Name: _____________________________________ Grade/Section: _____________ Date: _________

MODULE 1—CHRISTIANITY AS A WORLD RELIGION: THE GOSPEL IN PROSPERITY AND

ADVERSITY
[LESSON 12]

Thoughts of Hope. . .
HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION

Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 31:6, 8; Psalm 36:1; Psalm 118:6, 7; Hebrews 13:5, 6

Key Bible Text: So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
(Hebrews 13:6).

Plant your feet firmly on the “thus saith the Lords” and live life confidently in that strength. Carry the essence of this
message with you wherever you go.

My Devotional Moment Journal Log

Reflective Question

1. In times of your fear, how did God become your present help?

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Today’s Reflection:

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Signature: ___________________ Date: ___________________

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 For this lesson, the objective is for you to study the personal life, spiritual struggles, and
public ministry of Martin Luther and his role in igniting the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century
(1500s). Precisely, you will be able to:

a. Discover the importance of these two principles: Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura to a meaningful
Christian life.
b. Develop an understanding about the conception of the Protestant Reformation.
c. Relate the personal life, spiritual struggles, and public ministry of Martin Luther and his role in
igniting the Protestant Reformation.

Essential Questions

1. Who is Martin Luther?

2. What are his contributions to the Church?
3. How significant are the principles: Sola Fide and Sola Scriptura to our belief system?
4. Why is it important to study the origin of the Protestant Reformation?

Note: Do not answer the above-mentioned items. These serve as guide questions only as you go
along with this lesson.

LESSON 12: IT ONLY TAKE A SPARK

Key Thought: “The just shall live by faith.”

Anchor Text: "In it [the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The
just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17, NKJV).

LESSON SETTING
The personal life, spiritual struggles, and public ministry of Martin Luther and his role in igniting the
Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century (1500s).

Little Alfred liked to tinker around in his father's shop. He had a very inquisitive mind, always experimenting
and trying to figure things out for himself. As he grew older and followed through with some of his
experiments, he eventually produced a substance called trinitrotoluene (TNT), an explosive commonly known
as dynamite.
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Alfred was excited about his newly created product, and he felt confident that it would serve a useful purpose in
society. As its demand increased, he began to build factories all around his home country of Sweden and
eventually throughout the world. Within a few years, Alfred Nobel became an extremely wealthy man.

As the years passed, he was increasingly plagued with physical and emotional illness. He suffered a great deal
from guilt and misgivings for having created something that had so much potential for death and destruction.
His greatest fear was that dynamite would be used in war, rather than for constructive and peaceful purposes.
Before his death in 1896, he set up a trust fund of approximately nine million dollars. The interest that would
come from this money was to be used to present an annual award to the person who had most effectively
promoted international peace. You have probably heard of the Nobel Peace Prize that has been awarded
annually ever since.

For Alfred it started just by puttering around in his father's shop. It is impossible to overestimate the importance
of little things, of little choices. God declares, "Don't look down on small beginnings" (Zechariah 4:10, The
Clear Word). There are no small decisions in life; they just look that way at the time. No one would have
guessed that a middle-aged priest tacking an announcement on his church door on October 31, 1517, would
ignite one of the greatest religious movements this world has ever seen—the Protestant Reformation. Thanks to
Martin Luther, the world would never be the same again.

MARTIN LUTHER'S EARLY LIFE

Martin Luther's decision to write and display a list of ninety-five statements regarding issues he was deeply
concerned about wasn't especially significant at the time. The door of the Castle Church was generally used by
the town's university as a school bulletin board. It was a common thing for teachers at the school to post
announcements, or essays, inviting other professors to a public debate. But let's go back and start at the
beginning of the story.

Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany, on November 10, 1483. The three most outstanding features of
his early home life were religious training, severe discipline, and extreme poverty. When walking home from
school as a child, he would often obtain food by singing for people at their doors. Being very strict Catholics,
his parents made sure that he went to all church services, believed in saints and relics, and bought indulgences.
Martin’s mother was a godly woman but very superstitious. She would often tell him frightful stories about the
devil and evil spirits, and speak about God as a stern and demanding Judge. Such views were typical of most
people at that time.

