Martin Luther and the Power of the Word

Hebrews 11 and 12 speak about a great cloud of witnesses, whose faithful lives are an example from the past. Martin Luther certainly fits that bill, especially when considering his belief in the power of God to use the Scriptures. Luther was born November 10, 1483, in the city of Eisleben, which is the very place where 63 years later he would die. He is best known for his nailing of the Ninety-five Theses on October 31, 1517, to the church door in Wittenberg. Luther did so because indulgences preachers like Johann Tetzel played on the fears of people and took their money in the name of Christ.

And when thinking about the Ninety-five Theses, perhaps we need to do away with a few misconceptions. Did Luther write it against the pope? Not exactly. Luther believed indulgence preachers were going too far. They were doing things in the name of the pope, that if he knew, would not receive papal approval. Did Luther anticipate the Ninety-five Theses would cause such a stink like it did? Not at all. He thought this would be a local discussion among ecclesiastical nerds. Luther underestimated the media of the day. Printers got a hold of his work, translated it into German, made copies, and sold them like hot cakes.

It wasn’t until later that Luther realized Pope Leo was behind all this. Ecclesiastical authorities did think Tetzel was extreme in his preaching, but they wanted this indulgence to sell. Luther was attacking the money-making industry of the church, and the authority of the pope to raise the funds. Appropriately, Luther began his Ninety-five Theses by saying, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ [Matt. 4:17], he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” He started from the position of man’s sinfulness, which meant he was not righteous enough to trade his good works for God’s grace, and neither could he purchase that grace. Indulgence preachers were cheapening grace, belittling Christ’s Cross, and marginalizing Scripture.

For Luther, this conviction regarding the Bible was an emerging one. Scripture alone was becoming his final authority—not the pope, not councils, not private interpretations. The Word only, by the Spirit, is powerful to save and sanctify. It solely is the communicative ground of Christ and his work. And this is something we need to remember. Do we want our children and grandchildren to grow in the faith? Give them the Word. Do we want to die to self and live unto Christ? We must immerse ourselves in the Word. Do we want to persevere in this hard world? We must submit ourselves to the Word. Do we want CPC to grow? We must remain faithful to the Word. Luther famously said, “I opposed indulgences and all papists, but never by force. I simply taught, preached, wrote God’s Word: otherwise, I did nothing. And then, while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer … the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a prince or emperor did such damage to it. I did nothing: the Word did it all … I did nothing: I left it to the Word." May the testimony of our lives and this church say the same for generations to come.

If you want to learn more about Martin Luther here is a great video from Ligonier ministries detailing his life and ministry. You can watch for free.

Your servant and friend — Pastor Clif