“Luther’s Solos”

Dr. Michael Browder, Pastor

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Today is Reformation Sunday, when we remember the Protestant Reformation and its heritage. The United Methodist Church is part of the Protestant branch of Christianity. The other branches are the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Martin Luther was the founder of the Protestant Reformation. Today, on Reformation Sunday, I want to talk about Luther and how it all started.

Martin Luther was born November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany. He grew up in the nearby town of Eisenach. Martin was a bright young man, and so his father was determined to help them both get ahead by sending the boy to the University of Erfurt to become a lawyer. He received an M.A. in Law in 1505.

Martin Luther had always been a serious young man, somewhat inclined toward matters of faith. One day in 1505, he was walking through a field when a terrible thunderstorm came up. Lightning bolts started falling everywhere around him. Luther was certain that he was going to die. He cried out to his patron saint, “Help me, St. Anne, and I will become a monk!” Luther was spared, and he kept his promise. Much to his father’s dismay, he joined an Augustinian monastery.

Because he was already so well educated, the monastic order encouraged Luther to continue his education and become a professor. At that time, all the universities were owned and operated by the church. Luther completed a degree in theology in 1508, and a Th.D. in 1512. He became a professor of theology and Biblical studies at the University of Wittenberg.

Martin Luther struggled with the same questions about assurance that have plagued many great Christians down through the centuries. In Luther’s day, the Catholic Church took the position that God rewards us according to our merits. If this is true, how can we ever know that we have done enough good deeds to be acceptable to God? Especially, when you realize that there is sin in your heart and in your life, how can you ever be sure that you are saved?

Luther struggled with this question. He thought that becoming a monk would solve it for him: “Surely if I become a monk, I will be saved.” But even as a monk, he didn’t feel any different.

Luther’s monastery sent him off on a pilgrimage to Rome. He thought, “Surely, here in the holiest city in the world, where Peter and Paul became martyrs, I will benefit from the merits of this holy place, and from being a pilgrim here.” Yet he was disheartened by the corruption of the church and the priests in Rome. Seeking to acquire spiritual merits, he climbed the stairs of Holy St. Peters Cathedral on his knees, praying on every step. But when he reached the top, he still cried out in emptiness, “Who knows if it is true [that these things will bring me salvation.]”

Luther found his answer as he was studying and teaching the Bible. While studying the Epistle to the Romans, he was struck by the passage we read today, and by Chapter 1, verse 17: “The just shall live by faith.” Since this verse is quoting Habakkuk in the Old Testament, it summarizes a principle that runs throughout the Bible. The way we receive the salvation of Jesus Christ is through faith. We cannot save ourselves by doing good things. Once Luther realized this fact, it was as if a light shined on him through the darkness – he would never be the same. And once he began to teach this Biblical truth – the world would never be the same.

The church had become terribly corrupt in Luther’s day. At that time, the Catholic Church under Rome was the only church in Europe. Today, partly as a response to Luther’s challenge, the Catholic Church is a great church with a lot of integrity. But in Luther’s day, it was very corrupt. At one point, there were three different popes all claiming to be the real one. Bishop’s offices were being sold to the highest bidder. Archbishops were having illegitimate children.

Meanwhile, the church was trying to find money to pay for the extravagant cost of building St. Peter’s Cathedral. They came up with an ingenious plan: the selling of indulgences. Essentially, this meant that you could pay money and buy forgiveness for sins. (Sometimes I wish we had this plan today. Just think of all the money we could raise for this church if people could buy forgiveness for their sins. But we know that forgiveness only comes through Jesus Christ to those who repent. You cannot buy it.)

Martin Luther was outraged by the sale of indulgences and by the corruption of the church. On All Saints Eve, October 31, 1517, he posted a list of 95 theses on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral. These were 95 points of protest against the abuses of the church. This event marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The word “Reformation” comes from the fact that Luther was trying to reform the church. “Protestant” refers to the fact that Luther and his followers were protesting against the wrongs within the church.

It did not take the church long to condemn Luther and his protest. He was hauled before the Diet of Worms, and they demanded that he recant. Here Martin Luther uttered his most famous words: “Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God.  I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.  Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.  God help me, Amen.”

Luther could have been burned at the stake for his remarks, but he was rescued. His protector, “Frederick the Wise,” Duke of Saxony sent a band of men dressed as robbers to kidnap Martin and hide him in Wartburg.

Secluded in Wartburg, Luther had to find a way to use his time. He decided to finish a project he had long intended – he translated the entire Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew into the common language of the people where he lived. That language was German. Prior to that time, the church had been using in the Latin Bible, or Vulgate, for 1,000 years, and people could no longer understand it. Luther’s translation of the Bible is still the most influential factor in the German language to this day. Since Luther’s time, Protestants have emphasized the need to have the Bible in a language that people can understand. That’s why we have so many English Bibles today. And translators are striving to translate God’s word into every dialect on earth.

There is a great legend about how the Devil used to try to attack Martin Luther while he was translating the Bible. On one occasion, Luther threw his inkbottle at the Devil. It is said that you can still see the ink stains on the wall in Wartburg to this day.

Luther came to believe that priests should be allowed to get married, and he himself married a former nun, Katharina “Katharine” von Bora. Eventually Luther’s followers and their churches split of from the Roman Catholic Church and became a separate denomination. The modern Lutheran Churches are direct descendents from Luther himself, as are the national churches in Germany and Scandinavia. The Church of England followed the Lutherans in splitting off from the Roman Catholic Church, and eventually, the Methodist church split off from the Church of England. So, you can see that we are Protestants.

What do we Protestants believe? I believe we can answer that question with the “solos” of Martin Luther. (“Solo” is the Latin word for “alone.”)

The first solo is sola fide. This means “by faith alone.” As we saw, Luther taught us that salvation comes by faith alone.

Related to this is the doctrine of sola gratia, which means “by grace alone.” Salvation is a gift from God. We cannot earn it. Although we are sinners, God gives us salvation as a gracious free gift.

The third solo is sola scriptura. This means “based on the Bible alone.” Protestants believe that the Bible, the Word of God, is our final authority. We respect our church leaders, but they do not have the authority to teach or command us anything that contradicts God’s Word.

The fourth solo is solo Christo. This means “by Christ alone.” Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ and no other source. Christ is the one God has chosen to bring us salvation.

The final solo is soli Deo Gloria. This means, “All to the glory of God.” This can have two meanings. First, everything we do, we should do for the Lord. Second, all persons should live their life for God. In Luther’s day, only ordained priests were considered to have holy lives. But throughout the Bible, Luther shows that God calls us to a “priesthood of all believers.” Every person, not just the pastor, is called to live a life dedicated to the Lord.

When we hear these solos, we realize that they are things that we all believe today. In fact, they are so much a part of our faith that we take them for granted. But if Martin Luther had not risked his life to teach the truth of the Bible, and if others had not been willing to die for the truth that Luther taught, we might not be aware of these truths today.

As we hear this story of the faith, let us thank God for the freedom of faith that we have. And let us give thanks for the power of God’s word that we cherish.