At the request of his father, Martin took up the study of law at the University of Erfurt, the most renowned
school in all of Germany. One day as he was browsing through some books in the library, he discovered a Latin
Bible chained to a wall. Up to this time he had never read or even seen a Bible. From time to time he had heard
a few passages read by the priest and had assumed that those passages were the entire Bible. As he eagerly
scanned its pages, he became convicted of his own sinfulness, leaving him deeply troubled. Sensing his
wretched condition before God, but not knowing what to do about it created a great deal of fear and anxiety. He
recalled that at another time when one of his teachers saw him reading the Bible, he said, "Brother Martin, let
the Bible alone .... Reading the Bible breeds unrest.'" Luther wondered if the study of the Bible had the same
effect on everyone!

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Some time later, as he was walking home one night, Martin got caught in a terrible thunderstorm. When a bolt
of lightning knocked him to the ground, he cried out in terror, "St. Anne, help me!" (St. Anne was the patron
saint of coal miners, his father's occupation.) This frightening experience, along with the nagging conviction of
his lostness, convinced Martin to leave the university he had been attending for four years and enter a
monastery in Erfurt.

BECOMING A MONK AND PRIEST

After six months in the monastery, he took his vows as an Augustinian monk, and at the age of twenty-four,
Martin Luther was ordained a priest. After receiving two theological degrees within two years, he accepted a
teaching position at the university, becoming a very popular biblical lecturer. Throughout this time, however,
he was deeply concerned about his salvation. Martin felt doomed by a strong sense of his own sinfulness and
his view of a holy God who exacted justice from all. This lack of peace and assurance of salvation led to
extreme mental anguish and serious physical ailments. At times he feared for his life. Determined to merit
God's forgiveness, Luther willingly performed any task given him. He prayed, fasted, and chastised
himself far beyond the call of duty. The monastery cell where he studied and slept was unheated, even in the
coldest days of winter. Overwhelmed with a sense of his unworthiness, it seemed that no matter how hard he
tried, he could never do enough to feel God's acceptance and approval.

Years later as Luther looked back at this depressing time in his life he exclaimed, "If ever a monk could have
gotten to heaven by his sheer monkery, it was I." Even though he had become a distinguished teacher of the
Bible, Martin still did not perceive the truth of God's free gift of salvation. Because of his distorted view of
God, every time he heard about God's justice or righteousness, he thought of punishment being meted out rather
than grace being extended to the sinner.

Keep in mind that spiritual truths are progressively discerned and accepted. It didn 't come to Luther, nor
does it come to us, in one mighty dose. Humans are slow learners; we learn bit by bit, piece by piece. One time
while instructing His disciples, Jesus said, "There are a lot of things I could tell you, but you've heard enough
and are not really ready for anymore" (John 16:12, The Clear Word). God is long-suffering and chooses not to
overload us with new truths or overwhelm us with the changes we need to make.

Around 1510 Luther was sent to Rome on a business trip as a representative of the university. He anticipated
that his first visit to the "holy city" would be a spiritual highlight. But just the opposite happened. Along the
way he lodged in monasteries and was dumbfounded at the corruption he saw. At one monastery in Italy, he
was dismayed at the wealth and luxurious lifestyle of the monks. They were dressed in the most costly
robes and feasted at lavish tables. Comparing this with his own self-denial and hardships led him to openly
criticize such extravagance. The censure brought immediate results—a shorter stay for him at the monastery!

Luther was eager to move on, confident that things would be different in Rome. But these hopes were likewise
shattered. Everywhere he looked he saw scenes that utterly shocked him. He was horrified at the obscene
behavior and awful profanity of the clergy, at times even during the Mass. Trying to find something positive,
he decided to obtain an indulgence by climbing "Pilate's staircase." By a recent decree, the pope had promised
an indulgence to all who would climb Pilate's twenty-eight-step staircase on their knees. The Roman
Catholic Church claimed that these stairs were the ones Jesus Himself had climbed on His way to the Roman
judgment hall and that they had been "miraculously conveyed from Jerusalem to Rome."
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While performing this act of merit, the text, "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17, KJV) flashed upon his
mind with convicting force. It was a verse Luther had often shared with his students. But for the first time in
his life he began to discern the foolishness of trusting in human works rather than in the saving work of
Jesus. With a heart full of sorrow and indignation, yet one where the light of the gospel had begun to penetrate,
Luther returned to Wittenberg a changed man. As he continued his work as a faithful Catholic priest, the
memories of this experience triggered a whole series of questions and doubts about his church.

