truth
by their opposition to the man whom He had sent to enlighten them.
Luther trembled as he looked upon
himself--one man opposed to the mightiest powers of earth. He sometimes
doubted whether he had indeed been led of God to set himself against the
authority of the church. "Who was I," he writes, "to oppose the majesty
of the pope, before whom ... the kings of the earth and the whole world
trembled? ... No one can know what my heart suffered during these first
two years, and into what despondency, I may say into what despair, I was
sunk."-- Ibid.,
b. 3, ch. 6. But he was not left to
become utterly disheartened. When human support failed, he looked to God
alone and learned that he could lean in perfect safety upon that
all-powerful arm.
To a friend of the Reformation Luther
wrote: "We cannot attain to the understanding of Scripture either by
study or by the intellect. Your first duty is to begin by prayer.
Entreat the Lord to grant you, of His great mercy, the true
understanding of His word. There is no other interpreter of the word of
God than the Author of this word, as He Himself has said, 'They shall be
all taught of God.' Hope for nothing from your own labors, from your own
understanding: trust solely in God, and in the influence of His Spirit.
Believe this on the word of a man who has had experience."--
Ibid., b. 3, ch. 7. Here is a
lesson of vital importance to those who feel that God has called them to
present to others the solemn truths for this time. These truths will
stir the enmity of Satan and of men who love the fables that he has
devised. In the conflict with the powers of evil there is need of
something more than strength of intellect and human wisdom.
When enemies appealed to custom and
tradition, or to the assertions and authority of the pope, Luther met
them with the Bible and the Bible only. Here were arguments which they
could not answer; therefore the slaves of formalism and superstition
clamored for his blood, as the Jews had clamored for the blood of
Christ. "He is a heretic,"
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cried the Roman zealots. "It is high
treason against the church to allow so horrible a heretic to live one
hour longer. Let the scaffold be instantly erected for him!"--
Ibid., b. 3, ch. 9. But Luther
did not fall a prey to their fury. God had a work for him to do, and
angels of heaven were sent to protect him. Many, however, who had
received from Luther the precious light were made the objects of Satan's
wrath and for the truth's sake fearlessly suffered torture and death.
Luther's teachings attracted the
attention of thoughtful minds throughout all Germany. From his sermons
and writings issued beams of light which awakened and illuminated
thousands. A living faith was taking the place of the dead formalism in
which the church had so long been held. The people were daily losing
confidence in the superstitions of Romanism. The barriers of prejudice
were giving way. The word of God, by which Luther tested every doctrine
and every claim, was like a two-edged sword, cutting its way to the
hearts of the people. Everywhere there was awakening a desire for
spiritual progress. Everywhere was such a hungering and thirsting after
righteousness as had not been known for ages. The eyes of the people, so
long directed to human rites and earthly mediators, were now turning in
penitence and faith to Christ and Him crucified.
This widespread interest aroused still
further the fears of the papal authorities. Luther received a summons to
appear at Rome to answer to the charge of heresy. The command filled his
friends with terror. They knew full well the danger that threatened him
in that corrupt city, already drunk with the blood of the martyrs of
Jesus. They protested against his going to Rome and requested that he
receive his examination in Germany.
This arrangement was finally effected,
and the pope's legate was appointed to hear the case. In the
instructions communicated by the pontiff to this official, it was stated
that Luther had already been declared a heretic. The legate was
therefore charged "to prosecute and constrain without
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any delay." If he should remain
steadfast, and the legate should fail to gain possession of his person,
he was empowered "to proscribe him in every part of Germany; to banish,
curse, and excommunicate all those who are attached to him."--
Ibid., b. 4, ch. 2. And,
further, the pope directed his legate, in order entirely to root out the
pestilent heresy, to excommunicate all, of whatever dignity in church or
state, except the emperor, who should neglect to seize Luther and his
adherents, and deliver them up to the vengeance of Rome.
Here is displayed the true spirit of
popery. Not a trace of Christian principle, or even of common justice,
is to be seen in the whole document. Luther was at a great distance from
Rome; he had had no opportunity to explain or defend his position; yet
before his case had been investigated, he was summarily pronounced a
heretic, and in the same day, exhorted, accused, judged, and condemned;
and all this by the self-styled holy father, the only supreme,
infallible authority in church or state!
