Page 17 - Fall 2017 Magazine

was a bold claim considering that the Pope himself guaranteed the efficacy of the indulgences to forgive sin. Luther stated in Thesis Fifty-two: “it is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.”
The reason Luther made such an audacious statement concerning the Pope’s soul was because he believed that preaching about indulgences, seriously violated God’s word. Thesis Fifty-four stated: “Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.” Preachers had been using sermon time to recommend buying indulgences, which, in Luther’s mind, caused great harm to the pure proclamation of the gospel. Thesis Fifty-five continued: “It is certainly the pope’s sentiment that if indulgences, which are a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.” For Luther, indulgences had supplanted the gospel, and that was a problem.
Luther had strong words for preachers who ignored preaching the gospel in favor of promoting indulgences, calling them “enemies of Christ” who deserved to be anathematized and accursed. For Luther, the reason their action was so horrible was that the common people in the pews were being deceived and led astray. The true teachings of the word of God concerning the forgiveness of sin was purposely
being hidden from them, and the beauty of the gospel was veiled. There was nothing more disgraceful and abhorrent than this for the passionate theologian, and he was courageous enough to challenge the Pope, the supreme head of the church.
Luther’s protest against the selling of indulgences on October 31, 1517 made him a figure of instant controversy and notoriety. His increasingly public appeals for church reform in the area of indulgences eventually led to serious theological debate centered around basic biblical principles, such as the nature of forgiveness, sin, and God’s grace, how salvation is gained, and the nature of justification. One little act of protesting the abuse suffered at the hands of church leaders eventually led to a complete reformation of the church’s teachings. The Reformation spread from Germany to Europe and, eventually, to the whole world, driven by the same pastoral concern Luther had in1517.
Luther and the Reformers after him demonstrated a love for the truth of God’s word, a passion for the gospel, and a tender concern that men and women know the beauty of Christ. At Providence, we are a Reformed college – the heartfelt fervency of the Reformers for these things forms the foundation of what we do today: we train men and women to love the truth of God’s word, love the gospel, and truly know what it means to have the mind of Christ in all areas of life. 500 years after Luther, we celebrate his stand for truth, and we continue his legacy by training the next generation of leaders.
Deeper Learning for Greater Wisdom
17