THE SALE OF INDULGENCES

There were many church practices with which Luther found fault but none were as severely denounced as
indulgences. Several years earlier, Pope Julius II had issued an indulgence to raise money for the
construction of a new St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. When funds did not come in as expected, Pope Leo X
issued a bull, increasing the pressure on all churches to promote the sale of indulgences. Luther objected
bitterly to Germans being asked to pay for an Italian church. He demanded to know, "Why doesn't the pope
build the basilica of St. Peter's with his own money?"

What especially angered Luther was the fact that one-half of the profits from the sale of indulgences was
secretly being funneled to Albert of Brandenburg, an archbishop of several German districts. Being an
archbishop of more than one district was strictly forbidden by church policy. But since you could buy a church
position, Albert bribed the pope into giving him three districts. In order to pay the pope the agreed price
of 10,000 ducats (gold coins), Albert borrowed a large sum of money from a German banking house. He
then asked the pope for one-half of the proceeds from the sale of indulgences in his districts to help repay the
loan. But this supposedly secret deal was not the only thing that outraged Luther.

TETZEL ENTERS THE SCENE

Albert hired as his chief seller Johann Tetzel, a skilled and crafty dealer of indulgences. Faced with the
pressure to raise large amounts of money, Tetzel did not hesitate to use high-powered techniques to persuade
people to buy his "holy" wares.

Although Tetzel was not permitted by Frederick the Wise to enter Saxony, the area where Luther's church was
located, towns near the border of Saxony were close enough for Luther's members to go there and buy
indulgences for themselves. As Tetzel entered a town carrying the scroll of papal indulgences on a velvet
cushion covered with a cloth of gold, every man, woman, and child would go out to meet him, forming a great
procession. There would be singing, lighted candles burning with incense, and the waving of banners. With all
the church bells ringing, the people would accompany him to the largest church in town, where he would set up
his stand and do business.

"Indulgences," he declared, "are the most precious and most noble gifts of God." His greatest boast was that
indulgences were of such great value that "even the sins that you intend to commit may be pardoned.”
His favorite and most repeated phrase was, "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory
springs!" With great emotion he would picture a father, or mother, or some other loved one, pleading from
purgatory to help them out. Then he would exclaim, "I declare to you, though you should have but a single coat,
you ought to strip it off and sell it, in order to obtain this grace .... The Lord our God no longer reigns. He has

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resigned all power to the pope.” According to Tetzel, it was God who sent people to purgatory, but it was
the pope who was now providing a way for their quick release.

In a short time many of Luther's church members came to him, confessing their sins and expecting absolution
(forgiveness), not because they had repented but because of the indulgences they had purchased. Luther
refused to absolve his people and denounced the outrageous claims that Tetzel had made. Perhaps he reminded
them of Peter's words to Simon the sorcerer, "May your money perish with you, because you thought you
could buy the gift of God with money" (Acts 8:20). Many returned to Tetzel, asking for their moneyback.
Tetzel was filled with rage. He terrorized the people by uttering the most terrible curses, lighting fires in the
public square, and declaring that all the heretics who opposed the sale of indulgences would be burned to
death.

But Luther would not be daunted by such threats. From the pulpit he warned his members that all sin is against
God and in no way can sinners, by their own efforts, merit forgiveness or decrease its punishment. He
shared with them his own agonizing experience of how he had so desperately sought salvation and peace of
mind through penance, only to discover that these came by looking away from self and trusting in Jesus.