At this time, when Luther so much
needed the sympathy and counsel of a true friend, God's providence sent
Melanchthon to Wittenberg. Young in years, modest and diffident in his
manners, Melanchthon's sound judgment, extensive knowledge, and winning
eloquence, combined with the purity and uprightness of his character,
won universal admiration and esteem. The brilliancy of his talents was
not more marked than his gentleness of disposition. He soon became an
earnest disciple of the gospel, and Luther's most trusted friend and
valued supporter; his gentleness, caution, and exactness serving as a
complement to Luther's courage and energy. Their union in the work added
strength to the Reformation and was a source of great encouragement to
Luther.
Augsburg had been fixed upon as the
place of trial, and the Reformer set out on foot to perform the journey
thither. Serious fears were entertained in his behalf. Threats had been
made openly that he would be seized and murdered on the way, and his
friends begged him not to venture. They
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even entreated him to leave Wittenberg
for a time and find safety with those who would gladly protect him. But
he would not leave the position where God had placed him. He must
continue faithfully to maintain the truth, notwithstanding the storms
that were beating upon him. His language was: "I am like Jeremiah, a man
of strife and contention; but the more their threats increase, the more
my joy is multiplied. . . . They have already destroyed my honor and my
reputation. One single thing remains; it is my wretched body: let them
take it; they will thus shorten my life by a few hours. But as for my
soul, they cannot take that. He who desires to proclaim the word of
Christ to the world, must expect death at every moment."--
Ibid., b. 4, ch. 4.
The tidings of Luther's arrival at
Augsburg gave great satisfaction to the papal legate. The troublesome
heretic who was exciting the attention of the whole world seemed now in
the power of Rome, and the legate determined that he should not escape.
The Reformer had failed to provide himself with a safe-conduct. His
friends urged him not to appear before the legate without one, and they
themselves undertook to procure it from the emperor. The legate intended
to force Luther, if possible, to retract, or, failing in this, to cause
him to be conveyed to Rome, to share the fate of Huss and Jerome.
Therefore through his agents he endeavored to induce Luther to appear
without a safe-conduct, trusting himself to his mercy. This the Reformer
firmly declined to do. Not until he had received the document pledging
him the emperor's protection, did he appear in the presence of the papal
ambassador.
As a matter of policy, the Romanists
had decided to attempt to win Luther by an appearance of gentleness. The
legate, in his interviews with him, professed great friendliness; but he
demanded that Luther submit implicitly to the authority of the church,
and yield every point without argument or question. He had not rightly
estimated the character of the man with whom he had to deal. Luther, in
reply, expressed his regard for the church, his desire for
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the truth, his readiness to answer all
objections to what he had taught, and to submit his doctrines to the
decision of certain leading universities. But at the same time he
protested against the cardinal's course in requiring him to retract
without having proved him in error.
The only response was: "Retract,
retract!" The Reformer showed that his position was sustained by the
Scriptures and firmly declared that he could not renounce the truth. The
legate, unable to reply to Luther's arguments, overwhelmed him with a
storm of reproaches, gibes, and flattery, interspersed with quotations
from tradition and the sayings of the Fathers, granting the Reformer no
opportunity to speak. Seeing that the conference, thus continued, would
be utterly futile, Luther finally obtained a reluctant permission to
present his answer in writing.
"In so doing," said he, writing to a
friend, "the oppressed find double gain; first, what is written may be
submitted to the judgment of others; and second, one has a better chance
of working on the fears, if not on the conscience, of an arrogant and
babbling despot, who would otherwise overpower by his imperious
language."--Martyn, The Life
and Times of Luther, pages
271, 272.
At the next interview, Luther
presented a clear, concise, and forcible exposition of his views, fully
supported by many quotations from Scripture. This paper, after reading
aloud, he handed to the cardinal, who, however, cast it contemptuously
aside, declaring it to be a mass of idle words and irrelevant
quotations. Luther, fully aroused, now met the haughty prelate on his
own ground--the traditions and teachings of the church--and utterly
overthrew his assumptions.
When the prelate saw that Luther's
reasoning was unanswerable, he lost all self-control, and in a rage
cried out: "Retract! or I will send you to Rome, there to appear before
the judges commissioned to take cognizance of your cause. I will
excommunicate you and all your partisans, and all
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who shall at any time countenance you,
and will cast them out of the church." And he finally declared, in a
haughty and angry tone: "Retract, or return no more."--D'Aubigne, London
ed., b. 4, ch. 8.
