October 31st is commonly known as the day on which we dress up and go trick-or-treating. But, this October 31st, i.e., October 31, 2007, marks the 490th anniversary of the posting of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses in Wittenberg, Germany, an event which sparked a movement of reformation within the church in Europe. Although there had been previous reforming movements within the church, this particular movement initiated by Luther succeeded where the others had failed. With the help of the printing press (which was invented in the mid 14th century and became established in most European cities by the early 15th century), Luther was able to disseminate his ideas much more widely than had been possible before. The 95 Theses were actually 95 concerns or areas of disagreement that Luther had with the church of his day. In posting them, Luther was not trying to stir up trouble. He was no insurrectionist. He simply wanted to debate these issues within the confines of the church and could find no one willing or able to discuss them with him.
As he saw it (and many others who followed him agreed with him), the church had drifted from the Bible and from historic Christianity both in its doctrine and in its practice. In its practice, the church had fostered unprecedented levels of immorality and ignorance among the priesthood. For instance, although priests were not permitted to marry under church law, they were permitted to have a concubine, provided they first paid a fine to the Vatican. Luther and his fellow reformers rightly saw this for what it was—sheer hypocrisy. And as far as the ignorance of the clergy goes, we are told by at least one historian of the 16th century that many priests could not perform basic tasks like stating the 10 commandments from memory or even finding them in the Bible.
In its doctrine, the church—according to Luther and his fellow reformers—had diminished the authority of the Bible and exalted the authority of the church to such a degree that the latter now took precedence over the former. This led to many errors in doctrine, the chief of which, for Luther, was the church’s rejection of the historic and Biblical understanding of salvation (justification by faith alone) and its corresponding embrace of the corrupt practice of selling indulgences (i.e., pardon or “indulgence” for sin given in exchange for money). You may remember the famous saying of Johann Tetzel, describing this practice of selling indulgences and its supposed efficacy: “When the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” It was against such practices that Luther vehemently reacted when he posted his 95 Theses.
The Reformation that was initiated by Luther on October 31, 1517, sought to correct the abuses and errors in the church by working to return the church to its historic and Biblical moorings. Five Latin slogans were developed to summarize the doctrinal “reforms” that men like Luther, and others who followed after him, were seeking in the church. These slogans, all of which are directly and explicitly taught in the Bible, are as follows: sola gratia (salvation is by God’s grace alone and not by human merit), sola fide (salvation is received by faith alone and not by any of our own works), solo Christo (salvation is by Christ alone and not by any other way—not by priests, churches, saints, or Mary), sola Scriptura (salvation and everything we need for faith and the Christian life is found in Scripture alone and not in any other book or human tradition), and soli Deo gloria (salvation and everything in life is unto the glory of God alone and not partially unto God and partially unto ourselves).
The Reformers believed that no man has the right to bind another person’s conscience and tell him or her what to believe. Only God has this right. That is why Luther could say, when challenged, that he would not believe any doctrine until and unless he was shown from the pages of Scripture that God had in fact taught it. “Here I stand,” Luther said, “I can do no other.” This is what we remember on October 31st.
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