LUTHER AND THE NINETY-FIVE THESES

After much thought, Luther determined to call the attention of the people to the worthlessness and
spiritual dangers of indulgences. He knew that the festival of All Saints' Day was drawing near, an important
event, especially for Wittenberg. On that day all the relics of Frederick the Wise were displayed in the Castle
Church for people from all over Europe to see. Those who visited the church on that day and made confession
would be benefited by the indulgences attached to them. In the few days before the festival, Luther stayed in
his private cell and prayerfully wrote out his condemnation of indulgences. He did not attack the church,
only the unbiblical basis for indulgences and the false claims being made by the sellers. On October 31, 1517,
the day before All Saints' Day, Luther nailed his protest—"The Ninety-Five Theses"—on the door of the
Castle Church. It was the spark that ignited the Protestant Reformation!

When the large crowds arrived the next day, their attention was captured by this rather lengthy document. Since
it was written in Latin, the few who could read Latin stopped to read and perhaps read it aloud to others. When
the people got home, they told their friends and neighbors what they had read or heard. The news spread like
wildfire.

Immediately the Ninety-Five Theses were translated into many languages, printed, and quickly carried to
cities and countryside alike. Four weeks after publication, they were known and read in every country of
Europe. The immediate effect was that the sale of indulgences almost dried up. Naturally, the archbishop, who
was to receive half of the profits made by Tetzel, became very upset. He immediately sent a copy of Luther's
theses to Pope Leo. The pope's response was that this Wittenberg monk should simply be advised by his
superiors to keep quiet. But the fire had been ignited, and the rising flames of protest were not about to be put
out quite that easily.

THE AFTERMATH OF THE THESES

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When Luther challenged the sale and the spiritual value of indulgences, he had no idea where his protest would
lead. He had no intention of creating division or a spiritual revolution within the church. He was surprised by
the enormous impact that was triggered by his protest. Its strength lay in the fact that his protest struck the pope
in two crucial spots—his power and his purse.

If Luther was right about salvation coming through faith in Christ alone, then there was no need for penance,
priests, the Mass, pilgrimages, or prayers to the Virgin Mary. And certainly no need for indulgences. If
Luther's protests were acted upon, the church's power over the people would be greatly diminished, and its
channel for vast amounts of income would be dried up. The response of the church was swift and hard-hitting.
German Dominicans immediately denounced Luther for inciting "dangerous doctrines." Luther reacted by
complaining that many of his foes were no more qualified to defend the Christian faith than "an ass is to play a
harp.”

As the battle heated up, Luther began to insist on biblical proof that he was wrong. During an eighteen-day
debate in 1519 with Dr. Johann Eck, Luther stated, "A council may sometimes err. Neither the church nor
the pope can establish articles of faith. These must come from Scripture.” Luther had moved from his first
conviction—that salvation was by faith in Christ alone, to a second one—that the Bible, not popes or
councils, was the standard for Christian belief and practice. With Luther's rejection of the supremacy of the
papacy, his break with the papal system was now firmly established.

THE BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN

In June of 1520, Pope Leo X signed a bull giving Luther sixty days to recant or be excommunicated. He
condemned Luther's teachings as heretical and offensive to the Roman Catholic faith. The bull forbade
Luther to preach and called upon all Roman Catholics to burn Luther's books. Not only Luther but all his
followers were ordered to publicly recant within sixty days. If they did not comply, the bull ordered the
government to seize and imprison Luther and anyone else who defended him.

Luther decided to go on the offensive and present his case before the German people by publishing a series of
Reformation pamphlets. Since there were no newspapers at that time, it was by publishing small books that
Luther gained the support of a great number of followers in Germany and in other countries.

Writing against the Roman Church, however, did not satisfy Luther. He felt the need to do something that
would grab the attention of the German people. Since the pope had ordered his writings to be burned, why not
burn the writings of the pope? On December 10, 1520, before a cheering crowd gathered at the main gate of
Wittenberg, Luther tossed the papal bull and the books of papal law into a burning fire. Luther's point had
been clearly made!