The Reformer promptly withdrew with
his friends, thus declaring plainly that no retraction was to be
expected from him. This was not what the cardinal had purposed. He had
flattered himself that by violence he could awe Luther to submission.
Now, left alone with his supporters, he looked from one to another in
utter chagrin at the unexpected failure of his schemes.
Luther's efforts on this occasion were
not without good results. The large assembly present had opportunity to
compare the two men, and to judge for themselves of the spirit
manifested by them, as well as of the strength and truthfulness of their
positions. How marked the contrast! The Reformer, simple, humble, firm,
stood up in the strength of God, having truth on his side; the pope's
representative, self-important, overbearing, haughty, and unreasonable,
was without a single argument from the Scriptures, yet vehemently
crying: "Retract, or be sent to Rome for punishment."
Notwithstanding Luther had secured a
safe-conduct, the Romanists were plotting to seize and imprison him. His
friends urged that as it was useless for him to prolong his stay, he
should return to Wittenberg without delay, and that the utmost caution
should be observed in order to conceal his intentions. He accordingly
left Augsburg before day-break, on horseback, accompanied only by a
guide furnished him by the magistrate. With many forebodings he secretly
made his way through the dark and silent streets of the city. Enemies,
vigilant and cruel, were plotting his destruction. Would he escape the
snares prepared for him? Those were moments of anxiety and earnest
prayer. He reached a small gate in the wall of the city. It was opened
for him, and with his guide he passed through without hindrance. Once
safely outside, the fugitives hastened their flight, and before
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the legate learned of Luther's departure,
he was beyond the reach of his persecutors. Satan and his emissaries
were defeated. The man whom they had thought in their power was gone,
escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowler.
At the news of Luther's escape the
legate was overwhelmed with surprise and anger. He had expected to
receive great honor for his wisdom and firmness in dealing with this
disturber of the church; but his hope was disappointed. He gave
expression to his wrath in a letter to Frederick, the elector of Saxony,
bitterly denouncing Luther and demanding that Frederick send the
Reformer to Rome or banish him from Saxony.
In defense, Luther urged that the
legate or the pope show him his errors from the Scriptures, and pledged
himself in the most solemn manner to renounce his doctrines if they
could be shown to contradict the word of God. And he expressed his
gratitude to God that he had been counted worthy to suffer in so holy a
cause.
The elector had, as yet, little
knowledge of the reformed doctrines, but he was deeply impressed by the
candor, force, and clearness of Luther's words; and until the Reformer
should be proved to be in error, Frederick resolved to stand as his
protector. In reply to the legate's demand he wrote: "Since Dr. Martin
has appeared before you at Augsburg, you should be satisfied. We did not
expect that you would endeavor to make him retract without having
convinced him of his errors. None of the learned men in our principality
have informed me that Martin's doctrine is impious, anti-christian, or
heretical.' The prince refused, moreover, to send Luther to Rome, or to
expel him from his states."-- D'Aubigne, b. 4, ch. 10.
The elector saw that there was a
general breaking down of the moral restraints of society. A great work
of reform was needed. The complicated and expensive arrangements to
restrain and punish crime would be unnecessary if men but acknowledged
and obeyed the requirements of God and the dictates of an enlightened
conscience. He saw that
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Luther was laboring to secure this
object, and he secretly rejoiced that a better influence was making
itself felt in the church.
He saw also that as a professor in the
university Luther was eminently successful. Only a year had passed since
the Reformer posted his theses on the castle church, yet there was
already a great falling off in the number of pilgrims that visited the
church at the festival of All Saints. Rome had been deprived of
worshipers and offerings, but their place was filled by another class,
who now came to Wittenberg, not pilgrims to adore her relics, but
students to fill her halls of learning. The writings of Luther had
kindled everywhere a new interest in the Holy Scriptures, and not only
from all parts of Germany, but from other lands, students flocked to the
university. Young men, coming in sight of Wittenberg for the first time,
"raised their hands to heaven, and praised God for having caused the
light of truth to shine forth from this city, as from Zion in times of
old, and whence it spread even to the most distant countries."--
Ibid., b. 4, ch. 10.
Luther was as yet but partially
converted from the errors of Romanism. But as he compared the Holy
Oracles with the papal decrees and constitutions, he was filled with
wonder. "I am reading," he wrote, "the decrees of the pontiffs, and . .
. I do not know whether the pope is antichrist himself, or his apostle,
so greatly is Christ misrepresented and crucified in them."--
Ibid., b. 5, ch. 1. Yet at
this time Luther was still a supporter of the Roman Church, and had no
thought that he would ever separate from her communion.
The Reformer's writings and his
doctrine were extending to every nation in Christendom. The work spread
to Switzerland and Holland. Copies of his writings found their way to
France and Spain. In England his teachings were received as the word of
life. To Belgium and Italy also the truth had extended. Thousands were
awakening from their deathlike stupor to the joy and hope of a life of
faith.
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Rome became more and more exasperated
by the attacks of Luther, and it was declared by some of his fanatical
opponents, even by doctors in Catholic universities, that he who should
kill the rebellious monk would be without sin. One day a stranger, with
a pistol hidden under his cloak, approached the Reformer and inquired
why he went thus alone. "I am in God's hands," answered Luther. "He is
my strength and my shield. What can man do unto me?"--
Ibid., b. 6, ch. 2. Upon
hearing these words, the stranger turned pale and fled away as from the
presence of the angels of heaven.
Rome was bent upon the destruction of
Luther; but God was his defense. His doctrines were heard
everywhere--"in cottages and convents, . . . in the castles of the
nobles, in the universities, and in the palaces of kings;" and noble men
were rising on every hand to sustain his efforts.--
Ibid., b. 6, ch. 2.
It was about this time that Luther,
reading the works of Huss, found that the great truth of justification
by faith, which he himself was seeking to uphold and teach, had been
held by the Bohemian Reformer. "We have all," said Luther, "Paul,
Augustine, and myself, been Hussites without knowing it!" "God will
surely visit it upon the world," he continued, "that the truth was
preached to it a century ago, and burned!"--Wylie, b. 6. ch. 1
In an appeal to the emperor and
nobility of Germany in behalf of the reformation of Christianity, Luther
wrote concerning the pope: "It is a horrible thing to behold the man who
styles himself Christ's vicegerent, displaying a magnificence that no
emperor can equal. Is this being like the poor Jesus, or the humble
Peter? He is, say they, the lord of the world! But Christ, whose vicar
he boasts of being, has said, 'My kingdom is not of this world.' Can the
dominions of a vicar extend beyond those of his superior?"-- D'Aubigne,
b. 6, ch. 3.
He wrote thus of the universities: "I
am much afraid that the universities will prove to be the great gates of
hell,
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unless they diligently labor in
explaining the Holy Scriptures, and engraving them in the hearts of
youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not
reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not unceasingly
occupied with the word of God must become corrupt."--
Ibid.,
b. 6, ch. 3.
This appeal was rapidly circulated
throughout Germany and exerted a powerful influence upon the people. The
whole nation was stirred, and multitudes were roused to rally around the
standard of reform. Luther's opponents, burning with a desire for
revenge, urged the pope to take decisive measures against him. It was
decreed that his doctrines should be immediately condemned. Sixty days
were granted the Reformer and his adherents, after which, if they did
not recant, they were all to be excommunicated.
That was a terrible crisis for the
Reformation. For centuries Rome's sentence of excommunication had struck
terror to powerful monarchs; it had filled mighty empires with woe and
desolation. Those upon whom its condemnation fell were universally
regarded with dread and horror; they were cut off from intercourse with
their fellows and treated as outlaws, to be hunted to extermination.
Luther was not blind to the tempest about to burst upon him; but he
stood firm, trusting in Christ to be his support and shield. With a
martyr's faith and courage he wrote: "What is about to happen I know
not, nor do I care to know. . . . Let the blow light where it may, I am
without fear. Not so much as a leaf falls, without the will of our
Father. How much rather will He care for us! It is a light thing to die
for the Word, since the Word which was made flesh hath Himself died. If
we die with Him, we shall live with Him; and passing through that which
He has passed through before us, we shall be where He is and dwell with
Him forever."-- Ibid.,
3d London ed., Walther, 1840, b. 6,
ch. 9.
When the papal bull reached Luther, he
said: "I despise and attack it, as impious, false. . . . It is
Christ
Himself who
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is condemned therein. . . . I rejoice in
having to bear such ills for the best of causes. Already I feel greater
liberty in my heart; for at last I know that the pope is antichrist, and
that his throne is that of Satan himself."--D'Aubigne, b. 6, ch. 9.