After officially excommunicating Luther early in 1521, the pope summoned Luther to the Imperial Diet (an
assembly of German rulers) at Worms (pronounced Vorms) to defend his "heretical" teachings. In April,
Luther appeared before this regal assembly and once again declared that he would not recant anything
unless he was shown from Scripture to be in error. Luther ended his defense with these resounding words,
"It is impossible for me to recant unless I am proved wrong by the testimony of Scripture. My conscience
is bound to the Word of God. It is neither safe nor honest to act against one's conscience. Here I stand,
God help me. I cannot do otherwise."
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Luther was ordered to leave Worms and was granted twenty-one days of safe travel back to Wittenberg. The
plot, however, was to seize him at that point and kill him like any despised heretic. But the scheme never came
to pass. Six days after leaving Worms, while he was traveling through a heavy forest, five masked riders
appeared, lifted Luther out of his cart, and took him to the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach. This daring
rescue, which saved Luther from arrest and certain death, was carried out by the Prince of Saxony, Frederick the
Wise. While hiding in this castle for nearly a year, Luther translated the New Testament into the German
language.

THE CONCLUSION TO LUTHER'S MINISTRY

In 1522 Luther returned to Wittenberg, where he put into effect spiritual reforms that eventually became a
model for most of Germany. (1) Church services were changed from Latin into German, and (2) the office
of bishop was abolished. The (3) laity were allowed full participation in the Communion service, receiving
both the bread and the wine. The (4) emphasis of the worship service went from performing the Mass to
preaching the Word. There was also a (5) radical shift from the Catholic idea of a ruling clergy to the
Protestant ideal of the brotherhood of all believers. (6) Congregational singing, emphasizing harmony
and instrumental accompaniment, replaced the chanting of the priests during the Mass. Many of the
hymns were written by Luther himself, his first collection of hymns being published in 1525.

On June 13, 1525, Luther's life and ministry were visibly changed and spiritually enhanced, for on that day he
married Katharina von Bora, a young woman who had fled from a convent three years earlier. From this
marriage were born six children, who were Luther's pride and joy. For more than 300 years priests had been
strictly forbidden by the church to marry. With Luther, a new image of the ministry appeared, a married
pastor, living like any other man with his wife and family. When Luther married, many priests, monks, and
nuns followed his example.

During his later years, most of Luther's time was spent writing books, hymns, and Bible commentaries. During
his lifetime, he wrote more than 400 published works. In 1534, thirteen years after translating the New
Testament into German, he published the complete German Bible. Luther considered this as his crowning
work. Though under the constant threat of imprisonment and death, he remained active as a writer, teacher, and
preacher until his death in 1546.

In order to appreciate Luther's extremely difficult task, remember that Jesus Himself overthrew the tables of the
moneychangers "and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple," crying out, "You have made it a
den of thieves" (Matthew 21:12, 13, NKJV). The Roman Catholic system was guilty of the same sin. Its
money-making business of buying and selling indulgences also overshadowed the need of simply believing
in Jesus as the way of salvation. In driving out "all those who bought and sold," and offering instead salvation
that is freely given to all, Luther was, in fact, following the example of Jesus, the world's greatest Protestant!

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QUIZ 12: You are now ready to take this task. Remember to always make honesty your priority.

Test Yourself

A. Multiple choice. Write your answer on the space provided.

___________ 1. What caused Luther’s disappointment upon his visit to the holy city of Rome?
a. he was dismayed at the wealth and luxurious lifestyle of the monks
b. he was horrified at the obscene behavior and awful profanity of the clergy
c. he was dumbfounded at the corruption he saw in the monasteries
d. all of the above
___________ 2. Based on its corresponding verses, which of the following items below define these two
principles: Sola Fide (Romans1:17; Romans 3:28) and Sola Scriptura (2 Timothy 3:16).
a. the church alone has the right to determine the rightness or the wrongness of the doctrine
9|Page b. the pope is an unerring authoritative guide of the church and all of his decrees are holy
c. salvation is by faith in Christ alone and the Bible alone is the standard for Christian belief and practice
d. none of the above
___________ 3. How did Luther best expose the worthlessness and spiritual dangers of indulgences?
Make it sure to comply the tasks mentioned below.

Congratulations! There is no NEW TASK to do here yet.

Do not forget to write down your questions that you need to ask your teacher for further explanation and raise
these questions during your scheduled online consultation.

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Questions for Clarification:
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