Yet the mandate of Rome was not
without effect. Prison, torture, and sword were weapons potent to
enforce obedience. The weak and superstitious trembled before the decree
of the pope; and while there was general sympathy for Luther, many felt
that life was too dear to be risked in the cause of reform. Everything
seemed to indicate that the Reformer's work was about to close.
But Luther was fearless still. Rome
had hurled her anathemas against him, and the world looked on, nothing
doubting that he would perish or be forced to yield. But with terrible
power he flung back upon herself the sentence of condemnation and
publicly declared his determination to abandon her forever. In the
presence of a crowd of students, doctors, and citizens of all ranks
Luther burned the pope's bull, with the canon laws, the decretals, and
certain writings sustaining the papal power. "My enemies have been able,
by burning my books," he said, "to injure the cause of truth in the
minds of the common people, and destroy their souls; for this reason I
consumed their books in return. A serious struggle has just begun.
Hitherto I have been only playing with the pope. I began this work in
God's name; it will be ended without me, and by His might." --
Ibid., b. 6, ch. 10.
To the reproaches of his enemies who
taunted him with the weakness of his cause, Luther answered: "Who knows
if God has not chosen and called me, and if they ought not to fear that,
by despising me, they despise God Himself? Moses was alone at the
departure from Egypt; Elijah was alone in the reign of King Ahab; Isaiah
alone in Jerusalem; Ezekiel alone in Babylon. . . . God never selected
as a prophet either the high priest or any other great personage; but
ordinarily He chose low and despised men, once even
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the shepherd Amos. In every age, the
saints have had to reprove the great, kings, princes, priests, and wise
men, at the peril of their lives. . . . I do not say that I am a
prophet; but I say that they ought to fear precisely because I am alone
and that they are many. I am sure of this, that the word of God is with
me, and that it is not with them."--
Ibid., b. 6, ch. 10.
Yet it was not without a terrible
struggle with himself that Luther decided upon a final separation from
the church. It was about this time that he wrote: "I feel more and more
every day how difficult it is to lay aside the scruples which one has
imbibed in childhood. Oh, how much pain it has caused me, though I had
the Scriptures on my side, to justify it to myself that I should dare to
make a stand alone against the pope, and hold him forth as antichrist!
What have the tribulations of my heart not been! How many times have I
not asked myself with bitterness that question which was so frequent on
the lips of the papists: 'Art thou alone wise? Can everyone else be
mistaken? How will it be, if, after all, it is thyself who art wrong,
and who art involving in thy error so many souls, who will then be
eternally damned?' 'Twas so I fought with myself and with Satan, till
Christ, by His own infallible word, fortified my heart against these
doubts."--Martyn, pages 372, 373.
The pope had threatened Luther with
excommunication if he did not recant, and the threat was now fulfilled.
A new bull appeared, declaring the Reformer's final separation from the
Roman Church, denouncing him as accursed of Heaven, and including in the
same condemnation all who should receive his doctrines. The great
contest had been fully entered upon.
Opposition is the lot of all whom God
employs to present truths specially applicable to their time. There was
a present truth in the days of Luther,--a truth at that time of special
importance; there is a present truth for the church today.
Page 144
He who does all things according to the
counsel of His will has been pleased to place men under various
circumstances and to enjoin upon them duties peculiar to the times in
which they live and the conditions under which they are placed. If they
would prize the light given them, broader views of truth would be opened
before them. But truth is no more desired by the majority today than it
was by the papists who opposed Luther. There is the same disposition to
accept the theories and traditions of men instead of the word of God as
in former ages. Those who present the truth for this time should not
expect to be received with greater favor than were earlier reformers.
The great controversy between truth and error, between Christ and Satan,
is to increase in intensity to the close of this world's history.
Said Jesus to His disciples: "If ye
were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not
of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is
not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also
persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also."
John 15:19, 20. And on the other hand our Lord declared plainly: "Woe
unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers
to the false prophets." Luke 6:26. The spirit of the world is no more in
harmony with the spirit of Christ today than in earlier times, and those
who preach the word of God in its purity will be received with no
greater favor now than then. The forms of opposition to the truth may
change, the enmity may be less open because it is more subtle; but the
same antagonism still exists and will be manifested to the end of time.
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